Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

Halcyondays

California

3.93/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22 oz. bottle, bought at Seagate in Huntington Beach, CA,

A: Pours a dark orange, with a medium white head, some lacing, nothing special.

S: The smell, however, is outstanding. Very fragrant fruit, citrus, and spice.

T: An interesting mix of flavours in this one. Esters of peach and orange are the main flavours offset by the peppery spice. Some green apple in there as well, quite sugary and sweet.

M: Smooth and crisp, with some ethanol in the end, medium-bodied.

D: An complex and interesting beer at the moment, will be interested to see how this develops by 2012.

December 2012 Edit - Pours a murky burnt orange. Smell is still good, orange Creamsicle, lots of flowers, Asian spice. Good flavour, lots of orange and spice, a tad cloying. Sweet as it was fresh. Good beer. Pretty much I like it the same as '07, but in a different way.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2008 05:29:18 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: clear yellowish orange in color. One finger head lingers around a while. Some spots of lace developed during the session.

Smell: big spiciness and some citrus tones are pleasant and enjoyable on the nose.

Taste: citrus is quite dominant with this in its young age. Ginger, oranges, lemon zest, and a yeast spiciness is balanced with a decent maltiness and a good hop bite. Alcohol is noticeable but not offensive.

Mouthfeel: lightly crisp on the tonge and a touch of dryness finishes it out. Medium bodied beer. Long spicy and citrus laden aftertaste.

Drinkability: decent but this needs to mellow a bit. Definitely buy a few of these so you can try it over time.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2007 12:40:54 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours golden amber with a white creamy head that thins, but stays through the duration.

The smell is spicy - ginger coriander, etc. (as listed). Some sweet caramel backs it up.

Nice aroma, but the taste is too spicy - almost like a pumpkin ale meets a Belgian. (In the sense of having an abundance of spices). The spiciness stays ahead of the candi sugar sweetness and caramelish (slightly grassy? - maybe a hint) backing. Perfumy - rendering an endearing aroma, but not quite so endearing flavor. Still - it has enough complexities and support to keep it far from unpleasant. It has a spicy, warming finish.

The feel is effercescent with a lingering spiciness clinging to the palate.

Interesting, but I do recall last year's being better and I do expect better from this great brewery, which does a fine job at making intense beers palatable - this one is over-spiced.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2007 23:24:02 | More by jwc215

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Another VE on tap at Alewife.

A: The ale is a golden tea color, a bit of brown balancing things out. Not much in the way of head, just a thin band.

S: The nose has plenty of spice, lemon and ginger with cardamom dominating with its ususal zeal.

T: The ale is spice-laden, having held up nicely over the years. The cardamom drives a bold profile that is lively and (almost) excessively sweet.

M: I like this kind of spice profile, bold and assertive, domineering even.

D: A little on the strong end, VE07 is a sipper.

Serving type: on-tap

10-24-2010 14:06:04 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

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

Appears a honey glazed golden hue with a large white head leaving speckled lacing behind very impressive look to it. Aromatics contain delicate floral hops ginger spiciness mild background sweet and tart while grape tartness mild pineapple and pear fruitiness very aromatics like an insense candle burning slightly perfumey hop component going down. Flavor citrus peel viscosity tannin like character with a ginger finish, complex alcoholic swetneess honey tinged spicy notes good flow here but I see some age will help mold this one. Mouthfeel has a slightly syrupy character strong fortified carbonation, stay on your palate pretty unrelenting. Drinkability, definitely still young and a bit abrasive good thing it needs to last until December 12th, 2012. I really enjoyed the blend of the citrus and ginger here I could definitely take on some sushi with this complementing my dinner.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2007 15:11:33 | More by WVbeergeek

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear gold. Nic creme head. Nice yeasty sugar laden nose. Decent flavor. More dough than I thought there would be. Yeast is noticeable. Decent feel. Smooth. The profile is unusual though, which knocks the drinking factor down a bit. Seems a bit out of balance, but still a pleasure to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

01-01-2008 13:25:11 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

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

Purchased ay Wine Expo in Santa Monica
Poured a light orange color w/ a dirty white head. Nose was yeast, spices and some citrus.
Taste was a nicely hopped brew with good malts. Well balanced. Hints of orange peel some spiciness. Lots of Belgian yeast. Overall pretty drinkable and good.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2008 20:41:51 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Today is 08-08-08 and so I rate the 07-07-07 (while watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony).

Impressive initial head that recedes in a rocky fashion but eventually only a single layer of bubbles remains. Gold color and crystal clear.

