Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Bomber. Pours clear gold with smallish off-white head. The aroma is very fruity, with tangerine, peach, pear, lemon, and very light banana; there are also some wood, caramel, spice and distant vinous notes. The flavor starts off like a pretty textbook American IPA, with lots of citrusy hops. Then the character from the yeast kicks in, with some peppery spice, light toast, banana peel, and some hints of wood. The finish is pleasantly bitter, with the sharpness of the hops and the dryness of the fermentation. Alcohol is barely noticeable. A warm, peppery aftertaste lasts for quite some time. I must say, I’m enjoying this beer very much. I was skeptical about this style combination at first, but they seem to have pulled it off well.

pours out a clear amber color with a larger head. aroma is sweet, yeasty, and spicy. flavor was sweet with a bit of a twang to it that i didnt find so appealing. the finish was rather hoppy which i was happy to see. over all not bad.

Duvel tulip. Clear coppery-golden body on a small, quickly dissipating head. Banana, spice and maybe some sweet orange aromas. Flavor is a lot of candi sugar and vague fruits with some a touch of bitterness. I also get strong notes of cooked corn with some sips. Thankfully, It does clean/dry up a little in the finish as I could see this being overly sweet. Hard to believe that this is supposed to be "highly hopped". Chouffe Houblon it is not. Some strong flavors and aroma but a bit dull and clumsy overall.

22 oz bottle. Pours a clear golden color with a creamy head. Big aroma of banana, spices, and fruity. Flavor is similiar with addition of pepper. Creamy mouthfeel. Long bitter and crisp finish. I have concerns that it will get any better in 2012, but we’ll see and re-rate then.

Pours hazy peach with little to no head. Aroma is lemon peel, coriander, clove, and sweet nectar. Citrus and peach. Flavor is well hopped and spiced- lots of fruity notes. Palate is light and quite drinkable with a crisp finish. Drinkable and enjoyable.

THOUGHTS: Had this a day after Green Flash Le Freak. This is similar yet way weaker. I can’t really see this one getting that much better over time, especially with its seeming lack of bottle conditioning. But just like Le Freak, it has a nice little funk to it. This one just doesn’t quite have the hop presence needed to pull off this crazy hybrid style. i seemed more like a tweak on a Belgian ale. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a really nice beer, but if I was going to pick between the two beers it would be Le Freak every time. I really didn’t understand why there was no yeast in the bottle. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, dark yellow to light orange with a small, ever so slightly off-white head that mostly diminished. The aroma was light bread and caramel malt, light to moderate orange, lime and lemon citrus and lighter pine hops, moderate, sweat, horse blanket and cheese yeast (the funk was more and more as it warmed), candy sugar and a little spice. The initial flavor was moderately sweet and lightly acidic; while the finish was moderate to heavily sweet and bitter, and sour and funk with a long duration. There was candy sugar, funky yeast, caramel malt, citrus and a hint of pine hops The light to medium body was sorta creamy then very dry with fizzy carbonation and a metallic, dry and light to moderate astringent finish.

pours a translucent dark gold with small bubbly head, evident carbonation. Aroma is very light and sweet, with notes of peach, grapefruit, orange, and hops. Flavor has definite hop and yeast character, with sugary sweetness coming through at the finish- very drinkable and nice. Palate is nice- a bit watery at first, but sticks nicely. Really a pretty solid effort from Stone.

straw colored with mild white head. nose has some yeast bite in it, very uncharacteristic for stone. flavor of some light candi sugar with a ton of hop bitterness and a lot of flavor also. some yeast bite too. the style is the relatively new belgian pale ale or belgian easter seasonal. this version is too heavy on the hops, it ends up overshadowing the candi sugar and tastes like a american pale ale. very few american breweries attempt this style, so i will give them credit for it, but it is probably the weakest version of the style i have had and really doesn’t work all that well.