Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Escondido, California USA

Whatever malt there is or was is beaten into submission by the over the top hop profile.

Tasty Beer. Appearance- Grapefruit caramel, roses, bread crust. Great aroma. Appearance- Dark red, light brown color. Thick tan head, good clarity. Taste- pretty decent. I was expecting more dextrins in the taste after smelling the aroma. Lacking in malt backbone for my taste, but I supose it does make it easier to drink. Medium malt/bread flavor, toasty. Hop flavor is resiny, with pine and grapefruit. There is a pleasant, slight burnt flavor. Palate- medium dryness, medium carbonation. Overall Impression- Good beer with a great aroma and some awesome balance. Definately drinkable.

The LAST TIME I had a Stone Anniver., I got a ton of hate mail, for no good reason. So... let’s crack this puppy open!!! 1 Pt. 6 oz. bottle served in trappist glass- poured a near non transparent blood dark maroon with held to a light source (non transparent dark brown at ground level). Zero to no carbonation, solid ring of tan for a head. Hearty aroma of candi sugar from when I opened the bottle and let it settle, let 15 minutes pass- aroma of pine and grapefruit from the hops, with notes of fig, caramel, and yeast in the background- guess they just threw in the kitchen sink on this one, which isn’t a bad thing! Hits the mouth with a wide enough body to taxi a 737 through, malt is there along with allspice, hard ginger, well, spices up the yin-yang for short! MIddle is where the hops kick down the door for a usual Stone party (kiss your girl, poop on the floor, steal your beer, THEN LEAVE!), finish is acidic, lasting, bitter, and magical. They beat 12 by a mile, it just makes me wonder what 14 will be... oh, by the way, HOME RUN!!!

Tap. Heavy malt aromas os toasted and dark caramel, pine and orange for the hops, moderate soap for the yeast, with background notes of pepper, wood, dried dark fruit and whiskey. Head is small, wispy, off-white with some lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is clear mahogany. Flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic and the extra long finish is lightly sweet and acidic and heavily bitter. Palate is medium, watery with a livley carbonation and a moderately alcoholic and lightly astringent finish. Awesome aromas come from this American Strong, and the flavor is powerful and long lasting.

Dark amber pour with nice frothy tan head. Big hoppy and floral nose. The first taste is all hops, but then that fades to dark roasted coffee with hints of smoke and carmalized sugars. Some warmth from the alcohol, but well hidden. Not as hoppy as the nose suggest. Well balanced!

(draft @ The Old Toad - Rochester, NY) Dark ruby color with a thin tan head. Aroma is incredibly floral and hoppy with some smooth malt and a touch of smoky fruits. Flavor is a blast of smoky and floral hops with a smooth malt middle and a piny and resiny finish. Some lightly bitter hops at the end. A lot smoother than I expected from the aroma.

Deep ruby brown with lasting brownish head, nice retention. Carmel hops bittering with a light apple fade to smell as it progressed. Scotchy to smell, both in the butter and peat variety, woodsy/earthy sweet to smell. As well as being hoppingly pined. bittering backbone with a caramel vanilla sweetness. Very nice and tasty.