Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Aroma: carmel, malts, alcohol, some red grape skins
Appearance: reddish-brown, off-white head, lacing
Flavor: hops, carmel, malt, some red grapes, some woodiness, yeast, and bananas
Palate: slightly fizzy, slightly alcoholic, bubbly but smooth with carmel/alcohol aftertaste
Overall: my birthday beer!

Small brown head, good retention with a minimal lace thats spotty at best. A very dark Dubbel. If not for a deep red glow when held up to the light you,d think you were enjoying a nice stout. Juiciley fruity nose, smattering of plums and raisins, licorice and medium sweet malts. Body is med/full, creamy with a gentle carbonation, a joy on the tongue. Medium sweet malts, light roast and dark fruits, light coffee notes, tingly spices. As it warms notes of chocolate, bittersweet with caramelly notes to boot. Finish is lightly sweet, fruity malts and a definate bite. Props to tever for a pair of these!

Pours a nice dak brown, almost black. Head was slightly off white and thin that lasted a while. Tasted slightly of alcohol, with a slight hop taste. Nice malt flavor was present as well. My friend says it tastes like he thinks a tree would, not that that would be bad by any means. I can agree, maybe a slight piny feel to it. A very good beer that I think will age well.

bottle . . pours dark brown/black with a small brownish head that disapates . . aroma is dark, roasted malts, raisin, dry fruits, sweet . . flavor is smooth but you can taste the alcohol . . roasted malts deffiinetly shine through . . almost like biting into an unripe cherry . . slightly sweet and bitter cherry finish that ends clean . . not too bad . .

Pours a translucent mahogany with an off-white head. Aroma is full of spice, figs, caramel, and a hint of alcohol. Drinks well with good carbonation and long lasting flavors of bananas and cloves. Fairly metallic in both aroma and taste. A great beer that leaves you wanting more.

Lovely rosy chocolate in color and translucent when put to light, paired with a fizzy and fluffed tan head that recedes to a charming oily overcast. Aroma gets me going. Spicy cloves meet chocolatey fried bananas, sweetened and spiced with brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and mulled caramelized raisins. Smooth, sugary vanilla and cola aromatically team with concord jam and black currant. I could sniff for miles, but there’s more here to unveil. Flavor presents a tasty abundance. Sweetness and dryness meet center stage for a pipe tobacco and chocolate prune medley. Buttery bananas and cafe au lait gain a spicy clove, black peppercorn and almond grease addendum. Sweet and chewy palate traits join simultaneously with dry spiced capriciousness and bitter cheek sockets. Balance is piping in the direction of vivaciousness, and there’s no doubt that this one will be quite a treat if sampled on release date each and every year. Earthy, charred tobacco wrappers and heavily caramelized beet sugar do well with spicy cloves in the finish, along with lingering, sweet cocoa banana cream flavors, extending long into the night. Big thanks to tpkenned for the bombers!

This offering pours a dark brown almost black with a thick tan head that leaves this brew quickly. The nose is strong plum, figs, prune, dark chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, wheat, just lots of sweetness in the nose. The taste starts mildly bitter with a grapefruit crack of bitterness, this is very interesting....it feels like a fruity Belgian beer combined with west coast pungent hops finished with a porter’s roasted barley like quality. The taste continues with a prune sweetness that is balanced by a citrus rind bitterness. The alcohal is minimal this is a quality brew that will def become more complex with age.

I had every intention of cellaring this for at least 6 months but despite the phalanx of Stone IPAs, Ruination & Smoked Porter in my beer fridge, this one kept calling out like a siren of barley elixer.... Pours a deep dark mahogany and supports a tall dense light tan head with lasting retention. Spicy aroma on top of roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate and licorice. Complex flavors with faint dark fruits, toffee, pepper and caramel playing suporting roles to a solid roasted barley and smoky backbone. Hops don’t really show themselves in earnest until the other flavors have moved off stage (a bit unusual for a Stone brew). Rich silky texture and a long, smooth, slightly spicy finish with a fair but appropriate warming alcohol kick. Yes, I’ll miss this in 6 months when I originally intended to open it, but I won’t have forgotten it. Another spectacular Stone showcase.