Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Escondido, California USA

In short: A spicy Blonde Ale with a smooth body
How: Bottle 22oz, consumed almost 1 year after bottling. Bottle graciously given to me by dmac, Dave is the man!
The look: Clear golden body topped by an white ring of foam.
In long: Nose is floral and spicy. Taste is juicy flower juice and lots of spices with no specific spices coming out. Oily body. Carbonation is very soft, too soft for a Belgian ale like this. An overall sensation of a hard-candy spicy buttery candy. I had it a few times when fresh and it was a bit too much in-your-face aggressive spicy. Now it is just a spicy softer Belgian ale but the body is really dying. A good beer but I think it’s a step down from the previous 05-05-05 and 06-06-06. Still, I can’t wait for their 2008 Vertical Epic and see what kind of crazy name they’ll come up with.

Nice golden color, slightly hazy with minimal carbonation. Very little head or lacing. Subtle citrus hop aroma. I’d expect this look from an IPA, I also expected a hop explosion up front... and it was a pleasant surprise to have a great change of pace. To me this is a wonderful easy drinking beer, but for a beer lover. Meaning there is bountiful flavor, hops, citrus, fruit (I even want to say strawberry?). Very good beer, light and yet has a ton of flavor without seeming watered down. Very nice.

22oz bottle. Deep golden color with a large rocky white head. Sharp spice aroma, some citrus peel. Floral, perfumey spice flavors dominate. Dusty, estery yeast component, with oily citrus skin. Appley, sweet malt underpinings. Residual acrid spice character in the finish with some orange rind. Mouthfeel is medium, somewhat dry.

Bomber, I thought it was about time to review this. Pours orange and bubbly with a 2 finger tan head. Nose has citrus and a bit of spice. Taste is pretty nice, decent citrus with some balanced flavors. I’m guessing this has actually gotten better as everyone used to hate it.

Pours a cloudy yellow-orange with almost no head. Syrupy thick body. Fruity aroma with some hops, malt and candy. Hoppy bitter taste giving way to an amazingly flavorful sharp fruity taste. Sweet malty and spicy notes. Absolutely amazing. Warm thick body with a great lingering taste, makes my mouth water.

so many delicious flavors paul says tastes Like salad dressing in a good way lady loves. The Ginger and tastes grapefruit

Amazing beer. We got it as a wedding present, because it was brewed on the day that my wife and I got married. Great taste, great aftertaste. All around amazing.

Draft Sample at Bier Tasting event at Boston’s Bistro & Pub. I was fairly undecided when drinking trying this one. I appreciate it’s complexity, but something kept distracting me. I think it was the ginger, or grapefuit, or combination of the two. Definitely not a bad beer by any means though. The citrus, fruity side of this beer contributed to it’s very easy to drink nature. Refreshing.