Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

22oz bomber, aged 18 months now, traded by crosling. pours bright orange with soapy white head. not the appearance i want for this style. nose is still pretty hoppy but mellowed into a pleasant grapefruit and fruit punch hop aroma, some cereal and oxidized notes in there too. flavor is sorta dull, still pretty bitter, fruity-orange, grapefruit, and grapes. alcohol is well hidden and body is medium. sorta tasty but still a pretty uninspired american strong from a brewery that quickly pops in my head when i think of the style.

Had this on draft at the stone 9th party. Well, I’d be more impressed if Stone had debuted this as "Stone Wheat" rather than as an anniversary beer. It tasted like a middle of the road american wheat to me. nothing special.

Draft at Stone’s Winter Storm. Color was gold; fairly dark. Aroma of citrus hops, with a slight pine presence. Flavor was mainly of the citrus hops, with a malt presence. Dry finish. Pretty good, but something didn’t exactly click with me.

Bottle. Mildly hazed golden color with a rich foamy off-white head. A lime, banana, floral hops, and sweet caramel in the aroma. A relatively odd mix of flavors as it mixes a strong ale with a wheat beer, but I enjoyed it. This beer is smooth and goes down with a spiced (but feeling the alcohol) flavor.

This beer leaves glass and fills my chalice with a peachy-hued, opaque liquid, only shadows seen through, ’neath a solid cap of lace-leaving foam, thick, solid, puffy white...very, very attractive, quite nice. Aroma is pleasing, rife with citric, hoppy flavors, and plump in yeast content, farmshouse-esque, and plenty funky, too. Lemon and straw, with a generous blast of spice. Taste is full and fruity, evenly balanced, nicely split between herbal, hoppy, malty quarters...wait, that’s only three...let me get back to you...tangy, snappy, a big bounce on the palate...liking this...zesty, beautiful, just gritty enough to give and take pleasantly in the mouth. Full bodied, long, citric, hoppy finish...Good beer, here. Ah....I’m liking it!

Medium orange, nice head. Bracing hop aroma, pine, earth, a hint of grapefruit. Flavor at first had the same gummy fruitiness as a Hoegaarden Grand Cru. Wheat definitely there, bitter hop finish. The fruitiness died off as it warmed, replaced by a hint of caramel, pine accented, and very bitter on the end. The flavors on this one haven’t quite come together yet, I think it will improve significantly with a bit more time in the bottle.

Sample courtesy of Kook! Good fruity nose followed by some malt, aroma is better than the taste, biting at the front but not lasting, grapefruit bitter. Ok but not outstanding.

Bottle. Citrusy-orange-hopped aroma with some grapefruit notes as well as some eathiness in the nose. Some sweet malt aroma also comes though. Moderately hazy orangey color with large yellow sediment particles and a frothy whitish head. Very hopped and bitter to start with grapefruit notes. Finishes dry, spiced, and peppert. Mild malt balance. This is almost medicinal. I thought this was some sort of IIPA while I was drinking it. I never would have guessed that this was a wheat beer.