Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

Bottle. Orange colour with a off-white head. Sweet fruity, citrus, hoppy aroma and taste. Medium to full body with a sweet dry finish.

I have to say that IPA style beers really aren’t my favorite, so I tried to be neutral in tasting this. Coming in a bomber of a bottle, I was a bit worried that I might not finish it all if I didn’t like it. The aroma was an immediately blast of floral and citrus. It LOOKED like a wheat, but it smelled like an IPA. After first taste, I was blasted with hops and more hops. I’m not a hophead at all, so it really wasn’t that pleasant but for those who are I’m sure it was well made. Medium-high ABV so it was rather warming on a cool day which was nice. As it warmed the hop flavor seemed to come out more. Mouthfeel was very full. I enjoyed the type of beer they were looking to make, just not sure if I will be buying the 9th again.

Bottle. Clear amber coloured with an off white head. Sweet aroma of malts, fruits and hops. Sweet flavour of malts, fruits, caramel and hops.

(Bottle 65 cl) Slightly hazy, pale amber with a rich, yellowish head. Floral, fresh and hoppy nose. Fairly full-bodied but completely dominated by excellent aroma hops. Markedly bitter finish. 270106

While this was a meal in and of itself, it was enjoyable, but I have higher expectations after some aging.

Bottle. Clear amber-bronze body w/ sparse carbonation and a thin white head. Candied orange, caramel and a touch of spice (nutmeg) in the soft-yet-inviting aroma. The hops really come out in the flavor. The very start exhibits biscuit malt and lightly estery yeast but that quickly moves to sharp, catty pine/orange peel hops with a smooter, sweeter orange essence carrying into the finish. That biscuit element is present throughout. The alcohol says hello after settling in your belly but it’s a clean sort of hello - welcome home! Great beer. There’s a good mix in the malt profile (the wheat I assume) and the hops are deliciously sharp and resinous.

22oz bottle - This is an interesting beer. It definitely has the strong hops character that is a Stone signature. They’re very present right from the aroma onward. There’s a light citrus aroma and flavor too with some malty sweetness as it hits the tongue, followed by a hoppy finish. It’s fairly easy to drink and I didn’t really notice the almost 8% alcohol content.

Slightly smeared medium golden yellow color with a medium white cap of froth that breaks down into a landscape of bubbled rockyness. Big sheet of lace coats all around the glass. This looks damn nice. Hmmm...not a typical waft from Stone, a bit restrained here with a melony citrus of orange and lemon and some light wheaty snap behind it. Taste is broad and withstanding in a short bittering but long oily hoppyness. Quite exquisite really. It seems quick at first but begins to lay the groundwork for a full-on citrusy construction on your palatable property. Orangey fluff, peels, piths, and pulp skip quickly into a short entrance of the wheat malt that seems very high rendered in flour, dryness, and partially parched in chalkyness. Thankfully and craftly, that area is just as brief as any other in this brigade of quickly happening nuances. Wow! The oily stuff, as mentioned above, begins to float forward in the finishing areas after every sip. So danty, yet obvious. Citrusy oils, hop squeezed bite, and peel-like girth, substain for a long duration of hinting grasses, more so hinting citrus pith, and high grain malt. Wonderfully complex hop profile along its length; which seems short at first, but alas, it grows and grows, from sip to sip. Somehow drying, yet oily and pungent. Sublime. Feel is about medium, if not all together a slight lightish; somewhat. But man does it grow on ya quickly. Yeah, quickly as its very own hoppy characteristics and dryly set base of citric hops and malting. What a strangely awesome beer? Like Clint Eastwood, it’s every way but loose. Tightly set in hops with drying parchness, hop citrusy tricks, and a fairly calm bitterness that just suits its overall ride through finishville. I could drink this for a good long while. Everything about it screams...have fun, enjoy some hops, and get pummeled by our strategicly placed alcoholic punch. Uff-da, Stone knows me too well. Fine stuff!