Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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22oz bottle. Pours a reddish amber with a medium creamy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is dubbel like with banana and cloves and some sweet malt with some chilis and cinnamon thrown in.

The flavor is sweet bready malt with bananas and clove. Some spice from the chili and cinnamon comes out in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and a little watery.

Overall, I remember liking earlier samples more. This was just too much sweet malts and bananas. I remember less dubbel and more cinnamon and chili which was better.

The aroma is peppery with spices, sweet caramel malt, and pine hops. The appearance is deep amber with a medium head. The taste is like the aroma. The palate is average. Overall interesting but not good.

I buy these beers for the novelty now, because I almost expect not to like them. This beer is a wreck, and sadly, doesn’t reflect a hint of the chilies that I was hoping for. Aroma is sweet Juicy Fruit gum/Belgian yeast. Pour was a nice deep red with a one finger off white head. Taste was very Belgian. Strong sweet Belgian candi sugar and sweet malt in the front. The top of the tongue is almost numbed by the sweetness. Sweet chewy sugary aftertaste with little alcohol burn.This beer is too syrupy and sweet for my tastes. Would love to find the cinnamon or chilies, but they aren’t there.Mild carbonation

Clear reddish copper pour with ample offwhite head. Smells like Chile meat, but not hot like other chili beers I’ve had. Flavor is similar, in that the full flavor of the chili comes through but without the spiciness. Some honey and vanilla. The cinnamon is more on the tail. Malty bomb. I’m enjoying this more as it grows on me, but it is really not my cup of tea. Interesting, but I Don’t care for this very much at all.

UPDATED: DEC 17, 2011 Bottle via StateLine. Light red in color, decent head. Nose of belgian candy sugar...yeast notes. Taste is ehh.... Initially a sweet candy sugar taste followed by some spices, cinnamon and chiles... But it doesnt blend well together at all... A sweet holiday ale with some spices. I wanted to like this beer but just cant... dissapointed. I poured 95% of this beer out

Bottle at Asahiya. Very spicy nose with lots of cinnamon, chocolate, Belgian yeast. Raunchy, astringent flavor of cinnamon and chiles. The finish is like too much spice just gone bad, and I guess the chiles help to make it like that, but it really is dominated by a spice astringency that is extremely unpleasant. A nasty-tasting beer.

22 oz. in a shaker it went. Let’s hope that this one didn’t get on the FAILBOAT just like the last one- seeing chiles and cinnamon isn’t so reassuring though. Poured a solidly murky darkened amber color with shades of brown, white ring for a head, liquid sits very still. Aroma of old caramel, faded cinnamon, and that’s about it. Hits the mouth with a light medium body, malt is only so slightly sweet, faded chilies in the middle, finish is slightly degraded and falls apart without a definate feel. Real odd one. I shaved my balls for this?!?!

22 oz. bottle from SoHo Organic Market in Elizabeth City, NC. Dark brownish-orange pour with a foamy off-white head. Aroma of tangerine with cinnamon and nutmeg spices and brown sugary sweetness. Cinnamon permeates through every other flavor so any citrus detected at first in the aroma is completely overtaken. Oh, there is the chile flavor that I did not detect at all on the first sip but now overpowers even the cinnamon. The chile really provides just an interesting flavor but does not seem to provide any heat at first. It seems like the heat does build some momentum as I drink more of this one. I don’t hate it but I would hardly recommend this beer.

22oz bottle poured into a Tulip at 41°. Color is a murky amber with mellow carbonation and a small tan head. Aroma of caramel and green chilies. It has a medium body that gives a crisp mouth feel. Flavor comes in with toffee and a touch of yeast, then the chili pepper shows followed by a mild bitterness. After taste is an odd sweetness mixed with more chili. Overall its a very odd flavor blend, the mix of chilies and sweet just doesn’t work for me.

Bottle. Pours clear and sparkling mahogany with a large, frothy and creamy light tan head, long retention with light excellent lacing. Aroma is honey and caramel malt with notes of light toast and biscuit malt, dates and figs, cinnamon notes, huge fruity esters with some cooked banana notes and faint vanilla and peppery alcohol. Flavor is artificial sweetener and Belgian yeast esters, medium sweet malt, light spice/pepper, notes of cinnamon, and a sweet, near cloying finish. The flavor goes downhill after this initial impression, with warmth not helping at all. I am not sure what was meant here, but I hope this was not it. The closest thing I can come up with is dates topped with Sweet-N-Low to describe this - what a horrible mess. I suspect there are some Anaheim peppers in there because the flavor does finish slightly spicy, but the heavy residual sugar masks it. Full body, medium warmth and carbonation.