Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

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

Smells like the skin of a freshly shaved orange. The complexion is a rich brown, with the color of coffee grinds. The taste is of caramelized sugar peppered with flakes of cinnamon - maybe even some toast qualities. A surefire winter beer with a spicy and nuanced aftertaste. Not Stone’s best beer, but pretty damn good.

Bomber. Deep amber body. Tall, light brown, frothy head, long lasting. Hoppy aroma of grapefruit and resin which forces other scents to the background. Hints of caramel, toasted grain and unsweetened strong black tea. The flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic and moderately bitter. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet, moderately to heavily bitter and moderately acidic. Medium to full body, velvety texture that turns sticky in the finish, lively carbonation. A heavily hopped version of so many beers in this non-style — bitter grapefruit on top of thick, unrefined malts. Lots of alcohol in the finish along with some astringency.

A red beer with a white head. Plenty of hops flavor and bitterness with the malt flavors allowed to come through.

Toasty and nutty aroma. Dark light brown color with a medium off white head. Bitter beginning that fades slowly in the finish and gets mildly sweet.

Big beer. A showcase of hops, with a good solid alcoholic malt backbone. Nose is slightly muted, but still piney and citric. Darker than expected. In the mouth it was initially disappointing, but grew on me. Obviously quite alcoholic, but big bitterness particularly on the tail. Quite Resinous. An enjoyable DIPA /ASA - a real vehicle for AA hops. Got one more which I’m looking forward to sharing with friends.Thanks to my Japanese connections for this!

(Bottle) Pours deep reddish brown with a nougat coloured head. The aroma is medium to heavily hoppy with tones of pine, earth and resin up front. There is also some room for sweet grapefruit, apricot, tart mango, black currant, perfume and that typical “metallic” tone you get from boiled hops. Fat caramelly and toffee-like malt backbone. The nose is dry hopped, no question about it and I like the balance between the “bright“ and “heavy“ hop notes. The sweet citrus/tangerine reminds me of Centennial. Maybe some Cascade and Simcoe as well? A whisper of roast and sweet anise also present. Strange notes of cinnamon rolls. The aggressive hop tones cover the alcohol well. The flavour is light to medium sweet, medium to heavily bitter and light to medium acidic. Tones resin, pine, citrus, earth, caramel, burned bread and mild roast. The mouthfeel is quite round and light creamy but still astringent from the hops. The carbonation is soft yet lively for the style. Lingering resinous afterbitterness. The alcohol is notable. Medium to full bodied. Typical Stone - clean and refreshing, but too much of everything = Nice but not spot on.

Light head with little foam. Malty, bitter yeast but yet a sweet taste. Loooooong aftertaste that leaves your mouth feeling like blotting-paper. Very nice!

arrogant bastard, but more hoppy. or double bastard, but not as sweet and rich. a happy in-between that is eclipsed by either of those beers.