Stone 3rd Anniversary IPA

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Escondido, California USA

[Sampled October 2004, 5 years old] Huge thanks to cquiroga for sharing this gem. An unclear amber beer with a disappearing white head. The aroma is sweet with notes of alcohol and overripe fruit. The flavor is also quite sweet and again with alcohol and overripe fruit, prunes and peaches coming thru. An OK brew - but impossible to tell it is (was) and IPA - now it is more like a Barley Wine.

Pours a hazy copper with a lacey white head. Semi-oxidized, toffee caramel aroma is completely bereft of any noticeable hops. Body has a decent malty thickness and complex palate. Virtually no hop flavor left, but still has a pleasant bitterness there. Many thanks to cquiroga for giving me a chance to try this very rare brew!

Bottle shared by eyedrinkale at "Drink for Charity" event at Rattle N Hum. Pale golden pour. Aroma is heavily oxidized. Chewy and still very bitter. There is a vaguely Belgian character to the malts with a touch of light spiciness. Chewy and a little bit spicy with a lot of wet dankness. What else could you expect after 10 years?

Sampled October 2004 - 5 years old
Huge thanks to cquiroga for sharing this gem. Murky, cloudy yellow body with a white head. The first thing that striked you is just how "aged" this smells and tastes... old, soft thumping feeling on the tongue from the hops, with a barley-wine like aroma and flavor, mostly because of the age. Oily and thick, chunky might be a good way to describe this. Light prickly feeling on the tongue, buttery with a mellow old pine, pear and peach.

Bottled, extra special thanks to Chris for the bottle! Poured clear coppery amber (at least initially) with a short cap of off-white head.. left a dusting and some looser bubbles around the edge. The aroma picked up sweet, warmer grapefruit with what seemed like sweet Amarillo hoppage.. some spicy notes and caramel as well. The flavor had lots of grapefruit and floral notes at the core, with spicy and floral bitterness surrounding.. drier grassy notes with a sweet finish. A tad shy of medium-bodied with very enjoyable spicy notes.. long, rather oxidized finish (as-expected), which I thought worked alright this far along. Very glad to have tried this!

Bottle shared by EDA, thanks Mike. First off: Stone 2nd Anniversary. Pours a hazy amber golden body with an off white head. Sediment, paper, caramel, toffee with hints of etoh and tobacco. Plumy raisonetts and still carbonated. 3.0 Stone 3rd Anniversary. Pours a hazy orange body with a thin lacing. Obvious oxidation, chewing tobacco, hints of spices and paper and a metallic character. 2.6

Stone vertical in DavidP’s room, GABF weekend... Cloudy golden color with a medium sized white head and nice lacing on the glass. Fruity, citrus, lots of malts, but still some hops, very musty aroma. Taste was oxidized and certainly past its prime at this point. Lots of tropical fruits (peaches), sweet woodiness, and also just a touch of bitterness. Big props to cquiroga for this and the 4th!

Bomber shared by EDA!!! Damn dude. EDA even brought out the Stone 2nd Anniversary as well! Unfortunately this 3rd anniversary held up even worse than the 2nd- it was way past its prime. Pours a hazy dull orange and a thin soda like head. Aroma is old mildew stale, fungyusy with mushroom and vegetable ash, stale old hops, with a funky light tart note almost like a jonge lambic- strange. Flavor is old hops, cheesy light funk, leather, toasty hints of butter, metallic hops, strange phenols, more funk and mushroom with an earthy herbal finish- even notes of fish? wtf? Strange and obviously way past its prime. Cool to try though.