Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

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

Bottle from Jonpol at AJ’s. Pours a dark cherry color with a frothy beige head that leaves plenty of lacing. Smells of bitter hops and citrus - almost like a dark IPA. Tastes distinctly of blood oranges and baker’s cocoa. Aggressively bitter, but distinctive.

Bomber from Market of Choice. Poured out a dark copper with a two finger off white head. Aroma was huge caramel malt, booze and citrus/pine hops in that order. Flavor was pretty much the same, and I was surprised how boozy this one was. I’m going to pick another one up and set it down for a couple months and revisit it, but to me this tasted like an overly boozy barleywine. The taste did improve as it warmed though.

Pours a transparent dark copper amber with a frothy, well-lacing beige head. Big aroma of fresh resiny grapefruity hops and a good amount of sweet toasty caramel. Starts with good fullness, fine carbonation and rich sweet maltiness well-balanced with juicy grapefruity citrusy flavor hops and pine sap before a drier, crisp bittersweet finish. Very fresh, hoppy and enjoyable. I hope they turn this into an annual brew.

Murky ruby red; light brown shaving cream head. Thick swath of lace; glassy but superdark. Hop aroma at first sniff, wood and pine. Malts are fizzy/crystal pale variety, yet roasted. Flavor of dark rye-like malts. Roasted but bready also, with a bitter resinous hop balance. Burnt malt finish, like alcohol and dark mocha. Major alcohol. Feels oily and thick with an ashy bite on the swallow. A very good, very dark strong ale with excellent W.Coast hops. Top shelf.

Pours an attractive dark, somewhat hazy mahogony with a thick, manilla head. Fresh, piney citrusy PacNW hop nose with some caramel breadyness underneath. Flavor has a ton of woody, piney, citrusy US hop presence along . Huge bitterness which is somewhat braced by the caramel/toasty malt backbone but the takeaway is still lingering resinous hoppiness, perhaps too much Chinook used in the boil. Full, round and creamy on the palate with moderate carbonation. Enjoyable for a one-time try, but only for a hophead - needs to be smoothed out.

Bottle. Clear deep garnet color with a tan head; beautiful pour. Big piney hop aroma with toasted caramel. Medium body. Almost harsh pine and grapefruit hop flavors on a sharp caramel malt base. Bitter raw alcohol taste to finish. Yikes !

A dark red beer with a decent head. Aroma was money- floral, fruity, hoppy aroma. Taste was bitter fruit, citrus, grassy, very hoppy. Had great lacing, but can get cloying at times. I have had more bitter beers but for some reason the bitterness hits the tongue oddly, if not for that I would give a better rating. I liked the aroma better than the taste, & you will find you just can’t stop smelling this one.

Stone 13th Anniversary Ale is a dim, dark brown ale with a big, fluffy beige head that has oily bubbles and outstanding retention and lacing. It has a huge, fresh hoppy aroma, like fresh cut grapefruit. It smells a little sweet and malty. It’s pretty full bodied, quite smooth and bubbly with a dry finish. It’s bold and bitter; citrusy and a bit grassy. There’s a touch of sweetness and roastiness. It’s a bit top-heavy with a grapefruit aftertaste. It’s like an Imperial IPA with some nice roasty malt thrown in. It’s a champion beer!