Orange rind, all spice, and strong ginger aromas. Slightly earthy.

I would describe the initial sip as harsh, perhaps from ginger. The alcohol is very present but doesn't give the typical oiliness. Good body and highly carbonated.

Overall, this is a decent American version of Belgian Gingered Ale. Interesting as a different style of beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2008 00:48:16 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.33/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Update: 2 years later (16 Mar 10)

Pours a nice hazy golden orange color, nice carbonation, nice small one-finger creamy off-white head, which leaves some very nice small islands and sticky lacing. The nose is malty, spicy, nutmeg, some nice yeast notes, and caramel. The taste is slightly sweet at first, some malts/yeast, lots of spices, nutmeg, and some caramel tones. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a tasty brew, and much better than the first time I had it.

Pours a nice clean/clear golden orange color, nice carbonation, nice small one-finger creamy off-white head, which leaves some very nice sticky lacing. The nose is malty, spicy, nutmeg, some yeasty, and caramel. The taste is slightly sweet at first, some malty/yeast, lots of spices, nutmeg, and some caramel tones. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a tasty brew, but could live without it.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2008 00:52:46 | More by Wasatch

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Drank 1/25/13

(Served in a teku)
A- This beer pours a deep apricot body with a touch of haze and a gentle carbonation of tiny bubbles supporting a thick ring of antique white head. The second glass has a micro-jetsam suspended in the body.

S- The spun sugar aroma has some bright lemon tartness to it with a mellow more full dry spice in the finish. There is some cardamom aroma with ginger warmth and a pale malt sweetness as it opens along with a cream aroma.

T- The jelly marmalade orange flavor takes on some lemon flavors that grow. The mellow cardamom is still strong with ginger heat growing stronger aswell, and some tangerine zest in the finish. The ginger heat shows up in the after taste. The finish is dry but the citrus gives it some perceived sweetness.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with an alcohol heat only on the exhale.

O- This beer improved a bit with age but the flavor profiles are a bit awkward together and has sort of a old time aftershave quality to the flavor. I was hoping for more yeast character to push the spice and citrus into secondary flavors, but it wasn’t there.

---
(Served in a tulip glass)
drank 7/20/2007
A- This beer has a crystal clear light amber body with a snow white head that fades to a thin ring around the glass. There is a gentle carbonation of tiny bubbles that glide to the surface.

S- The note of perfume and flower petals comes through with a dry spice note like that of cardamom and frankincense. There is a light green vegetation note in the finish but it is not specifically hops. The hints of pale sweet malt come through lightly as the beer warms but it has more corn sugar than malt qualities.

T- The taste of dry candy sugar comes through with a very light white wine note and a note of perfumed spun sugar. The note of cardamom is soft but increases as the beer warms. The finish has a soft grapefruit rind note with slight snap of ginger without the ginger taste. The green notes of hops are soft in the finish but are present with the other flavors.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a light alcohol heat in the finish.

D- The spice flavors are a bit off and stronger than the sugar/malt flavors. I think some age could improve this beer and hopefully quiet the spices a bit. The hops are soft already so it might be a totally different beer in 5 years.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2007 19:01:12 | More by rhoadsrage

Billolick

New York

4.08/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

"Stone calls this one a Golden Triple / Saison Hybrid" What more needs to be said? Stone bomber, Pours orange/amber clear, moderate off white head and just respectable lacing. Nose is boldly of fruity sweetness and spicy intrigue. Complex brew. upfront you will find plenty of fruit, spice, sweet malt. Candy apple sweet, tropical fruit sweet, coriander spice, ginger spice, gin spice. You either will love or hate this one and it will be interesting to see what some time does to mellow it out and perhaps bring things together a bit. For now its bold, complex and to my warped taste buds quite tasty...go get some and enjoy...thanks to Keith from DeCiccio market in Pelham, NY for letting me know this one had come in and was on the shelves...

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2007 00:58:09 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

3.35/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From 12/23/12 notes. 22 oz. bottle poured into my Stone Veritcal Epic glass. Opened as part of my 2 day, 06-06-06 through 12-12-12 tasting.

a - Pours a somewhat hazy orange-amber color with one inch of bright white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of citrus, cloves, Belgian yeast, mint, orange, peppermint, spices, pepper. Nice citrus but the mint is a little weird.

t - Tastes of citrus, lemon, oranges, pepper, mint, bready malts, Belgian yeast, fruit malts. taste is very slightly weird, with lots of pepper and mint. Not bad but a step down from the nose.

m - Medium body and moderate to high carbonation. No alcohol heat, pretty easy to drink.

o - Overall a nice beer, though I preferred 07-07-07 and 09-09-09. This one is completely different as a tripel, with a lot of citrus and spice, probably wouldn't seek this one out again.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 16:26:15 | More by mdfb79

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

had as part of a big VE tasting at the end of the world party, shared with many friends.

