Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale | Stone Brewing
Brewed by:
Stone Brewing
California, United States
stonebrewing.com
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 8.50%
Availability: Limited (brewed once)
Notes / Commercial Description:
A new Vertical Epic will be released every year, with the goal being to collect them all and have a Vertical Epic tasting once the final Epic is released on 12/12/12. Each new Stone Vertical Epic Ale will be release one YEAR, one MONTH and one DAY apart. With Vertical Epic 03/03/03, we used some pretty interesting ingredients...coriander (a "Belgian-style" beer favorite!), alligator pepper (wow, bite into these little gems and you get a bigtime spicy rush of flavor), and a bit of both unmalted wheat and dark roasted wheat. And a blend of Belgian yeast and American ale yeast. And a nice selection of high alpha hops (a decidedly non-Belgian style twist). All told it makes for a dubble-ish taken-to-San-Diego-pushed-to-the-edge-and-slapped-around-a-bit beer. So, treat it gently. It's been abused enough already. Store it upright, cool and in the dark. It would enjoy a nice long rest. It will have plenty of patience. Now let's see about you ... In addition, we are pleased to provide the homebrewing recipe: http://stonebrew.com/timeline/030303
Added by kbub6f on 03-03-2003
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
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Ratings: 287 | Reviews: 195
3.6/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance. Pours amber-brown with almost a finger of light khaki head that fades pretty quickly.
Smell. Raisins, caramel, a touch of cardboard and sweet dark fruits.
Taste. Raisins and a touch of sherry and cardboard, some caramel and light belgian yeast, and a bit of chocolate candy. Not nearly as oxidized as I would have expected.
Mouthfeel. On the lighter side of medium bodied, below medium carbonation.
Overall. A decent brew that I wouldn't have guessed is over 10 years old despite signs of oxidization.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance. Pours amber-brown with almost a finger of light khaki head that fades pretty quickly.
Smell. Raisins, caramel, a touch of cardboard and sweet dark fruits.
Taste. Raisins and a touch of sherry and cardboard, some caramel and light belgian yeast, and a bit of chocolate candy. Not nearly as oxidized as I would have expected.
Mouthfeel. On the lighter side of medium bodied, below medium carbonation.
Overall. A decent brew that I wouldn't have guessed is over 10 years old despite signs of oxidization.
517 characters
3.87/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Ten year old Three set up with a mellow cognac color, light carbonation and a thin but billowing head.
The scent is all dates. The dates are hearty, fruity and robust. After a while I began to detect a soft buttery toffee.
The flavor is spicy with a peppery tone followed by a dry sherry. It's not overly diverse but very nice in its mellowness.
Speaking of mellow the feel is inordinately smooth with an expensive liquor like flow.
This was the last of the Vertical Epics I tasted at this event but found this old man to be easily the smoothest of the group.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Ten year old Three set up with a mellow cognac color, light carbonation and a thin but billowing head.
The scent is all dates. The dates are hearty, fruity and robust. After a while I began to detect a soft buttery toffee.
The flavor is spicy with a peppery tone followed by a dry sherry. It's not overly diverse but very nice in its mellowness.
Speaking of mellow the feel is inordinately smooth with an expensive liquor like flow.
This was the last of the Vertical Epics I tasted at this event but found this old man to be easily the smoothest of the group.
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3/5 rDev -23.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Ruby red color. Smells like, what for lack of a better term, "cherry varnish" which I often get from aged barleywines or DIPAs where a lot of the hops have faded. Taste is sweet orchard fruit syrup.
We did our VE collection counting down (12,11,10,9,8,7,3) and I think we saved the worst for last. I pawned mine off on someone else.
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look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Ruby red color. Smells like, what for lack of a better term, "cherry varnish" which I often get from aged barleywines or DIPAs where a lot of the hops have faded. Taste is sweet orchard fruit syrup.
We did our VE collection counting down (12,11,10,9,8,7,3) and I think we saved the worst for last. I pawned mine off on someone else.
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Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale from Stone Brewing
3.92
out of 5
based on 287 ratings.
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
4oz draft pour into a tulip glass.
A: Deep ruby color with limited carbonation and quickly fading head.
S: Fig and raisin aromas.
T: Sweet bourbon, fig, plum, fruit cake, and caramel flavors.
M: Maple syrup like mouthfeel.
O: Enjoyable holiday evoking ale, but mouthfeel was too viscous for my liking.
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