Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

Pours a very nice sparkling clear copper/orange with a thick cream colored head. Very sharp, prominent fresh Pacific NW hop aroma (Centennial and Amarillo perhaps?) with a hint of tropical fruit. As for the flavor, this doesn’t really resemble any wheat beer I’ve had before, except for Gumballhead but that wasn’t really wheat beer-esque to me either. What this tastes like to me is a delicious cross between an IPA and an IIPA with a hint of some wheat beer qualities. Flavor has notes of grapefruit/citrus, orange, lemon, mango, pineapple, pine and resin on top of an undercurrent of sweet pale malt and I guess, some wheat in there too. Pleasantly sweet with obviously plenty of hops to balance it out. The only thing that detracts is somewhat of a hot alcohol bite in the finish. A smooth, light bitterness lingers on the palate. Medium bodied with a smooth texture and moderate carbonation. Not much lacing left on the glass but great, thick head retention throughout. It appears that I enjoyed this a lot more than the other raters have but IMO, another winner from Stone.

On tap @ Stone, RBSG. Slightly hazy golden with a slight amber hue. Short-lived white head. Slight phenolic banana notes, darker Belgian malts, some citric notes. Deep wheat taste with some mild dark fruity tones. Nice texture to it. Alcohol complements well also.

22 oz bomber from adrian910ss, thanks Adrian. Pours a hazy orange with a large super foamy head that leaves tons of lacing. Sweet aroma with notes of fruit..apricot, perhaps a little bit of peach, pineapple, and some doughy malts. Not really getting the wheat in this one. Medium bodied with a ton of drinkability and a slightly bitter finish. Flavor is starting to fade a bit with a slight bit of soapiness in the initail flavor that gives way to bitter hops and perhaps a touch of grain. Well it’s easy to say that the 9 is holding on longer then the 10 since I have had both of them within about a week of each other.

22oz bottle. Being that 11th anniversary has been released, I would say this is at least 2 years old. Poured into a brandy snifter the color is a melon orange with a very thin wispy head of white swirls. The aroma is sweet and interesting. There are hops there as well, resiny hops. Intriguing. The flavor is sweet, definitely aged in its smoothness. The wheat character is minor but detectable. The primary flavor is a candy sweetness that is barely cleaned up by the remaining hops. An interesting experiment and a tasty beer.

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!

22 oz bottle. Clear orange with a white head. Mild aroma with some hops. At first seemed like an IPA but smoother on the edges. Quite different though; I got sort of a pumpkin overlay of lemon peel.

Bomber. Mostly clear golden color with an average white head. The description is pretty much dead on, take the yeasty esters of a wheat beer, crank up the booze a bit, add some green hops and viola! you have Stone 9th. This was a pretty interesting beer, you get your wheat beer characteristics and you California strong ale characteristics and toss them in together. Somehow, it kinda works although in many ways it shouldn’t. Not the best beer in their lineup but you sure won’t find many other beers like this one and I can totally respect that.

This is a rather complex brew. Hopsy citrus overtones characterize this Strong Ale. The alcohol is well hidden. A clean, crisp ale to serve on a warm summers day. Actually I’d serve it on the beach in a 30oz burgundy goblet at the tail end of a Rocky Point vacation. You know, the turn of affections when you start jonesin’ for the U.S. Thats right! ***REVISED 6-5-2007 ******** Almost two years later and this brew is better than before. Brew pours a deep golden color w/ a full, rich and creamy froth. Head retention is lasting. Perfect! Residual lacing is sticky leaving a clumpy creamy island of cream to spoon out. Aroma is of brisk, fresh, velvety hops and mild caramel. Full nectar w/ creamy residual effers. This is on the chewy side. The caramel malts are intertwined well yet persistant. I am truly amazed this brew made it this far. There is an aged vegetal component that is totaly inviting. Big caramel malts w/ velvety hops that gently caress my palate to balance. Where’s my girlfriend ? The hop component is vibrant like the effect of Pop Rocks in my mouth. Not real complex in flavor but very complex as a whole. VERY drinkable. The finish has a moderate hop bittering w/ a long malty sweetness (mildly). As I stated earlier, I am amazed. I remember thinking as I bought it...well, what the heck, I’ll just have to take my chances. As I am a sucker for aged brew comparisons. Today it gets a 4.4 total score w/ the aroma and palate gaining the most. Now I’ll just sit and enjoy.