Pours a light fizzy head, murky hazy sediment, reddish orange color.

Nose earthy malts, sweet malts, Belgian like, light citrus and fruit, apple, hint hops, light booze esters.

Taste has aged malts, light oxidation, Belgian golden malts and esters, booze, light tea chamomile like, light spices, phenols, booze, light apple like fruit, raisin, etc.

Mouth is med bodied, dec carb for the age at least.

Overall decent Belgian beer, aging took it's toll but still a fairly decent beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 02:30:48 | More by jlindros

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle purchased as a single from Julio's, Marlboro, MA.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, wow, 5" of foam over 1" of beer. Transitions back to beer nicely, but takes awhile. White froth laces the glass excellently over the clear dark golden brew. Aroma is sweet and spicy, but also seems tinged of soap. Taste starts sweet as well, zings with some citrus zest, and then mellows toward the close with moderate spicing, and closes with acceptable levels of warmth. Mouthfeel is maybe a bit flat, but that's not surprising with the foamy start, with drinkability that is reasonable as well. Not wowed by this one, but seems to have the room and character that may improve. Have to check again later.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2007 01:21:08 | More by ppoitras

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appears a light golden with an orange tone and a 2 finger, fluffy white cap that slowly fades out. A few tiny particles fall out of suspension in the bottom of the glass. Streaky lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of tropical fruits with notes of orange, pear, vanilla, peaches, grapefruit, cardamom, and mild spices and phenols.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with hints of a saison but leaning more towards a Belgian Gold with spice additions.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, spritzy up front, mildly sweet, enticing, and dry on the finish.
A youngling that will do better with some aging. Definitely nice enough to drink now though for those who can tolerate complex yeast phenols, along with spices.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2007 19:30:54 | More by weeare138

Zorro

California

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A clear amber to copper colored ale with a good but not outlandish yellowish off-white head.

The scent is sweet herbal and earthy. Belgian candi sugar sweetness and a mild odor of coriander are the first things I can pick out. General herbal scent with an edge of cinnamon and licorice. There is a scent I can decide on, either mint or menthol, probably from hops.

The taste begins sweet and candish with a fairly strong coriander and black licorice flavor. Fairly strong apple aftertaste from the fist sip, it takes a minute to register on the tongue. This is also followed by a hay or grassy aftertaste that is quite long lasting. Fairly spicy in the mouth and the sweetness subsides rather quickly from sip to sip. An interesting effect how quickly this changes taste from the initial beer flavor and aftertaste, this is almost like two beers in one.

The mouthfeel is good.

A tasty and nice drinking Belgian style beer it will be interesting to see how this one ages. Personally this is one of the tastier Strong Pale Ales out there. Beers like this keep me wondering WHY doesn't Stone have at least two Belgian style ales as regular beers in its line up?

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2007 03:19:51 | More by Zorro

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased in Buffalo, always enjoy these vertical epics.

Pours a slightly hazy orange/amber, medium sized off white head forms, settles to a thin layer, nice sticky lace. Smell is sweet/sour, caramel, some citrus, yeasty, oranges, buttered bread, some spices in the finish, pretty interesting. Taste is similar, sweet/sour feel up front, fruity, caramel/butter, spices and yeast, oranges, sweet finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. My least favourite of the Vertical Epics, but we'll see how it ages.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2007 01:09:10 | More by Viggo

Bighuge

Minnesota

2.93/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This beer is slightly hazed and throws out a deep golden hue. The head is thin and white. Lacing sporadic. Pretty nice aroma with belgian yeast apparent. Nice little sweet doughiness. The spices are not overbearing on the nose. I get a little cardamon. On the palate I get alcohol, sweetness and fruits. Tropical punch like. The alcohol is really evident and acts as the buzzkill in this context. Otherwise, I also get some lime notes, ginger and lemon. Too much stuff going on here and it doesn't mesh all that well....right now. Don't know about the future, but some age can't hurt this. I don't forsee cracking another for years....possibly till 2012. My least favorite of the Epics so far.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2007 03:34:23 | More by Bighuge

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

First had this on tap at the OBF, but for a variety of reasons couldn't do a review based on that (palate overload being the primary one). However, if anything the bottled version is even more impressive, which is what I had the other night.

