Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

Pale yellow, hazy. Medium white head. Citrus and pine aroma, overall its pleasant but I detect a hint of catpiss. Medium body, bitter and hoppy. Basically like an IPA with wheat in it. And the wheat doesn’t actually contribute that much...overpowered by the hops. Cat-piss gets stronger as it warms. I like most stone products, but I have to rate this one like I see it. Its not a dumper, but its basically a poorly made DIPA.

Hazy copper color. Nose is malty with some hop. Palate malty with some nice piney hop finish. Overall a very enjoyable beer.

On tap poured a clear pale/gold color with a nice big off white head. The aroma was mainly citrus hops with some sweet malt mixed in. The taste had an assertive bitterness up front that led to even more hops in the finish. It had a simple malt profile with a small amount of tartness from the wheat. Overall a nicely aged beer with no real flaws.

22 oz. bottle. Drank on 8/10/06. Bottle conditioned. Clear, orangish yellow. Big 3" creamy off-white / yellowish head. Big foam sticks around. Big lacing. Aroma - pretty big, sweet with lots of fruity, citrusy orange hops, even after being almost a year old. Flavor - decent up front bitterness - pretty well balanced on the tongue. Some sweetness and orangy citrus flavors. Somewhat tart, mildly puckery finish. Palate - Medium towards full. Carb. on the lower side of avg. Coats the tongue nicely. Overall - really good. I pretty much like everything from Stone. Desc. says wheat beer, but no mention of wheat on the bottle? Pretty citrusy, but goes down really well on a hot day like today. Does a great job of hiding almost 8%. Great job for a big summer beer.

Poures a nice copper color with medium white head. Aroma is of malts, and citrus as well as some hops and some yeast. Flavor is citrus and some spices. Malts and a little hos round it out. Finishes bitter with some spiciness too. Alcohol is noticeable, but not overly so. A good brew.

Bottle. I was not going to drink tonight, but I saw this in the fridge and said WTF, why not? Pours a hazy golden orange with a white head. Yeasty aroma of dough, grapefruit, pear, spice. As it warms, more alcohol comes out in the nose. Nice mouthfeel and bold malty backbone. Flavor of wheat malt, belgian yeast, citrus, spice. Semi- dry and bitter herbal finish with some chalkiness that diminishes as it warms. The alcohol is detectable, but blends in to compliment the beer. Some warming on the windpipe. Not too bad. Wife liked it better than the 10th.

Bottle: Clear light copper color with a medium white head. Aroma is citrusy and bready, and not much else. Flavor had a light grapefruit taste to it, some tangyness, a bit of a spice to it as well. The hops were holding up pretty well after a year, quite enjoyable.

Man this one was tough. First bottle was way to cold, so i had to open a second. Poured an awesome orange tan color. First smell was a bit like toasty yeasty dough, then it got a bit citrousy and herbal. Initial tast was lively a bit fizzy with bitter peachy finish to it. Great long flavor to this beer.