Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Escondido, California USA

Bomber: Clear dark ruby with a thin off-white head, aroma has plums, brown sugar and spicy yeast. Full bodied with a sticky texture, starts and ends lightly sweet, with a long aftertaste.

Collecting is a very strange thing. Usually we find something of personal or moral significance that comes in varieties and are overcome by a fervent desire to horde them. Good examples of this first category are artwork, books or music. Then there are a separate category of unwholesome collectors that seek out Coke memorabilia, antique hammers or maybe even vintage urinals. At least the accomplished stamp collector can put his stash towards a deluge of paid-for postal correspondence, and the coin collector will never feel anxious around vending machines again, but those who relish in their small piles of buttons and door knobs have lost sight of the whole point of collecting. It’s about gathering something significant, not gathering something that no one else has bothered to gather, because truly, no one will be impressed with a philanthropic display of broken glass or snapped crayons. Yet, our “crazy” collectors feature prominently in everyday life, and the market knows it. Behold, Stone Brewery’s Vertical Epic line, a mad dash to “drink them all” lest one bottle missed taints the whole experience. Usually I fall into the category of lunatic collector, but this time I wasn’t sold. Why wait until they finish the series? I’m pretty certain there’s no legitimate need to purchase and preserve these bottles until the final generation is brewed, save for Stone’s shrewd decision to make this something of a special edition collector’s series. With that I took the plunge and popped open a mint bottle of the ’06 Vertical Epic. The beaming black beer with it’s Coca-cola-esque head pushes bubbles all around the beer – on the surface as well as coating the sides of the glass in a gaseous armor of sprightly spheres．Almost immediately the aroma asserts itself with strong intimations of plums and raisins. Secondary and tertiary smells of processed Kraft cheese, malts, chalk, old wood and anise agglomerate to form a strange but not unappealing aroma. The palate is oily, flat and heavy (attributes welcome in a dark beer) but the flavor is hard to uncover. It’s a slow spread of tastes, eking out malts, molasses, chocolate and a bit of licorice, but nothing more. The rhythm of the flavors is similarly flat and steady, neither dipping nor peaking, but gamboling steadily at a tried and true pace. Even if I were collecting the Vertical Epics, I’d look down on this one as a bit of a flop; for those that are collecting, I have a feeling the ’06 won’t age well, and that saving it for that special day when all the beers have come together may not make for the pseudo-holiday some might expect it to be.

Part of the 02 thru 06 vertical at YourDarkLord’s house.This bottle was my contribution to the vertical. Pours dark brown with some copper highlights. Aroma reminds me of a weizenbock, wheaty, sweet, and estery. Initial flavor of dark wheat malt, brown sugar, raisens, and a hint of peat. Caramel and yeast come through the middle. The finish is dry with a medium bitterness.

Blind rating, American Beer Tastings at Sk8viking´s. Pours a dark brown with a tanned head. Smells winey. Full flavored beer with lots of residual sugars. Portish with hints of and band-aid.

Damn good!...dark just about black in color...baking chocolate and roasty chocolate malts..a quite mild nose and a dry finish...delish

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours amber with an off-white head. Aroma of fruit, spices, and slight roast. The flavor is smooth, sweet, and fruit. Great beer.

Pours a deep dark amber bordering on brown. Nose is complex with the cloves and dark fruit belting out a delightful song. Very tasty with lots of flavors that are clearly defined. This is a beer that you hate it when the glass is empty.

Pours a dark dark brown appearance; light tan head that quickly fades. Pleasant aroma, showing candy sugar, bready / yeasty qualities, and spice. Huge presence in the mouth: plenty of yeast and spice, a solid malt backbone (roasted malts and maple syrup), some marshmallow / vanilla. Finish shows bread, spice and some floral bitterness. This should settle down nicely with a bit of age...