Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

Mostly clear and deep golden. Lively carbonation with a smooth mouthfeel. Malts had notes of wheat, hay, light grains, and crackers. Mild sweetness gave off aromas of honey. Big, hoppy notes of pine, lime, flowers and Hubba Bubba bubble gum. Not quite enough sweetness to balance out the bitterness and sharp hop aromas, but I didn’t mind too much. I kind of liked the extreme hop edge.

Golden color. Medium hoppy aroma. Medium malty body with a sharp bitterness. Quite usual now, no thrill…

Light orange color with a huge beige head. Strong aroma of citrus hops and grapefruit. Flavor is tangy and tart, with plenty of citrus hops and some wheat.

Decent brew but I really think Stone should try and do more then hop the hell out of beers. Light copper colored brew with a big hop nose. Leans more toward the fruity hop flavors. Abv is well masked.

Bottle: poured a deep golden yellow, almost orange with a full, somewhat fizzy head. Big aroma of caramel, malt with a touch of citrusy hops. Flavor and body was full with a good bit of hoppiness and some sweet malts. Moderate sour finish. A nice beer.

bottle-thanks for foolish_mortal for hooking me up with a few of these. this is the first stone beer i have had to trade for. Living in NM for 2 years, we pretty much got the entire stone lineup minus the pale and levitation. I must say to start, this beer is better than 8th, even though i gave that beer a better rating. a big citric nose comes right at you when you first pour. those amarillos and crystals come screaming at you. I have to say, the amarillo notes make this smell quite a bit like gumballhead The orange and peach notes are huge here with some pineapple and lemon to mix. big citric flavors of orange, tangerine and lemon. there really isn’t that much bitterness here i must add. the beer is actually very sweet and reminds me of stone ipa. unfortunately, the alcohol is not well covered here and inhibits this beer from being great. not much malt here and no sign of wheat malt at all. palate is somewhat fizzy, but still full at the same time. long pineapple and orange finish. I like it!

Golden color with a frothy off white head. Nose reminds me of tangerine peel and caramel. There is the patina of oxidation in this beer, but it carries it well. Sweet caramel, lots of orange juice, some peach and apricot, and still a strong grapefruit rind in the finish. The alcohol is more prominent than I would have expected from a 7.8% beer. This is still a nice strong ale and should still have a couple of years left in it. Thanks to Kramer17801 for hooking me up with this retired beer.

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.