Stone 7th Anniversary Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Escondido, California USA

peaty, pale ale, there is some Stone Pale Ale here mixed with dryness. Smells of a Barley Wine, finishes extremely dry bordering on Chimay Red Dry. malty pine Grapefruits, this would be a winner except the middle of this beer is absolutely dead, what in the hell happened, the smell is there the initial taste and the finish are there. This beer does numb the mouth, like codiene, a fine ale overall

22oz. Bottle Deep amber ale with an orange hue. Big rocky head of foam. Aroma is super hoppy with a nice bready malt character. Mouthfeel is smooth medium bodied with a velvety texture. Flavor is big on hops with a sharp bitterness. This is similar to the Ruination but with a better malt balance. Flavor is great, blended malts and bitter flavorful hops. Another winner from Stone.

Orangish amber with a creamy off-white head. Spicy aroma and flavor, not sure what exactly but definitely some spiciness. Med full body with a very bitter finish.

Bottle: poured an dark golden/slightly redddish color with a small white head. Head didn't stay long. Had a fruity, hoppy aroma. It seems to have alot of barleywine characteristics in that it is fruity, malty, and hoppy, and all well-balanced. Has a sweet flavor to it with a crisp dry finish. Hides the alcohol well and still warms you up as you drink it. Some caramel in there and almost seems slightly spicy too. Humm???? Has that Stone signature hop characteristic from what I assume is Chinook hops. But not the quite the bitterness of Ruination or Arrogant Bastard. Yes, another winner from Stone.

Nice reddish-amber color. Aroma is of sweet malts, honey almost fruity. Big and bold is the hops, Stone doesn't dissapoint. Bitter smooth, sweet in the mouthfeel. Ends with a dry aftertaste. Hops can be a little overbearing, it takes away from the other flavors, but still a very nice beer.

On top of the copper hue is a off-white frothy head which produces outstanding coating of the glassware. Aroma hints of ripe fruit, roasted buttery malts, aromatic hops, and earthy yeast esters. Started caramel and toffee sweet but then developed a biiter bite. I noticeable alcohol presence to detected but not overpowering. Also got a bit of spice on the finish. Balanced out pretty well and should get better with time. The mouthfeel is moderately metallic and lush, again this will also improve in time. This brew is very drinkable now and then you should save yourself a bottle for 6 months down the road.

Spicy hop aroma intermingled with malt and over-ripe fruit - barleywinesque. Nice copper color, mostly clear with little bits of hops floating around, good head retention. Strong hop flavor and bitterness with decent supporting malt, not as rich as the aroma suggests. Medium-full mouthfeel, definitely big for a pale ale. Overall, I find it similar to Avery Ten. Well-balanced and smooth, not particularly complex or exotic.

I was expecting something much more special with this brew. I guess it just didn’t do anything for me.