Stone 8th Anniversary Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

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