Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

Big fruity, piney hop aroma, lots of ester, and some sharp, burning alcohol. Looks great, clear orange-amber, dense white head. Flavor is dominated by fruity hops, there is a little malt sweetness to balance the strong hop bitterness, and there are some sharp higher alcohols. Medium body, some alcohol burn. Not a big fan - the wheat malt base doesn’t provide enough support for the high hop levels and it shows a lot of alcohol for 7.8%.

Beautiful Bomber. Clear golden amber supporting a tall and seemingly permanent white head which left loops if delicate lacing to the bottom of the glass. Sweet and hoppy aroma with notes of honey and overipe peaches. Complex and well-balanced flavor with a strong malty character. Plenty of hops to keep the fruity sweetness in check with notes of anise, pepper and orange zest. Classic full Stone mouthfeel and a bitter and satisfying finish. Another winner from Stone.

Poured hazy orange with fluffy white head. Aroma of citrus and alcohol. Surprising good hop flavor for being 2 years old. Citrus, candy, and wheat hints also present. Harsh alcohol finish but drinkable.

THe best part about this beer is the aroma. Great sweet grapefruit and pine hop aroma. Exactly the aroma I would expect from stone. Taste has some sweetness with of course big hop flavor (floral grapefruit). Alcohol is somewhat noticable, but not much.

Clear, pale amber. Some Belgian-esque qualities in the first sip followed by some hoppiness. Almost like a wheat-IPA. Interesting.....

Polished copper color, bright clarity, with a thick, dense, white head that resists all attempts at falling. An intensely sweet, honey-like, crystallized sugar aroma with a faint wisp of cocoa butter and an encompassing Campfire marshmallow...no hops. Flavor starts out with a ton of earthy hops, then acidity creeps in quickly followed by spicy, biting alcohol. The aroma components show themselves in the finish and then only as an afterthought. The body is quite full until the acidity and alcohol kick in. When they do it vanquishes the palate and shows just how dry and unbalanced this beer is. If there was more residual sugar and this had more of its aroma components in the flavor, it would be aewsome. The aroma was velvet and the flavor must have been made for people who have little or no taste buds. But even with that, I believe this one is going to age incredibly well. Once some of the alcohol melds into that tasty malt profile and the hops die down, this should be nice. I will most likely hold onto a few bottles of this for the 12-12-12 tasting.

pours fairly thick light orange with a white head. fantastic floral citrus hop aroma with sweet roasted malt and wheat undertones. flavor sweet and hoppy. flavor reminiscent of a barleywine but the malt is softened by the wheat. body full but carbonation seems fairly fizzy especially on the finish making the beer seem a bit lighter. finish is sweet with a bit of tartness and alcohol. i really liked this one.

Pours out a slightly hazy orange-gold with a substantial white, medium-density head. A very assertive beer. Lots of hops in the nose and taste. High bitterness with a strong but not unpleasant alcohol character. The wheat aspect is downplayed--adding primarily to this beer’s relatively light body in relation to its alcohol and hops profiles. This may come across as harsh to some, but I find it very crisp, drinkable, and refreshing.