Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

So, I decided to open this for myself. It pours to a huge milky off-white head atop a light hazy golden amber body, nice lacing. The aroma is quite hoppy, oranges, and irises. It has some wheat characteristics in it too. It’s the first competition I’ve seen versus FFF’s Gumballhead. Both are quite different, but the concept is similar. Anyway, I’ve read notalush’s rating. I think this brew is nothing like ruination or the regular IPA... The flavor is sweet with wheat and irises (if they taste similar to the aroma). There’s also some hops in here. The hops produce a bitter quality but aren’t the main focus. (At least, that’s my opinion). The palate is simple. It goes down smooth and has a light lingering in the back of the mouth of hop oils. A nice brew.

Has a bold citrus aroma on the nose. Copper body with good white head and some lacing. Flavor of grapefruit and oranges are abundant and the syrup texure seemed to give this flavor till the end. Crisp on the palate and leaves a orange peel aftertaste. Good Beer.

A hoppy but mellow aroma. A less than satisfying yellow color. This hits hard, its like an IPA mixed with a strong ale. Another solid Stone offering.

Bottle: Golden, fairly clear, large rocky off-white head, soft carbonation, nice lacing.   Quite hot in the aroma, zesty hop, unripened citrus peel, with a tinge of tobacco or tea leaves.   Soft hop bitterness to start, slightly resiny, not as alcoholic as suggested by the nose, but does end with a bit of heat.   Somewhat citrusy, subtle tobacco leaf, a tad tart, with a dry finish.   Never would have thought to this be a wheat based beer.   Fairly big body, moderate mouthfeel.   Certainly isn’t as filling as a wheat beer.   Tiz alright, but not my favorite Anniversary Ale from Stone.

Grassy nose, hops and kinda sweetish at the same time. Gold color, tall foamy off-white head. Citrus nose, honey, sweet apricot end. Big hop bite in the finish. Complex hop mix that actually has a slight chemical feel to it. Big aggressive beer. No holds barred.

Clear orange coloured body with a super-thin white head..not looking too great! Aroma of hops, strong alcohol, bitter wheat and little else - way too alcoholic. Full-bodied; Sweet taste up front with apricots, peaches, apples and some fresh hops thrown in. Strong bitter malt and caramel lingers further behind - a bit too much. Overall, a decent beer, but too over the top for the style. Worth trying once and only once. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Norm’s in Vienna, Virginia on 26-September-2005.

Bottle from Whole Foods, San Diego - shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, tupalev & jerc. Bright amber with a good sized head. Both aroma and flavour have lots of sprucey hops, with enough sweet malt to back things up. This is a solid beer, but a bit simple for a special anniversary offering. Hopefully, they’ll drop something amazing for the 10th.

22oz bomber pours golden with a very nice 2 inch fluffy white head that stays well and laces very well too. Aroma is floral. Like walking through a meadow of blooming flowers and coming to a grapefruit tree and plucking the ripest one from it’s branches.. Hops abound in the aroma. Flavor is a delicious blend of nice earthy malts, yeast, some pepper spice, a bit of molasses, some caramel, a bit of raisin, all attempting to break through the thick layer of grapefruit bitter hops. So many flavors makes this one complex brew and makes it even more amazing that the palate is so smooth and mouthcoating. Carbonated just right to give this a pleasant mouthfeel. No sign of the alcohol all the way to the bottom of this bottle. Beautiful the way the hops blend with the malts in harmonic fashion. I can only compare this to Gumballhead, but I really think that this is more complex, robust, and smooth.