Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Very deep brown with a thin sticky head. Aroma is toffeeish with notes of caramel and roasted malt. Flavor is very rich - body was pretty meaty and still smooth. Kind of young, probably needs to be cellared as suggested on the bottle. Still a nice brew.

Bottle purchased recently. Aroma is quite sweet, sugary, with some molasses and vanilla notes present as well. There is also a light roasty chocolate aroma with minute aromas of yeasty easters. This is quite sweet, which I find a pleasant aroma. Moderately opaque, dark mahogany body present with a weak light tan head that dissipates a little too quickly. Dried fruits, prunes, plums, raisins to start. Light sweetness. Boozy roastiness with some definite coffee flavors in the middle-end. A little thin and the coffee notes are a little weird, but this is a fair effort.

Clear, brilliant purple with streaks of brown laying beneath a very thin tan colored head. The aroma is sweet and malty with cocoa, caramel, banana, molasses, roasted grains, bubble gum, beautiful yeasty esters, coriander, plums and cherries, anise and mildly spiced clove. The alcohol is noticable, but not out of balance by any means. The body is thick and smooth with lively bubbles tickling the tongue. The sweetness of the heavy malts, toasted grains, chewy bread and mild spice are clearly the emphasis here. The alcohol and moderate hopping come in to give an unexpected dryness at the finish, that really increases the drinkability. This is definitely one of the better Belgian Style beers that Stone has produced and much more suited to this Vertical Epic series than some of the previous examples. Quite tasty.

Dark and ominous appearing in the glass, the aroma clears out anything else in your mind. You contemplate the possibiliites, because they are there but they’re young and restless. Mindful while you approach; the yeast has revelled for it’s time with this battlefield and then won by a massacre. The remnants race across your toungue to deliver spicy, estery overtones. Underneath, the malt begs attention, at first it seems the secret recipe for coca cola has been breached, but then the yeast residuals return to fog that notion and you are left again thinking of future payoffs - someday, when several seasons have passed, this one will fulfill it’s promise.

Pours very dark, almost stout like. Initial head is nice, compact bubbles, but it fades quickly to light lacing. Aroma is quite nice, lots of dark fruit. Flavors are very interesting, starts off with the dark fruits from the aroma, but quickly dries out. The aftertaste lingers on the tongue much like a Rochefort, maybe even a hint of that same tobacco flavor. Mouthfeel is a little thin, and the carbonation is a little lower than I’d like. On a side note, I like this from Stone...it’s more proof they can do something other than hops hops hops.

Tap @ Stone Winter Storm ’08: Poured a clear dark brown color with an off-white head. Semi-sweet fruity and roasty aroma and flavor. Dry clean finish. Not bad but nothing real special going on.

Bottle. A dark brown color with a light brown head. Richly spiced aroma with cloves, raisins, banana, candy, chocolate and bread. The spiced aroma comes through well on the palate with a light yet powerful zing on the tongue.

22 oz bottle (sampled in July 2006…fairly fresh, eh?): Extremely dark, edging towards black, but with clear, golden at the edges. Thin, tight, creamy, ivory head...diminishing into a thin grey film…strong, yeasty fruit aroma with plump raisins, smoked peanuts, sour plums & lightly charred oak. Soft, creamy palate with fruity malts and herbal bitterness along with some playful candy sugar and sweet yeast. I think that this one has some nice potential on the tongue, both texture and flavour…
Oct 2009 update: The palate have improved: incredibly soft and smooth, wonderful texture with the perfect amount of bubbles! Much smokier than I remember with loads of peat and oak. <!-- /i -->