Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

Fun Facts from Stone Brewing Co. – 1) This is the first time we’ve ever released the Imperial/Double Red style. 2) We used more pounds of hops per barrel than any beer we’ve ever made. 3) We used Chinook hops in the brewhouse for bittering and flavor, then dry-hopped this beer with a 50/50 blend of Simcoe and Centennial. 4) As an added bonus, we then dry-hopped it again, just prior to filtering and packaging. That’s right, our popular double dry-hopped process, for the first time ever in one of our bottled beers!

Stone Brewing Co. – 13th Anniversary Ale – 22 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass. 9.5% abv.

Appearance: Pours a dark, clear red with a 1/2 inch of tan foam.  Leaves a milky lacing as you drink down your beer.

Aroma: A large bouquet of hops, lending a bit of citrus and pine.  I also find some sweetness coming to my nose, which I would associate with rock candy sugar or turbinado sugar.

Taste: A mouthful of bitter hops that hits the front and middle of my tongue. While that flavor never quite goes away after the first sip, a trained tongue can get past that part and taste some really sugary malts, and a tad bit of fruitiness.  The finish is, again, very bitter and gives off a flavor of warm alcohol. When the beer gets warmer, you get an almost berry twang as well.

Mouthfeel: First a bit astringent, then a little bit creamy. This is definitely thick and heavy, a little coating, but not sticky.

Overall: Very close in relation to Arrogant Bastard Ale from a looks perspective ,close in relation to  Double Bastard Ale with its body and mouthfeel, but doesn’t really resemble 10th Anniversary Ale with its hop profile. What I am most happy about is, Stone could have made something that would rip your face off, like Ruination or Arrogant Bastard Ale, but instead, they upped the hop level, and met it in the middle with equal amounts of great malt flavor.  A balanced, big beer you say? That gargoyle is acting quite mature for it’s age.