Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

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

Consumed 9-12-09......brown with some red highlights...dark tan head...sour hoppy aroma--as it sits more malt shows up...alcohol apparent in nose and mouth....it seems a bit unbalanced in the hop vs. malt dept.--lots of grapefruit and heavy bitter hops....triskaidekaphobia (fear of the #13).....the hops are floral and lovely--good--simple and piney...but not all that for me right now...I will re-visit

This one was impressive. Similar to the arrogant bastard but with what seemed to be a more intense hop profile. Very good and very worthy.

It poured a very dark amber liquid with a small light brown foam that left some lacing. It had a smell of wood, caramell, malt, hops, something sweet and an alcoholic finnish. It had a medium smooth mouthfeel with a bit of sting to it. It had a medium body and a high bitterness. It had a sweet taste and a flavour of hops, wood, nuts and an alcoholic finnish. Quite strong and full taste, also a bit dry. Really nice, I sure enjoyed this beer.

Bottle:   Rusty amber, deep, dark, coppery hues, moderate to large frothy light beige head, moderate lacing.   Big piney nose, musty citrus peel, hot hops.   Burns the nose a bit.   Fiery, warming, certainly hoppy but not over the top.   A little unbalanced in that the malts aren’t anywhere close to carry the hoppiness.   Thankfully its not overly bitter, but its a little biting.   Yeah, this is not quite the IIPA I was thinking it would be.   I don’t know if Stone knows how to do a hefty IIPA that isn’t lopsided in favor of hops.   I will say its not absolutely biting, so that I am thankful, but beefing up the malts on this would make it such a better beer.   Body and mouthfeel are, you guessed it, average.   Mild for an IIPA.   Damnit, I wanted more body out of this, more malt sweetness to back the citrusy hops.   It does have a bit of sweetness, but its a little acidic.   Bottleworks has Dicks IIPA on tap... I think I need one by the end of the week to cheer me up.   Over-rated.

Bottle: Dark red clear colour, with a nice creamy head. Aroma of lots of malts, caramelly, fruits and flowers. flavor a huge body of caramel, dry fruits,coffe, dark choclate, and a long fruity/alcy finish. Werry nice!

Flaske: Flot brun øl med et fint skumhoved. Desværre er duften ren kattepis. Gennemtrængende i en sådan grad at min kone knap kunne komme over den. Smagen er også til at begynde med kattepis dog ikke så gennemtrængende, og de andre humlenoter træder stille frem. Det kan dog ikke opveje for det faktum at kattepis ikke er så fantastisk at drikke.

Solid black pour with a frothy tan head. Aroma- pineapple, plum, roast malt, chocolate. Taste is a very resinous bitter but still has floral notes and a rich roast almost burnt malt flavor. Medium body, creamy texture. Very hoppy bitter finish, good stuff.

Bottled. Dark brown, rich but brief head. Powerful perfumy pink grapefruit aroma, Sweet, but slick and slimmer than anticipated from a 9.5% brew. Grapefruity hops dominate together with licorice. Very bitter finish. The sweetness and enormous hop content hide the alcohol well.