Stone 9th Anniversary Ale

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

This bottled brew from 2005 was bought and sampled in 2006 in Indianapolis. It poured an extremely large sized head of foamy mostly lasting fine to medium sized white colored bubbles that left behind a slightly hazy softly carbonated orange colored body with a fine particulate in it and a poor lacing. The aroma was hoppy malty and had a mild caramel note to it. The mouth feel was tingly from the start and strengthened in the finish then mellowed in its aftertaste with a mild malt hop flavor. Overall, the flavor was hoppy with a malty aftertaste.

Hazy orange body, medium off-white head. Big Amarillo hops aroma, citrusy, with a touch of pine, and bready malts. Bready, toasty, caramely body , light tartness, with plenty of grapefruit rind and pine. A touch earthy. In the APA "Harvest Ale" vein. Medium-bodied, rindy finish. This was well-made but it’s not quite my thing. The hops are already fading into biscuity malt, which makes drinking this ASAP a priority. Though I wasn’t overwhelmed, Stone continues to produce a quality product for a reasonable price.

Pours a golden color with a very thin white head. A very citrusy aroma with some hints of oak and grass. A piney and citrusy hop flavor, with a slight warming of alcohol. No malt flavor that i could detect. It was like a different tasting IPA, with a rather thin body!

22 oz Bottle. Golden straw color with white head. Aromas of tart grapefruit, pine earthiness, and metalic astringency. I didn’t care much for this cold: all at once it was too sweet, too astringent, too alcoholic (even though it’s only 7.8%). At room temp, the grainy malt body was present enough to compensate both for the astringency and the sweetness, as well as balance out the hop bitterness and provide a nice background for the fruity aroma hops. The finish was quite tacky. A good brew once it warmed up, though it seemed like an adolescent version of the Dogfish Head 90; a bit brash and confused, lacking the bastard arrogance needed to carry it forth unscathed.

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.

Pours a deep golden amber color with nice off white head. A very light hoppy aroma with some malts. I also noticed a light citrus on the palate.

Bottle from Santa. cloudy light gold with not head. This beer smelled great but have very ordinary taste. The flavors almosted seemed subdued. The grapefuit hop flavor was present but it seemed muted by the strange malty taste. I drank most the majority of the bottle, the rest went to my dog.

Pretty interesting effort to soup up the wheat with a strong hop infusion, a touch of ruination as it were. Nice look and aroma, very quaffable. Fine and mellow but not too memorable by Stone’s standards.