Stone 8th Anniversary Ale

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

Pours a deep ruby tinted amber/copper colour with almost no head at all. Nice looking beer aside from the non-existant head. Aroma of strong hops, caramel, honey, pale malt oak and some cardboard thrown in the mix. Medium-bodied; Sharp pungent bitterness showing some hops but basically all bitter maltiness. One-dimensional with little else. No aftertaste at all to speak of, also. Some sweetness detected in the taste, but the aroma is much better than the taste, and that isn’t saying too much. Overall, not a good beer, and should be respected no more than any sub-par lager from sam adams. Just like the commercial description dictates: they set out to make a ’stronger’ mild, and unfortunately that doesn’t seem to work at all here. This one seems like a mix between a bock, a mild and an apa. When will people realise that these beers are not as good as other people tell them they are? I will be the first to admit that stone makes some good beers (IPA still top on my list and Imperial Stout definitely up there), but most of their beers are not good. Name is not a factor on my rating, i’m basing my score strictly on the beer itself, the bottle/label aside. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased at Whole Foods in Clarendon (Arlington), Virginia on 12-November-2004.

I love the color on this one. Beautiful deep reddish amber with a thick bubbly head on top. Aroma is like a hoppy bocck beer. Vanilla, herbal,cocoa, hops,yeast and other aromas I can’t seem to peg. Body is full and chewy. Flavors are everywhere. Wood, roasted malt, vanilla, hops, chocolate malt. Very interesting beer that I don’t know what to make of. I enjoyed it but it seemd a bit undefined.

Clear light ruby with a sparse large-bubbled off-white head. Sweet aroma with a good mix of wood, grass, and caramel. Lively chewy mouthfeel, starts sweet and ends a bit more sweet. A little too sweet if you ask me, but still a great beer.

Bottle: Dark brown, hints of ruby shine through under the light, with just about no head. Aroma: Mild fresh roasted malts, charred wood & malt, light alcohol, mild coffee, very mild fruit. Combined this smells at times like a mild version of marijuana smoke, or so I’ve been told. Tastes mildly woody, with a mix of sweet light malts and a hint of dark roasted malts that nicely balance each other. There are some bitter hops both initially and in the aftertaste. Oak, alcohol, citrus, grapefruit, cocoa, cough syrup, and vanilla also show up in the taste. It’s definitely not bad, but I like Milds just the way they are....not really so sure the "double mild" idea works.

Bottle: Dark reddish brown appearance, moederate head formation. Coffee aroma, charred with mild chocolate malts. Lightish medium palate, fairly hoppy from start to finish, cocoa/hersheys tones, mild coffee dryness, slightly creamy. Long lingering bitter finish. Pretty interesting and complex. 50% mild 50% Stone.

Bottle. Deep chestnut color. Thin, off-white head. Moderate lacing. Aroma is malty, perhaps notes from the oak chips. Something a little funky in the nose also, just can’t place it. Malt and hops compete in the flavor department. Nice, long ,mild hop finish. A super-mild. What a concept. Decent in the long run.

Poured dark ruby with a small tan head. Aroma is roasty and coffee. Flavor is black coffee with medium bitterness. Long finish and medium bodied.

perhaps should be called Stone Oxymoron, a strong mild? Mahogoney color with nice pollen color head.Very enjoyable with up fron maltiness but plenty of hop bitterness in a long finish. No yeast frutiness. Iit does taste like a smooth whiskey, not the sour mash quality of a good boubon though. I’d drink lots more if my local store was not asking 7 bucks for a 22.