Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Pours a hazy golden orange with a yellowish head. The nose is kind of earthy, some yeasty character, some citrusy hops. The flavor is sort of off, not digging what the Belgian yeast is bringing here, not getting too much from the hops either. Some strange rusty earthy flavors. Not too crazy about this one.

Clear golden colour, white head. Aroma has fruity hops and spices. Flavour has malts and yeast, along with some spices. Bitter-sweet finish. Nice!

Upon aroma... THIS IS A BELGIAN?!? All I smell is sweet syrupy northwest style hop pungency! Citrus hop blast nose, cascade, centennial, clear filtered orange color, (oddly clear for a belgian), minimal white head, spicey flavor, pepper, citrus hops, belgian gold finish, I can certainly detect the belgian yeast flavor but the hops muddy up the belgian attitude, I respect this mesh of flavors greatly but it’s hard to rate as labeled as a belgian strong ale because the belgian characteristics are so thwarted by the hop dominance, I have wondered for a long time what a hop forward belgian strong would taste like and am delighted with this contribution, I’m using this as research for an over hopped trappist gold I plan on brewing in about two weeks on top of the belgian blonde slurry I’ll brew tomorrow, the belgian and hop characteristics help each other out, but this is an all new form of a belgian strong ale! So watch out for the up and coming "Belgian IPA" or "Bitter Monk" style I predict will be the next big thing following the double IPA

Bottle. Pours golden with white head. Aroma is grass, clove, bananas. Flavor is spicy, hops, cloves. Slightly bitter finish.

Bottled. Who brought this one, Noize, Caesar? Tnx anyway. Aroma has spice, hops. Clear, golden coloured with a white head. The taste is slightly bitter, spicy, citric and hoppy. Decent one.

22 oz bottle. Clear golden orange with a diminishing white head. Nose is candi, grass, basil and bubblegum. Medium body with mild carb; a touch syrupy and resiny. Taste is yeasty green banana and pith with a dry citrus peel finish. The most soild of the Epics i’ve tried but still not top-notch. 05 to 08 impress me as generic "good" beers but kind of undistinguished. I’m not sure these would have been better in 2012; maybe the 050505.

<b>22 oz. bottle</b> from Plaza Liquors - Pours a clear orangish color with a 2/3 finger thick off white head. Very light lacing. Aroma is yeast and spice. Flavor is toasted malt, yeast, esters, and spice. Medium body. A nice beer.

Bottle into chalice. Pours clear gold, almost no head, just on off-white ring. Nose is bit of banana and clove, some apricot and citrus as well, with a wee hint of floral and resiny hops underneath. Peppery. Some alcohol. A lot going on. Taste starts off dry, spicy, yeasty, a bit peppery, bit of alcohol, very floral, bit of apricot. Finish is dry with a lingering bitterness, yeasty. Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, light body, carb still has a bit of a bite. Nice beer, quite dry, but lots of very complex flavors.