Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

22oz bottle. Glowing golden orange color, white- tan head with lacing. Aroma starts out spicy and bready, fresh and spring-like with some juicy hops coming on midway through the sip.

The Lure:
Grapefruity hops and faint candy-like sweetness reign over some alcoholic minions. Frank, but somewhat closed-minded.

The Festivities:
Hot malts are felt but not tasted much, yielding an appreciable body and a few alcohol fumes. Pink grapefruit pith and doughy yeast combine for potent flavoring in yet another clean and intense Stone brew. This one just didn’t do it for me though, the result was too predictable and felt like a slightly dumbed down Ruination. A good brew yes, but not inspiring.

Transcendence:
These family traits are really striking.

An aged bottle rendered a well-balanced flavor profile in which biscuity and caramel malts played effortlessly with the floral and citrusy hops in a creamy, smooth mouthfeel. at 1.5 years old, this was smashing.

Tried again and gave the exact same rating. Dark gold and orange body. The head is fluffy and white. The aroma is righ with flowers, orange peels and prunes. There is a nice hops presence here. There is also an herbal quality that is hard to pin down. The taste is nice and rich orange peels with some old toffee candy. There is also a hint of dry hay that comes in after the initial fruit sweetness. I like this one a lot and imagine it would smooth out nicely with a little age.

Bottle. Pours a gorgeous amber with a fluffy manilla colored head. Nose is big hops - piney and laden with citrus. Light wheat notes to this and mild sweetness as well. Taste is big hops as well, lots of lemon, lighter pine, wheat, light yeast, chewy malts and a bit of fruit notes - orange, grapefruit and perhaps a bit of sweet, ripe tangerine. Body is medium-full with moderate carbonation and lingering hop bitterness. Finishes with a big hop splash and more citrus notes. Lighter pine, more wheat, some lemony tartness, faint yeast notes, and lighter fruitiness. Pretty good!

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.

Medium sized, large bubbled, light tan head, moderate retention, minimal spotty laceing. Clear copper/orange color. Nose is light and flowery, light fruit, peaches and citrus, a touch piney. Body is light/medium, good carbonation with a lightly oily palate. Delicate juicey hop flavors, flowery, spicey and fruity. Malt flavors are subdued, spicey wheat, caramel showing underneath all the hoppiness, touch yeasty, light bubblegum notes to boot. Finish is lightly sweet, floral and fruity. Hello alcyhol! An easy quaff. Thanks Odeed!

Smells full of fruity sugars and light pine, over sweet pineapple and some mango as well. Very interesting aroma, sharp sweet sugary hops that resemble a gummy-bear scent, along with either a honey or a slight coriander aroma. These hops are goooooood.... overly sweet yes, but still delicious. Frothy, sweet, fresh tasting pine and some fruity clove flavors. Frothy and crisp.

Alcohol, bubblegum, wheat, citrus, pineapple in the aroma. no head, body is a nice amber. Hoppy, with plenty of citrus, along with brown sugar. Not your typical wheat beer, but nice.