Stone 6th Anniversary Porter

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Escondido, California USA

YIPPIE, finally Beer #5000 Life time: If I may wax nostalgic, and take a line or two from Lewis Carrol’s ’Through the Looking Glass’ ’The time has come,’ the Walrus said, ’to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings.’ Since I sampled my first sip of ’Beer’ some 50 plus years ago, as a ’Wee Lad At My Daddy’s Knee’ and as I will be 57 a week from today. Memories become much more important than you can imagine, so if I may preach a bit. ’Live each day as if It will be your last’ Take the time to be with your parents, your brothers and sisters, your wife, your friends, but most especially your children, ’Love them, nourish them, be with them’, as one day you wake up and realize that ’Life’ has moved on’ and lost opportunities are seldom regained. I’d like to thank the Arrogant Bastard himself for this magnificent beer and the signed bottle that’s going into my new cabinet.<P> The Beer pours as dark as midnight, the head is large, frothy, the lace in thick sheets that clings to the glass till the very end. Nose is Malt, caramel, toasted grains, hints of hops I also find present. Front is sweet, the top is full, the finish is dry, lightly acidic, hop bitter, and the abv also adds to the long lasting ’Bitter Aftertaste’. Strong, robust, nicely hopped, high abv, can’t ask for more than this. Thanks to all of ratebeer for your encouragement and support, God Bless You All. Ranks #9 on my current 1000 beer master list. Damn, forgot to mention that I’m celebrating with a ’Lady Godiva’ cigar, 3/4’ by 8’ long, 3 year old aged Dominican Tobacco, soaked in 30 year old French Cognac!, I’m going to be dizzy after this session’

A five star for number 500. As hard as it is to believe that I have finally enjoyed my 500th different type of beer, it is harder for me to believe just how damn good this beer was. Stone does it like no other. I am a big fan of the porter style. Powerful, dark, malty,, I absolutely love it. And then they go and hop it up. A great beer for a great occasion. I also enjoyed the informative, inspirational and slightly amusing story on the back of the bottle.

The 22 oz. bottle poured with a noble two inch pillowy head. The color was black with a deep red garnet color when held up to the light. Great head retention. The aroma was complex with malt, berry, chocolate, black licorice, and a slight alcohol presence. The taste was smoky and malty sweet with a bitter peppery finish. The smoky flavors were unlike anything Ive tasted in a beer before. Something in the flavor reminded me of a great tequilla I once sampled. And the halcyon warmth that followed was similar too. The mouthfeel silky andy viscous, not a bit dry and excellent carbonation. Another fine experience from Stone Brewing Co. This brew is one I would like to have around all the time.

Deep, rich color. Dense, rocky head. Aroma of alcohol and coffee. Starts off tasting kind of burnt, good hop balance (which is surprising since this is a stone beer). After about 4-5 big sips this beer really melds in your mouth making every sip Beervana.

My second take On Stone and man are they tasting good. I thank DaSilky1 for bringin some of this back to Buffalo here. Porters are my fav. and let me tell ya this is a great one. Especially if ya also love IPA’s which i do. This stuff is definately hopped up and it shows through in the aroma. Nice Dark colors. And at 8.0% the alcohol is a nice warm sensation and not kickin ya in the taste buds. The roasted and smoked flavors are so well balanced with the hop kick its like a party in my mouth.

Deep mahagony body pours with a moderate tan head that seems very dense and creamy. The head slowly fades to a more modest layer of foam that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. Sweet and fruity aromas are barely perceptible as the beer sits on the desk in front of me. Close up, a strong dark fruit and chocolate aroma similar to raspberry hot chocolate dominates the nose, but some smoky roasted notes and a bit of hops are present as well. The taste is phenomenal, with sweet malt, strong coffee, roasted malt, burnt marshmallows, and smoldering pine all assaulting my taste buds. Ghostlike alcohol esters hover above the action, filling the rest of my mouth with the prescence. But then the sultry body massages the tongue, and I seem to forget about the brash assault it just recieved. The only memory is a lingering smoked pine taste.

Bottle. Motor oil pour, decent head. Smells very hoppy with some smoky malts coming through as well. The flavor was different than any porter I have ever tasted. The hops were present from start to finish, and the chocolatey porter flavor came through strongly in the end. Complex and truly unique! Interesting mouthfeel: smooth but still with the zing of some hops. A masterpiece.

a beautiful blaqck color small smell of roasted malts, first sip smooth large dose of chocolate,finnish with a nice smokiness hopp are perfectly balnced perfectlyrepresented