Stone 8th Anniversary Ale

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

Bottle. Dark ruby red colour. Slightly tanned small head. Slightly sweet, roasted malt aroma. Rich, malty taste. You can also taste every bit of the alcohol as well. Some bitterness at the end as well. Pretty good, and this baby gets much better as it warms, becoming almost scotch ale like in character. Thanks for sharing jercraigs. Re-rate: Not much to add, except that I enjoyed it even more a year later. I got a lot more hops out of this, and found it almost barley -wine like - very sweet and balanced. Well done Stone, this one appears to just keep getting better.

Crystal clear, mahogany ale with a small, creamy, off-white head. Maple syrup, coffee liqueur, cashews and milk chocolate in the nose. Incredibly well-balanced for a Stone offering. Malty, but not sweet. Hopped up, but not citrusy nor floral. Flavors of milk chocolate and cola with a nice, raw bitterness. Full-bodied and creamy with lively carbonation. Lengthy, bitter, salty finish.

Red brown ale with copper hues, no head. Sweet funky earthy aroma, almost smell the farm. Sweet caramel malt with raisins, and roasted coffee beans. Light alcohol burn and vanilla. Oily mouthfeel. rich bodied. Well balanced. Nov. 28 2004. Bought at CJ’s in Potsdam, NY.

Smells and looks fruity yet tastes strong. An imperial mild, and given it started from a mild beer that makes sense. The bourbon and wood and roast in there understated. Quite good. Very good for a brown, peculiar for a strong. From a generous Yankee at Doug Shoemaker’s court.

I read the label of this one, and came in not knowing what style it was. I had pegged it as either an Imperial Scottish ale or a dubbel. It pours deep ruby with a huge off-white head. Aroma of malt, toffee, fruit, slight peat, and scotch. Tastes malty, with hops, more fruit, some nuts, and heavy spirits at the finish, such as cognac and scotch. Marvelous complexity and balance, as with all Stone beers. Lightweights need not apply. This beer gets less respect here than Tina Turner did from from Ike. I suppose there are people that might accuse me of rating water from Stone as a 4.2, but those types of detractors and doubting Thomases can just kiss my hairy ass. Bravo Stone. Many are indeed not worthy.

Let’s see...my first impression was that this was an imperial brown (is that even a beer category?) It had a very nutty aroma and sweet malty taste. The finish has a dry bite to it. Georgeous mahogany color.

Pours amber/brown, with a small head. Aromas of fruit, roasted malt, and maybe some brown sugar. Flavors of roasted malt, nuts, brown sugar, fruit, and a little smoke. Bitterness come in at the end.

toffee and hop aroma, dark ruby with a good looking head on it, sticky with initial toasted malt character then bitter hops poke through, a rich and satisfying beer