Stone Cali-Belgie IPA

Stone Cali-Belgie IPA

California/Belgian India Pale Ale

Stone Brewing Co.

Alcohol Content: 6.9%

IBUs': 77

Usually Stone Brewing Company never lets me down.  But maybe I'm getting bitter and old or maybe I'm becoming a beer snob because this time they have.  Sorry, Stone Brewing.  

Let's cut to the chase.

Stone Vertical Epic Ale 11.11.11

Stone Vertical Epic 11.11.11

Belgian-Style Strong Pale Ale

IBU's: 65

Alcohol Content: 9.4%

I've already professed my love for Stone Brewing Company too many times.  They make so many damn good beers that it blows my mind.  

And they don't pay me to say that.  I wish they did... 

but they don't.  

So, let's make this short and sweet.  Here's another annually released beer from Stone Brewing, their Vertical Epic 11.11.11 which is a bottle-conditioned Belgian-style Strong Pale Ale brewed with cinnamon and green Annaheim chillis, with a respectable 9.4% alcohol and a moderate 65 IBU's. 

Yes, cinnamon and green chillis.  In this beer and in your belly.

The Stone Vertical Epic '11 pours a dark reddish mahogany color with a big, creamy off-white head.  It smells of cinnamon, caramel, and hints of spices and bananas, which reminds me of a Bananas Foster.  Tasting brings more of those Belgian banana notes, a gentle warming heat, Christmas pie spices, sweet caramel malts, hints of butterscotch, and mild hops in the finish, with a touch of the chili heat mixing with the 9.4% alcohol in the aftertaste.

To say there's a lot going on here would be an understatement.  No joke.  

But is it epic?  

I'm on the fence with that.  In complexity, yes.  In smack-your-tongue-hardcore-beerness, no. 

It's kind of like a Belgian beer, a Winter Warmer, and a Chili Beer had a wild threesome and this is what popped out 9 months later.  I know that's not how getting pregnant really works, but it's just a metaphor, alright?  Anyway, it's still a great beer and drinkable, just not epic nor my favorite from Stone Brewing.

Drink This: if you'd like to try a complex Belgian Beer that has characteristics of a Winter Warmer and a Chili Beer.

Don't Drink This: if your favorite beer is Bud Light.  Sorry, this isn't for you.

Cheers!            

Double Bastard Ale

Double Bastard Ale

2011 Release

American Strong Ale

Stone Brewing Co.

IBU's: "Classified" (100+?)

Alcohol: 10.5%

"Ye shall know the Bastard,

and the Bastard shall set you free."

It's crazy to think, but 101 reviews ago I reviewed the original Arrogant Bastard Ale, a perfectly balanced hoppy and malty, strong amber ale.  The original Arrogant Bastard maintains itself as one of my all-time favorite beers and I've probably gone through more bottles of it than any other single beer.  Stone Brewing make several variations on the Arrogant Bastard, with the oaked version being one of my favs, as well.  But, the big daddy of them all is this one, the Double Bastard.

Now, any reader of the beers reviews on this blog knows that I have a love for Stone Brewing Company out of California.  And even though I've only formally reviewed a handful of their beers, I've sampled over a dozen different brews and haven't had a bad tasting one from them yet.

So here we have the Double Bastard, a 10.5% ABV beast of a beer.  It pours a slightly darker amber than the standard Arrogant Bastard.  It has strong aromas of malty caramel, figs, and a massive amount of hops on par with a good India Pale Ale.  You take a sip and get thick, sweet toffee malts, dark raisins, pine, a touch of the high-proof alcohol, and a pleasantly long-lasting bitter hop finish that rivals just about any IPA out there.

This is everything I love about the original Arrogant Bastard Ale stepped up a couple notches.  It has pretty much the same flavor profile, but everything is stronger here.  Stronger malt, stronger hops, stronger alcohol.

This. beer. is. badass.

Drink This: if you want a malty, hoppy, beast of a sipping beer.  If you enjoy the standard Arrogant Bastard or like hoppy beers, give this is a try.  This is easily Stone's best beer and in my top 5 favorite beers, perhaps even top 3, of all-time...

Don't Drink This: if you are not worthy.         

 

Stone Ruination IPA

Stone Ruination IPA

India Pale Ale
IBU's: 100
Alcohol: 7.7%

If you couldn't tell from my previous reviews of Arrogant Bastard and Belgo Anise Russian Imperial Stout, I love the Hell out of Stone Brewing.  Somehow they manage to make every freaking beer taste amazingly dynamic and flavorful beyond belief.  While there are several other breweries that come close and have a couple amazing brews, Stone maintains the number one slot in my mental ranking of breweries. 

