StoneWall Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Escondido, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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22 oz. bottle shared by hoppymeal @ Kuhnhenn Solstice party 12/20/09. Pours a slightly hazy orange amber color with a small off white head. The aroma was moderately sweet caramel malt, vanilla, slight roast, slight citrus, and just a touch oxidized. The flavor was certainly malt forward. Caramel malts provided a moderately high level of sweetness. Vanilla, slightly woody, enough hops to surprise a bit, citrus, and signs of oxidation (not bad though; this seems to have held up pretty well). There is a fair amount of bitterness in the finish which causes me to think about the level of hops this beer had fresh. The alcohol remained well hidden, but did cause slight warming after drinking. I would have loved to have had this fresh, but am glad to have tried it once. Thanks Derek for this unique opportunity.

Orange-copper pour with a small white head. There is some bourbon, slight citrus, butterscotch, vanilla and toffee. The aroma was a little over-sweet but the flavor is incredibly rich and decadent. Really well hidden alcohol. Sticky, medium full body with moderate carbonation.

thanks to maltzilla. Pours a nice amber color. Rich as hell aroma. Caramel, vanilla, wood, syrup, honey, alcohol. Most delicate big beer I have had in a long time. Caramel and vanilla lead to honey notes. Some wildflowers, wood and light spice. what a treat.

From the Bottle at the Falling Rock Tap House, Denver 26/09/2009 Bourbon aroma. Amber coloured strong in alcohol and smooth on the palate with a little dryness and bitterness in a warming full malt finish.

Opened the 3L growler at Stone today. An exciting pop of the flip top let me know that this one remained well carbonated over the last couple years. Poured a rich amber / mahogany to my 8oz snifter. This beer held a beautiful color, almost like a autumn maple leaves. A solid single finger layer of off-white head faded in just a few minutes to only rim the glass. The nose was slightly boozy, but a pronounced sweet, caramel aroma entices me. Also picked up vanilla notes and a roasty characteristic. Initial tastes were fantastically smooth. Clean malt flavor. Stronger than expected hop presence surprised me. More caramel and toffee tastes. Vanilla mixed in the complexity. A very well-rounded and balanced. I found StoneWall to be extreme drinkability. I would never know this one was 12.2% ABV by drinking it. Despite being a bit boozy on the nose, this one warmed up and drank so easily. I would jump at the chance to try this one again.

Pours a golden ruby from a 3l bottle. Nose is huge caramel, raisins, floral hops, tons. Of sweetness. Taste has huge depth, lots of caramel, raisin, moderate hop bitterness, earthiness, toffee, booze heat, everything is very well balanced.

Beer as life marker. Received my bottle upon initial release. Had my dogs names put on the bottle. The oldest was put down this past Thursday. At the time of release, I was working for the man and hating it . . . I’ve since made a series of decisions that led to me working for myself. This beer sat in my fridge while time passed and life changed . . . and when the bottle was opened it was good, really good. Deep, thick texture and golden belgium yeasty goodness. 1 of a kind; never to repeat. I like it that way.

Sampled in 9/09 at Dr. Bill’s shindig at the falling rock, GABF 2009: Pours amber and has a thin ring of suds. THe nose smelled of orange-raped molassis. Candy is the flavor profile here...and it’s mellow, aged, and tasty in a flufy, soft subtle way.If only this were a vertical epic we’d have 1 less vertical epic to taste like shit in 2012.

Bomber courtesy of s generous West Coaster. Pours mahogany and hazy with some spotty white carbonation. Smells of caramel, dark fruit, cognac, spicy, earthy. Tastes sweet with a nice underlying peppery bite. As the beer warms, some fruity elements emerge. Complex and enjoyable.

UPDATED: AUG 27, 2010 "An incredible Barleywine style ale from Stone...a special release we were lucky enough to get a taste of. Dark and malty, raisiny sweet in the best way, with enough hops to balance, but that’s it. Great beer!"