Archives: Stone Brewing, 1/14/08

Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, CA
Monday, 1/14/08, 5:15pm
[open]

Stone and glass brewpub - very attractive. Met up with our friend Larry, who lives around the corner from the brewpub (color me very green!).

House Brews:
Pale Ale
IPA
Smoke Porter
Ruination IPA
Arrogant Bastard
Stone Levitation Ale
Oaked Arrogant Bastard
07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale (B)
Double Dry Hopped IPA
Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Guardian 2006 Barleywine
11th Anniversary Ale (J)

07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale: Belgian saison style. Very fruity aroma - peaches and mango. Medium amber color with quicky disappearing head. Maybe its grandmother was Belgian but this one has mutated beyond. The body is rich and velvety with sweet spicy fruitiness. This beer reminds me of a mead, and it owes some of its lineage to New Glarus and Lindemans lambics. It would be an excellent dessert beer. Any changes as the beer warms are minimal. 8.9

11th Anniversary Ale: [this beer was supposed to be a rarity as a special occasion beer, but proved to be so popular it is now brewed on a regular basis - with a name change. It can now be found as Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale]
If you had any doubts whether this beer had hops, just take a sniff. Even I can smell them! A thin but creamy head. This is a serious hophead beer. It's not really an IPA. It's more like a very hoppy barleywine. The body is very substantial. There are malts, but they're overwhelmed by the hops. It warms up fairly well. Not a beer for the timid. Not a great beer, but I admire the adventuresome effort. 8.3