Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

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

Bomber. Poured a lovely shade of clear, deep garnet with a well-retained cap of beige head. The aroma picked up a hefty dose of resiny pine and grapefruit over thicker, syrup-ier caramel and molasses.. the base came across as good and juicy. The flavor found was tangy and bitter the whole way through, opening with pine tar and a bit of citrusy tartness.. the same caramel and molasses from the nose provided a sweet base.. pine, grass, floral, and citrusy bitterness washed around the mouth and stuck until well after the finish.. thick, warm, and bitter at the end. Heavier-bodied with too much emphasis on the hoppage.. I dug the way the malts came across, but they were too hard to get ahold of.. still a mighty good brew.

Reddish brown with a substantial tan head. Aroma is hops, somewhat pine scented. Flavor is upfront with the hops, but there’s a strong malt body to balance it out. Still, hop flavor is persistent overall. Something of a bittersweet finish and a slight toffee flavor. Overall, very pleasant and drinkable while being very flavorful.

Pours nutbrown with a thin tan heat. very citrussy hop aroma, grapefruit, apricot and orange. Hops are there in the flavour but there is a great malty base. the flavour is more piney than citrus. Theres some roasted notes underneath; caramel, nuts. Individual components very good, but a little unbalanced. wonderful citrus aroma, fantastic piney hop flavour and roasted malty thickness. A great taste experience but might lack a bit of cohesion of flavour.

Another great beer from Stone. A challenging one to decipher. I think some were scared of this one, but I loved it.

Deep chestnut colour; off-white head, fine, leaving some lace. Dark malts, grapefruit, citrus, bit of strawberry, lupuline. Uneasy bitter-sweet flavour, with a sweetness as from rosewater, mixed with - sorry - horse chestnut or something similar, a weird bitterness. Very slick, near viscous MF, lip-sticking. Strange - I’ve had much better from Stone. I wonder where the bitterness hails from, and I’m missing depth here. And if somebody at Escondido could explain to me what the Dickens the blurb about the colour painting on the bottle means, not to mention a full page of fairy tale, whereas there’s no syllabe on the kind of hops used, PLEASE? Big thanks to both Dirk and Fred W!

A beautiful beer. Dark brown and a nice tan head. Big malt and hop aroma that is fruity. Flavor is big and aggressive. Full of malt. Vinous. Dry and bitter. Delicious.

Really delicious and deep. Had a glass on tap at Rattle n Hum. Pours a dark, ruby red. Nose of hops and sweet fruits. Flavor is complex: nice hop presence along with some roasted maltiness with notes of caramel and toffee. Warming mouthfeel with the decent ABV. Finish is sweet and slightly bitter. Great beer.

Singularly caramel colored, thick, rich head with some of the longest lasting lacings I’ve seen outside of Imperial Stouts. Color is representative of the head, as it’s got a gloriously hazy burnt caramel tone that stymies the eye beyond a few millimeters. A warm aroma that wakens to the toasty, yeasty, spicy hidden citruses of the hop. Sour sip that opens on the palate to a heady flavor of crusty breads and fancy British toffees that backended by a very nice piney hop that is entirely unexpected. Quality ASA, drink it soon!