Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale

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

<b>Bottle 66cl.</b>
Clear medium yellow orange color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to light light heavy hoppy, orange, spicy, coriander ? moderate yeasty, fruity. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a long to average duration, and a spicy finish. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [260908]

20090105 Bomber from RB Spirits. Lightly hazed, dark golden with greenish motor oil hues. The head is frothy white, tight, lasting, sheeting lace. Sweet tropical, floral, fruity aromas, some coriander and jasmine notes, lemongrass, green bell pepper. Not much Belgian yeastiness to the nose, but mild clove. Flavor has a bit of rotty vegetable to it, but once past that it is a decent mix of candy sweetness, mild yeasty spice, a bit pissy, and with nice bitter pithy and resinous hops to finish. Somewhat thin for a strong beer, and without much sturdiness or definition to the malt aspect. A far cry from the recent beers that obviously inspired this, but still pretty good. I can’t imagine it will age well as the main attraction is the American hops, but it is worth a quaff right now. On the other hand, it seems like I am enjoying it more than I recall from the many bottles I had when it was released so maybe a few months have done it some good.

Poured golden amber with a small white head. Fruity, sweet aroma (possibly cherry??) Smooth, crisp, slightly carbonated mouthfeel. Taste of floral hops with some friuty sweetness behind it. Some lingering hops bitterness, but not too much. Buy two...one for now and one to age until 12/12/12.

Bottle from Nugget Market in Davis, CA. Poured gold with large white head. I was surprised how hoppy this beer was, although Stone does have a reputation to uphold. Nice mix of citrus and spice. Good beer.

Pours light gold with a medium sized head. Aroma of fruits, with accents of lemon, lime, and grains of paradise. Flavor is fruity, with clove and other spices. Strong hop presence that places this beer firmly in the category of American-style Belgian Ale. Finish is slightly bitter, and medium long. For the ABV, this beer has extrordinary drinkability.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a clear golden color with a medium sized fluffy white head. The aroma has the west coast citrus hops with bready malts, clove, and Belgian yeast. The flavor opened a bit soft probably because this followed Pliny. Bready malt served as the backbone for this. On top of this was layered fruits, pepper, clove, citrus hops, and a slight hint of soap. As this warmed, the soap disappeared and it became a nice drinking beer. It will be interesting to revisit this in 2012.

Very nice. The label says to age it til 2012 but I couldn’t wait that long. Typical Belgian aroma and taste with a real nice hop kick. Not your traditional Belgian Strong. An American take on the style I guess.

Bottled at Chris O’s tasting, 26th Sept 2008. Lovely fresh satsuma aroma. Great dry hoppy flavour with lots of superb grassy notes. The finish is just right too. Simple but effective.