Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Pours into a goblet a dark, but clear, ruby mahogany color with a quickly vanishing beige head. No lacing. Aroma has a piercing spiciness of cloves and anise. Maltiness of dark fruits, mostly dried figs. Notes of wheat malt and yeast are also prominent. Body is medium with some fusel alcohol notes. Taste seems dominated by anise and clove. Some notions of burnt brown sugar and dark fruits are present, as well as some roasty dark malt bitterness and pine hops. Seems a bit unsophisicated for an Abbey Dubbel, at least at this young age. I have to say that this is my least favorite of the Vertical Epic series.

Bottle. This is the 4th bottle I’ve had so far apparently I get lazy with my notes. Pours a dark brown with a large nearly white head. Aroma is still on the sweeter side with lots of dark fruits. Flavor is malty and caramel and sweet with some yeastiness, raisin, plum, and unidentified fruitiness. Finish is dry and spicy and moderately bitter and earthy. I remember it being more alcoholic when fresh for some reason, as it sits now there is a light warmth. I got more, I’ll try it again in a year.

Collecting is a very strange thing. Usually we find something of personal or moral significance that comes in varieties and are overcome by a fervent desire to horde them. Good examples of this first category are artwork, books or music. Then there are a separate category of unwholesome collectors that seek out Coke memorabilia, antique hammers or maybe even vintage urinals. At least the accomplished stamp collector can put his stash towards a deluge of paid-for postal correspondence, and the coin collector will never feel anxious around vending machines again, but those who relish in their small piles of buttons and door knobs have lost sight of the whole point of collecting. It’s about gathering something significant, not gathering something that no one else has bothered to gather, because truly, no one will be impressed with a philanthropic display of broken glass or snapped crayons. Yet, our “crazy” collectors feature prominently in everyday life, and the market knows it. Behold, Stone Brewery’s Vertical Epic line, a mad dash to “drink them all” lest one bottle missed taints the whole experience. Usually I fall into the category of lunatic collector, but this time I wasn’t sold. Why wait until they finish the series? I’m pretty certain there’s no legitimate need to purchase and preserve these bottles until the final generation is brewed, save for Stone’s shrewd decision to make this something of a special edition collector’s series. With that I took the plunge and popped open a mint bottle of the ’06 Vertical Epic. The beaming black beer with it’s Coca-cola-esque head pushes bubbles all around the beer – on the surface as well as coating the sides of the glass in a gaseous armor of sprightly spheres．Almost immediately the aroma asserts itself with strong intimations of plums and raisins. Secondary and tertiary smells of processed Kraft cheese, malts, chalk, old wood and anise agglomerate to form a strange but not unappealing aroma. The palate is oily, flat and heavy (attributes welcome in a dark beer) but the flavor is hard to uncover. It’s a slow spread of tastes, eking out malts, molasses, chocolate and a bit of licorice, but nothing more. The rhythm of the flavors is similarly flat and steady, neither dipping nor peaking, but gamboling steadily at a tried and true pace. Even if I were collecting the Vertical Epics, I’d look down on this one as a bit of a flop; for those that are collecting, I have a feeling the ’06 won’t age well, and that saving it for that special day when all the beers have come together may not make for the pseudo-holiday some might expect it to be.

Cold 22oz bottle: Pours and opaque brown color with a small amount of tan bubbles around the edges of the glass. Aroma and taste are of roasted malt, earth, spice, bitterness and alcohol with sour notes. I would not drink this, so Volgon finished the bottle. : )

Dark brown in color with beautiful, ruby highlights and lots of fat bubbles (not typical of ale, natural carbonation) rising through the body and a moderate, but sustaining, tan head reminiscent of the head on a cup of hot chocolate. Well done spicy, bubblegummy, molasses, fruity, elderberry, milky, wheaty, and cocoa powder aroma. Just as the bottle reads, the aroma is "deep." The flavor is not as complete as the aroma on first pour. I would best describe it as "tight and shy" in the first few sips. As the beer oxidizes a while, it releases most of the aroma components into the flavor profile though they are not as distinct as in the aroma, this will most likely develop as it ages. The addition of a nice roast and and some orange fruit provide counterbalance to the sweetness in the finish. The paradox of this beer is that each taste provides a different flavor experience. Truely amazing.

pours dark brown with a tan head. aroma smoke, chocolate, clove, some dried fruit, bananas, and a slight alcohol burn. flavor sweet raison quite a bit of clove. also some smokey chocolate and a hint of espresso bitterness. full bodied. fairly lively carbonation as it should be. finish is a fantastic roller coaster of flavor. the finish alone is just as complex if not more than any other part of the beer. it starts sweet with a hint of raison and alcohol and gently evolves into a lovely smokey bitter chocolate flavor that sticks with you forever. fantastic beer. the first of the series i have rated. i am very interested to see how this stands up to six years of aging.

Pours out very dark and the familiar aroma of Stone’s Belgian yeast strain is immediately evident. The usual clove and banana are present as is a good amount of smokey roastiness and some muted dark fruit richness. That, however, is contrasted by a surprisingly light body which works both for and against this beer. The high alcohol content is evident though well balanced. Another enjoyable beer in the Epic series--will taste again in six months.

Copying from my tasting notes. Bottle. Dark brown pour with a tiny brown head. Fruit and spices on the nose. Taste of old fruit and lots of malt.