Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

Bottle. Honey body with a very thick lasting foamy head. Very big spicy nose that reminds me of musk and sticky PNW hops. Great nose. Taste-salty, lots of medium to high bitterness, piney citric hops, black pepper, and lots of spice. Looks like an American Wheat, smells like an IIPA, tastes like a mild American Strong Ale. Overall, this is excellent. I am surprised that this isn’t rated much higher.

22oz bomber pours golden with a very nice 2 inch fluffy white head that stays well and laces very well too. Aroma is floral. Like walking through a meadow of blooming flowers and coming to a grapefruit tree and plucking the ripest one from it’s branches.. Hops abound in the aroma. Flavor is a delicious blend of nice earthy malts, yeast, some pepper spice, a bit of molasses, some caramel, a bit of raisin, all attempting to break through the thick layer of grapefruit bitter hops. So many flavors makes this one complex brew and makes it even more amazing that the palate is so smooth and mouthcoating. Carbonated just right to give this a pleasant mouthfeel. No sign of the alcohol all the way to the bottom of this bottle. Beautiful the way the hops blend with the malts in harmonic fashion. I can only compare this to Gumballhead, but I really think that this is more complex, robust, and smooth.

Wow! This is not for your average watered down beer drinker. It explodes with flavors of grapefruit, pine, lemon, citrus. Tart taste. Head is impressive, as is lace. I can see why this fits in the American Strong Ale category.

From a 22oz. brown bomber bottle with a blurb about the wheat ale on the back label and a September 2005 bottling date on the front label. Made a good appearance, poured a chill hazy orange hued golden with a fluffy, bubbly topped white head that slowly settled into a semi-clingy, thin fluffy lacing, good carbonation. Had a floral and pear fruity nose with a earthy, tart wheat malt and a buttery yeastiness. A smooth, creamy but crisp and bitter medium bodied mouth feel, good drinkability. Spicy and peppery with a little fruity hoppiness upfront, good and bitter, tart and earthy from the wheat malt, the distinctive Stone buttery yeastiness and a bitter and tart earthy finish. The alcohol level is well masked by the hops and wheat malt. A very interesting take on a wheat ale, I enjoyed the bitterness and earthy flavors, a winner in my opinion.

Pours a slightly less than clear yellow, through a bit richer than macroyellow with a thining white head. The aroma is a pungent with grapefruit and pine. Slightly sweet with a bit of graininess. This is really well balanced in the aroma. The palate is above average in terms of mouthfeel. A little fizzy, a little viscous and slippery, with a bit of warmth. The flavors are precisely in line with the aromas. Big pungent grapefruit and sharp pine balanced with sweet light malt, that might even be slightly cloying without the big bitterness. The flavors almost meld into an american style barleywine or IIPA, other than that though of graininess. Really a sharp clean bitterness as an aftertaste. I really enjoyed this brew and wish it weren’t just a one off!

I was abit surprized by the almost yellow egg color of the beer.It didn’t have much of an aroma.Perhaps if it were drunk at a warmer temperature.I though everything was well balanced.It was a slow drink type of beer for me,as I am still aquiring a taste for the stronger flavored beers.Amnong those type of beers this was fairly easy to drink.I felt that I was drinking a meal,as it had alot of flavor.I like this one.I will have to watch my intake of it ,as it has alot of calories I suppose.I would buy again!

On tap poured a clear pale/gold color with a nice big off white head. The aroma was mainly citrus hops with some sweet malt mixed in. The taste had an assertive bitterness up front that led to even more hops in the finish. It had a simple malt profile with a small amount of tartness from the wheat. Overall a nicely aged beer with no real flaws.

12 oz bottle. Pours orange golden in color with a foam white head. Aroma sweet floral hops. Hoppy and malty taste, after 2 years there is a slight alcohol warmness. There is no wheat taste to this beer. A very good ASA.