Pours a rich, honey gold color, with creamy looking head and great lacing. The beer has a very complex nose, funky nose, with honey, butter, ginger and possibly even coriandor all intermingled. In other words, this beer smells fantastic. On the palate the beer is every bit as good. This is a big, almost viscous beer, with flavors of honey, cherry and ginger. It's pretty sweet, and the beer comes across as very, very rich, with a very long lasting, rich smooth finish. Just delicious. The abv. is noticeable, but is not the least bit obtrusive. However, given the abv. and sweetness of the, a little bit of this goes a long way.

A very impressive effort from the talented folks at Stone.

Edit from 3/15/13. Tasted recently during a vertical epic event at Pacific Coast Brewing. Unlike other recent reviews of this beer, I was impressed by how well this beer has held up. I got considerable tropical fruit, citrus (tangerine) and light butter, and I was frankly amazed by how tasty and rich this beer still was. Granted, my current score was no where as high as what I gave it back in 2007, but nevertheless, this beer has held up very well, and was a very tasty beer. There was even still some hoppy bitterness in the finish.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2007 18:35:35 | More by johnmichaelsen

DoubleJ

California

4.22/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I've been keeping a bottle of 7*7*07 since it came out, but because I want to save my other beers in the fridge, this one gets the call for tonight. On to the beer:

It's love at first sight, a clean bright gold body with an edge of amber. Too bad the head retnetion is mediocre. Lots of spice in the aroma, reminds me of pumpkin pie spice. The taste is also heavily spiced, but not over the top. If you don't like spiced beers, this isn't for you. As for me, I'm enjoying this as I type. It's bubblegum in the begining before making way for spice. I dig it.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2008 04:33:11 | More by DoubleJ

Gusler

Arizona

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours forth from the 22 ounce bottle a crystalline gold, the head is monumental in size, the color a bright white and the texture creamy, the resultant lace a tight skirt to obfuscate the glass. Nose has a nice hint of citrus and fruit, with malt to back it up, the Cardamom is also quite noticeable, just a plethora of aromas to treat the olfactory senses. Start is nicely malted; sweet and spicy, top is moderate in feel. Finish has sparkling wine crispness, the hops dynamic in their spicy bite, the alcohol evident, as it warms your tummy, very dry and lingering aftertaste. What can I say, I’ve been a “Stoner” since the very first day I quaffed one of their brews, and will be still the day they shovel dirt in my face.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2007 21:53:19 | More by Gusler

beerthulhu

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

from notes:

A: Pours a clear golden orange color. Labeled as a "Golden triple/saison" hybrid at 8.4%.

S: Big lemon peel on nose with some fruitiness and lots of ginger.

T: Flavor is sour oranges and apples, caramel malt, citrus, and ginger spicing. Palate is dry and full of ripe fruit and dry floral hops. There is some sweet candi sugar and dried apricot hints as well.

M: The texture is slick and slippery on the tongue.

D: Overall a decent brew that would of probably come off better with aging and without the label or comparison to the authentic Belgian styles golden triple and sasion.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2010 23:30:38 | More by beerthulhu

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Slightly hazed, golden orange colour with a white cap of foam. The fine bubbles produced lots of pretty lacing and showed pretty good head retention. The aroma was full of spicy cloves and sweet candy sugar, backed up by a tart fruitiness. The flavour was quite sweet with low bitterness. Sugary and spicy (cloves), the finish had a peppery character. Medium bodied and carbonation, slightly sticky, with a nearly airy texture. Quite nice overall, but there cloves were sort of out of control. Not as balanced as last year's offering.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2007 05:02:51 | More by DrJay

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Hazy-bronze with floaties, white head, very little retention, light lacing.

S: Candied pineapple, gingerbread, spice & a slight fruity tartness.

T: Spicy gingerbread, tropical fruit, cloves, grain, light bitterness, slight tartness, light alcohol warmth.

M: Moderate body & carbonation with a dry finish.

D: Something to sip with dinner.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2008 00:06:29 | More by Derek

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.43/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a nice orange golden with a reasonable head that is fine and white and settles to a thin swirly cap. Nice aromas of candi sugar, pears, cardamom, bananas, and some light alcohol. Very integrated and pleasant aromas. The taste is also a seemless blend of Belgian yeast flavors and fruit. Apple, pear , and banana pair with some light clove spiciness and some residual sweetness as well as some citrusy bitterness. Delicious. This beer is smooth, creamy, and lightly spicy, and drinking beautifully right now.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2008 22:15:17 | More by Georgiabeer