Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

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.

Bottle, from Bauer. Good nose, sweet. Orange, peach, apricot, pine, caramel. Clean orange/ copper color. Good head that faded. Bittersweet flavors, Like aroma, wheat really shows. Medium body, creamy slippery mouthfeel, bitter finish, little burn to it. Damn that went down fast. The tasting at Bauer was fun. Thanks Nick.

22 oz bomber. Pours a golden color with a medium sized white head. Aroma is hoppy with piney overtones. Taste is slightly hoppy with hints of malt,pine cones and tangy wheat. Good, but not great.

Courtesy of WBC. Clear gold with a small, but very dense, white cap. Nose is dominated by resinous, floral hops with some light fruit undertones and a bit of soap as it warms. Taste is like a grainy IPA up front with a tangy wheat finish. Pine, more light fruits, and some subtle spiciness, also. Even at one year old the hops are overpowering anything else that might be there. The second half of the bottle adds some spicy yeast notes to the flavor and dries out the finish. Both are much welcomed. Hops still dominate. Should be an interesting brew a couple years from now. Medium/full body, balanced. A little syrupy at times. Very tasty but not exactly what I was hoping for.

Bottle. Aroma of citrus and mango with a bit of alcoholic orange juice, all slowly blending with somewhat darker fruits and rich malt. Flavor starts off again with a citrus/mango tang and bang, but there actually does remain a decent bitterness to go along with that mango sweetness. Similar to the nose, other fruity notes creep in, and despite all the rich malt, both the flavor profile and body remains very lively and sprightly. Again hints of alcoholic orange juice but not as noticeable as in the nose, and all in all nothing more than a distraction from all the other goodness. Very solid beer three years later.

22 oz capped bottle, sampled October 2005: golden tangerine with an off tan, billowing and fluffy foam. Soft, almost buttery hop aroma, with a good load of resin, pine and bittersweet honey...enjoyable for me – not too powerful and extremely fresh. Strongly bitter flavour, without the alcohol twinge I was expecting…Sweet, sticky pine on the palate, with woody notes on the back of the tongue, along with yellow cake, resiny alcohol, and floral hops.

22oz bottle. Never had this one fresh, but it seems to be developing along quite nicely. Juicy and fruity hops along with a good dose of thick, doughy and caramel malt on the nose. Apricots and tangerines backed by a whackload of bready malt. As the beer opens, the hops fade a bit and a more drying, cracker malt characteristic takes over. Still inviting, though. Pours a hazed peach skin/orange with a decent sized white head leaving light spotty lacing. Still a fair amount of bright and bittering hops on the palate. Slightly floral with your requisite grapefruit notes. Cracker and toasted bread crust to balance out the hops. Some light bubblegum sweetness and lemon peel tartness as well. Bordering on full bodied with lively carbonation with a lengthy dry and bitter finish. Stood up to age quite nicely, methinks. Thanks Mike!

Very odd hop and alcohol aroma,the wheat must be causing that odd aroma, a malty sweetness again with fingernail polish alcohol taste. Very intriguing taste, but I think its a little past its prime