Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Pours sparkling goldenrod color with a white, average, fizzy, fluffy head which does stick around for quite some time but leaves minimal lace. Nose is fair with lots of estery yeast with banana, clove, and some pepper and only undertones of citrus (pear) and faint bubble gum. Flavor is not what I was expecting; starts with some estery yeast, light candi sugar, and pear but quickly dries out and turns bitter with resins and pepper leaving no sweet Belgian notes. The bitterness is completely overshadows the Belgian notes and leaves a sharp notes lingering. Palate is medium, spicy, soft to lively, and drying. Finishes bone dry and moderately bitter with pepper. Not what I thought I would get from Stone, American hops and Belgian notes competed to much. This overly hopped Belgian golden is hard to make work and this one was not one of the better examples. Stone should stick to American beers.

This beer pours a clear orange with a slight hint of amber. There is a thick white head that fades rather quick bit leaves some streaks along the sides of the glass. The nose is rather interesting, it is funky with a funky yeast smell and some floral notes but they are not as intense as the funk. The taste is very strong with a nice bite to the palate, but it fades as quick as you drink it. there is some lemon grass with other light spices nothing strong, and on the finish it has some toffee and caramel malt. Overall it is a great brew with balance of carbonation and flavor.

The smell hit my nose before I could raise the glass to take a look, so I’ll give you that first: smells very sweet and creamy, with clove, vanilla, banana, orange and yeast. It poured VERY orange in color, with a small, creamy foam head, about 1 finger, into a trappist glass. The flavor is very complex and bitter, with clove, burnt vanilla, pepper, and resiny citrus hops. Fantastic taste! Palate is dry and long-lastingly bitter. All around an absolutely stunning masterpiece. If I had a cellar, I’d put a case of this in for a few years.

Bouteille de 22oz acheté le 26 septembre 2008, au Winoosk Beverige Wearhouse (Vermont), bu le 20 janvier 2009. Blonde miel, moyen collet. Arome d’agrume houblonné, avec une touche d’épice, orge malté doux. Goût très sec, céréal croustillant et pas très alcoolisé avec une petite finission fruitée. J’ai décidé de le boire en hôneure du nouveau Pésidant U.S. Obama!

Bottle from a box ordered from Beers of Europe, consumed 31-01-09 Pours a pale golden colour with a white fluffy head. Wonderful fruity orangey nose to this beer and a little yeast. The taste is marvellous, plenty of bitter tangerines, nice citric hop kick that streaks around the mouth entwined with a nice dollop of honey, its a little spicy, bit dry its lovely, really lovely. A8 A5 F8 P4 0V17 4.2

Draft at Stone Winter Storm! (01/25/09) Poured a light golden hue with a thin off white head. Good Belgium yeast with a nice hop underlying.

Drank from a 22 oz and poured into a snifter. Has a dark yellow honey color with a decent foamy head almost reminds me of a pilsner because of the color and carbonation. I got the smell of fruit, slight pine and even slighter alcohol. plan on buying a couple more bottles to drink and a few more to save for 2012

Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a vibrant golden color with a huge yellow-white head. The aroma was sweet pineapple, grapefruit and sugar. The flavor was sweet, tangy, piney and fruity with a sugary undertone and a long, tangy and hoppy finish. The mouthfeel was moderately thick. Tasty.