So, today I am reviewing another in Stone Brewing's line-up, the Ruination IPA.  It pours the color of dark hay and smells of hops, hops, and more hops, with a small bite of grapefruit and pine.  I was totally expecting this to just ruin my mouth and destroy my tastebuds with a hoppy overkill.  BUT, it did not.  For as hoppy as it smelled, the hop taste was actually very well-rounded and dynamic.  Don't get me wrong, this is one extremely hoppy beer and is clearly not intended for anyone except hopheads and those venturing into extreme IPA territory, but this beer isn't just a one-note hop bomb.  The taste is mostly hops, yes, but there is a sweet maltiness and some clear citrus peel flavors going on, too, making it very, very drinkable and delicious beyond belief.  The mouthfeel is perfectly creamy and oh so fitting.  It leaves a long-lasting, pleasant hop taste in your mouth that urges you to take another sip.

Stone Ruination IPA is one damn good India Pale Ale.  It may be tied for my favorite IPA at the moment.

Drink This: if you love to fill your mouth with creamy, hoppy, liquid deliciousness of the Gods.

Don't Drink This: if you aren't into hops.  If the hoppiest thing you've ever tried is Samuel Adams Boston Lager (like many people), this will destroy your palette and make you cry for mommy.  If that happens, send me an email and I will come finish the rest of your drink.  :)        

Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout

Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout

Stone Brewing Co.

IBU's: 52

Alcohol: 10.5%

I'm not going to lie.  I freaking love Imperial Russian Stouts.  And Stone Brewing Company out of Escondido, California makes a great one.  This, however, is a variation on their standard Imperial Russian Stout.  The Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout is their 2011 "Odd Year" Release and is brewed with anise, oak chips, and Belgian yeast, making it a welcome departure from the typical one.

It pours about as black as any beer can be and lets no light through.  It smells like dark, toasted malt, and anise.  The flavors are predominantly a black coffee base with dry, dusky anise and almost a vanilla extract aftertaste, with subtle hints of an oaky earthiness.  This is a lot like Uinta Brewing Company's Labyrinth Black Ale, except the anise in this beer blends better into the mix of flavors.  The other thing this has going for it, is the mouthfeel.  The Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Stout is much thicker and richer than Uinta's, although that one is thicker and heavier than most typical beers to begin with.  

Yummy.

Anyway, this is a damn impressive beer.  The anise blends well into the dark black coffee notes surprisingly well, and without being sweet.  Some people could find the anise to still be too strong, especially if you're not a huge black licorice fan to begin with.  For me, however, this is a great beer and a refreshing change from the standard Imperial Stout.  Would I drink this everyday? No.  But, it is a good change of pace and really quite delicious.  

Drink This: if you love dark, heavy, thick, brews and a ton of real black licorice flavor.

Don't Drink This: if you hate black licorice or if you are a weakling who drinks watery, piss beer. 

  

Arrogant Bastard Ale

ARROGANT BASTARD ALE

Stone Brewing Company

American Strong Ale

IBU's: Classified

7.2% Alcohol

Well, what can you say? Arrogant Bastard Ale is badass.  Sure, there's an awesome gargoyle on the bottle and it's 7.2% alcohol, but really, seriously this is god damn delicious beer.  This is how beer can and should taste.  It is essentially a moderately higher-alcohol, hoppy amber ale.  It doesn't try to be overly dark for the sake of being dark, or even overly hoppy just to be hoppy.  It is perfectly balanced in all respects.  Surely some people are going to piss and moan and say it is too hoppy, well those people probably drink the big name watery beer with no hops whatsoever.  Well, screw them.  Most people I have given this beer to have loved it; a few, not so much.  

Here's the writing on the back of the bottle:

This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory---maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal.  Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better.  Perhaps you are mouthing your words as you read this.

Like it says, this is an aggressive beer, especially by most people's standards.  Certainly I have had many darker beers, many hoppier beers, and many higher strength beers, yet somehow this one strikes the perfect balance.  The fact that I have gone through several cases of this stuff over the past couple years is proof enough of how amazing it is.  This is exactly why is the first beer being reviewed on Bob's Brew and Liquor Reviews.  I can think of no better way.  I love this stuff...

Drink This: if you like full-flavored, hoppy glasses of deliciousness.

Don't Drink This: if you dislike hops and enjoy watery piss beer, if you like sugary girly drinks, or if you are a pansy.