Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Escondido, California USA

Pours a dark dark brown approaching black with decent clarity and a sparse light tan head. The nose dominated by strong flavors like juicy fruit and roasted malt. A hint of alcohol and a little spice are there too. The palate is smooth and creamy with appropriate CO2 and a bit of stickiness. A touch of alcohol warming. The flavors are really very nice in this brew. Big sweet malt with some roast, alcohol up front, and juicy fruit again. Creamy, with slight hints of acid and chocolate. There’s even a bit of spice and floral elements. The alcohol really enhances this brew. This completely lacks any of the sourness I’ve encountered in some Belgians and I really enjoy this one. I’ll be sure to go out and grab a couple more!

Pours a russet black; opaque with a brownish head that contains some blood read highlights. The aroma is hugely roasted malts (carafa?) with enough fruity esters and alcohol to balance it out. The body is thick to say the least. The flavor is heavily of chocolate with some serious spicing; anise and cocoa. Either could be from the yeast. The finish is slightly bitter and somewhat dry but long and malty. This is a belgian ale for stout and porter fanatics. The lack of adjuncts makes this beer somewhat of a chore. This is the major downfall of all of these Stone beers. There is only room for one Belgian style brewery that only uses malts for their fermentables and that is Brasserie Des Rocs. Make this 10% caramelized sugar and lower the roasted grains and you have a perfect dubbel.

A pretty good belgian ale that blurs the line of dubbel and a brown ale. Lots of sweet malts and yeasty spiciness.

very dark, a bit red up to the light. good amount of head though it’s pretty foamy. smell is totally candi sugar but i love it. in the flavor alcohol jumps at me right away. there was a whole lot going on, but i remember it also being a little too bitter. unexceptional light/medium body.

Oh why did I try to drink this by myself. Dark. Heavy. Instanly sweet yet still very palatable. Sits in your mouth like a load of bricks. I liked it.

Dark brown liquid with a ruddy cast. fine beige foam. Nose is tangy floral hops Taste is a mild but complex blend of malt and good hops in an abbey style. Texture is medium but full. Finish is hops developing into a nice back of the mouth tang. very nice ale indeed.

Part of a vertical in Tokyo; thanks marc! Deep brown with a nice tan head. Aroma of toasted malts, anise, molasses, light spice, light smoke and alcohol. Enjoyable body, medium with nice carbonation. Flavor of toasted malts, yeast, light molasses, noticeable alcohol, and caramelized malts. Finish is rather alcoholic. Still pretty young, probably has a real nice future.

22oz. bottle. Deep ruby-brown, nearly opaque, with a medium sized brown head. Heavy astringent phenol yeast aromatics, clove and some banana. Heavy clove and pineapple esters up front, melds into some bubblegum, crystal malt, and some nutty/toasty malt characters. Tinges of chalky chocolate in the finish reinforce a mild roastiness and some residual fruit esters, primarily banana. Mouthfeel is a slightly heavy medium, somewhat hot as it warms, fairly lusterous but not dry.