Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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The catch all catagory of American Strong Ale. All those beers that don’t quite fit into the other catagories. This is a great beer. Looks dark, but tastes light. Had a strong hops finish for me. Seemed to get stronger as I drank. Great brew!!

Pours deep mahogany into a Trappist glass. Off-white head recedes to pancake surface. Dark red malts and grapefruit aromas. Deep creamy sweet toffee, caramel malt and resin upfront. Turning to pine and grapefruit in the lasting finish. Akin to a double bastard.

22oz bottle. Pours dark ruby brown, almost opaque, with a medium off-white foamy head. Aroma of fresh floral hops with citrus. Big spicy hop bite with rye, caramel, and grapefruit. Complex, yet very easy to drink. Medium-bodied with a slight flavor of alcohol at the finish. Fantastic.

I love Stone. I bought a case the day it arrived in the store! Big dark pour with nice one finger thick and chewy head. Huge hop aroma. Flavors of sweet malt and toffee that ends with a robust and balanced hop coating and finish. A mild alcohol aftertaste. Great beer, will drink it as long as I can find it.

Rating #2500.

Courtesy of sebletitje. Pours deep clear amber with nice tan head. The aroma is full of hops with sweet citrus moving into pine and grassiness and with some sweet maltiness in the background. The taste is much the same with a full base of malty goodness that gets crushed by a boat load of hops. I get pine and grassiness with some citrus in the back mixing with a modest level of malts and a thin layer of caramel. It doesn’t smell or taste like the hoppiest Stone brew. Maybe they meant happiest. IMO there are a couple I thought were hoppier. Maybe it’s my changing palate.

Wonderful aroma of resiny hops, with pine notes predominant, and hints of caramel in the background. Pours a clear dark ruby red, with a thick light tan head. Slick and creamy mouthfeel, amazingly well balanced bitterness. Crisp and clean, with hints of pine and grassy notes, just a touch of roast coming through in the finish. I hope this makes the leap as the 11th anniversary did.

Bottle at the Rake, 24th July 09. Rich russet colour. Very hoppy aroma. Huge flavour and wonderful finish. "Beer... but bigger"!

Nice deep brownish amber color. Aroma is full of floral hops, roasted barley, slight citrus, and pine. Taste is, well, excellent! Flavor is full of hops, roasted barley, pine, malts, and just a little bit of coriander. Leaves a smooth and bitter barley and hop aftertaste. This is one good brew. Another gem from our friends at Stone Brewing Co.

bomber... after all the press leading up to this one, I’ve been really anxious to try it - and it really delivers.... a true hop bomb from Stone that is well balanced and really style independent... this almost reminds me of a hoppier Double Bastard or even a more balanced Bigfoot... could be a barley wine, a mean IIPA or an Imperial Red.... call it what you want... it is all about the luxurious hops. drink this one fresh to experience the multiple stages of dry hopping that went on with this one.... I would also like to age a bottle and see what happens.... it pours a deep deep red with a nice 1 inch off white head... which settles a bit and eventually gets lost all together forming a slim clear lacing. huge piney and resinous hops flow out of the bottle and glass upon pouring... big chewy hop driven body with a big underlying malt presence that cuts the bitterness a bit over the tongue... huge burst of citrus hops on the back and through the finish completely annihilating the palate with a layer of thick hoppy resin. absolutely wonderful for the hop heads out there.

UPDATED: NOV 21, 2009 Best beer I’ve had in a while. A delicious, balanced red. Pours an attractive Sedona red color, with nice almost excessive head. Citrus bitter and floral hop but round. Crisp clean finish. Very nicely done.