Stone 8th Anniversary Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

BrewMaster

California

3.63/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz bomber into a standard pint glass. The color is a cherry red and brown when seen through daylight. Nice sandy head that thins to a lasting half-centimeter. The aroma is of nuttiness, roasty malts and alcohol. Other scent notes are coffee and a bit of chocolate. All of these make up a nose typical of a good brown ale.

The flavor comes strong with roasty and coffee flavors. There is a harsh bit at the beginning that is a bit sour but that quickly subsides and I get mostly an alcohol and roast/coffee taste. The malt profile is very strong and the aftertaste is of burnt toast. The body of the beer is medium and the mouth feel is tight and clean.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2004 00:51:53 | More by BrewMaster

kmpitz2

Tennessee

4.13/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This one pours a dark brown color with a finger of fluffy head. The nose is roasted malt and hops. The flavor is nice as well. The roasted/toasted flavor of the malt hits first followed by a huge blast of hops that stick with me for a few minutes. It gets even better as it warms. The flavors melt into each other more. This one is thick and fullbodied. I think drinkability takes a small hit because of the sheer size of the flavor, but just a little one. I'm glad I have a second bottle waiting for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2004 01:13:52 | More by kmpitz2

watermelonman

California

3.65/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

This beer definitely looks good. It poured to a deep brown and ruby color with a modest head, and it's leaving a few lines of lace.

The smell is strong but still very appealing. There's some degree of nuts along with the usual strong malts and hops. The mouthfeel is very full and very tasty. However, being so strong, the drinkability definitely takes a hit.

Overall, this is a good strong beer, even if it is pretty simple.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2004 06:46:13 | More by watermelonman

RoyalT

Ohio

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – This one is dark brown in color with light orangish rings around the outside of the liquid. The head was nice and full and showed good retention with an aggressive pour.

Smell – The strong, sticky brownish flavors came with the signature hoppy Stone Brewing profile.

Taste – This is big and simple. The malty backbone gives this ale a traditional toasty brown flavor. The hops are big as well. The sugars at the end come across as very broken down, if that makes any sense. They reminded me of straight sucrose if you’ve ever had that.

Mouthfeel – This ale is medium-bodied with well-blended flavors and a very sweet finish.

Drinkability – The ale is evenly-balanced but kind of edgy for the style. It’s a heavy-hitter for sure, but I prefer my Brown Ales a little milder. Maybe Greg can by the rights to the Lazy Brown Dog Ale?

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2004 15:17:08 | More by RoyalT

mzwolinski

California

4.58/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear, dark brown -- red when held to the light. Head is very thin and spotty, reinforced by scant, slow-rising carbonation.

The first sniff reveals a deep, malty aroma. Husky and roasty, with light chocolate overtones. This actually reminds me a bit of almonds roasted in vegetable oil.

The roastiness comes through quite strongly in the flavor. Here the malt takes on what again strikes me as a kind of oily, nutty flavor. Almost cola-like. A bit of oaky bourbon flavors kick in toward the end. The roastiness declines a bit in the aftertaste, replaced by some surprisingly restrained hops, and a hint of vanilla. The aftertaste lingers for a good, long time.

Funny, this is probably one of the most malt-dominated beers I've had in a while, and yet "sweet" is about the last word I would use to describe it. Fairly full in the mouth, and very complex in flavor. Tough to drink a lot of in one sitting, but this is a beer that I'm definitely looking forward to going back to.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2004 02:45:42 | More by mzwolinski

Wildman

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This offering from Stone poured a dark amber color and formed a light tan foamy head that left latticed lace as it quickly subsided. A small amount of carbonation is present. An aroma of malt, burnt coffee and a touch of chocolate. The flavor was of malt, coffee, chocolate and a touch of hops. The body was medium light and a slightly creamy texture to it. The finish was bittersweet. Another nice offering from Stone.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2004 01:22:17 | More by Wildman

SheepNutz

Kentucky

4.2/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

22oz. bomber poured into a nonick pint glass. It pours a burnt caramel brown color with two fingers of head. There is a good amount of lacing left on the glass. The smell is in your face with big caramel maltiness. Sweet aromas reach the back of the nose without any problem. Just a hint of an alcohol smell as well. The taste has lots and lots of roasted malt, sweet at first with some toffee, but a slightly dry burnt coffee finish. A noticeable amount of hops in there as well. Fairly good balance. The mouthfeel is thick as a sumo wrestler's thigh, and covers the tongue thoroughly. For 7.8% abv, this is a fairly drinkable beer too. Another nice one from Stone. Happy Anniversary to Greg, Lee, and the rest of the bunch.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2004 00:29:53 | More by SheepNutz

mickeymac

California

3.68/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The back of the bottle had so many multi-syllabic words, I lost interest after two lines and went straight for the contents. It's mahogany with a head that looks like fizzy soda at first but settles into a nice 1 1/2 finger head before quickly disappearing again. The smell is caramel, a fair dose of hops, and a somewhat pronounced alcohol smell. The malt sweetness at first seems destined to be balanced nicely by the hop bitterness, but it never seems to come completely together. The beers stays a bit too sticky sweet but remains entirely drinkable. This is another nice beer from Stone but somewhat disappointing for an anniversary brew.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2004 05:20:27 | More by mickeymac

Bierguy5

Ohio

4.63/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I can't believe I have come across this already. And for only $4.99, what a steal! From the bomber pours a very deep ruby color with a shade of brown. Huge fluffy off white head. Great head retention, lasted for quite some time. Fair amount of lace on the glass. Smells are roasted, slight chocolate, and coffee. Taste is pretty much the same, a nice roasted malt base, combined with notes of chocolate and coffee. Being Stone, of course there are hops. There is a good amount of bitterness at the end, that seems to fit well. Medium body with low carbonation. This is a fantastic beer! I am a big fan of American Brown Ales, and this is a great example. I can't find much to criticize this beer on, other than not seeming like a session beer. Who cares? Enjoy while it lasts! I will certainly look for more.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2004 03:02:58 | More by Bierguy5

egajdzis

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured a glowing reddish color with a large off white head and nice lacing. Rather muted aroma of vanilla, caramel, and light roasted chocolate. Taste was bursting with vanilla, chocolate malts, light citric hops, caramel malts, and warming bourbon alcohol feeling on the way down. The roasted qualities really stood out strong here. Very enjoyable. Not like anything else I've had recently.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2004 22:47:21 | More by egajdzis