Stone 13th Anniversary Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

ibbjamin

California

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Paid $5.99 for a bomber from BevMo in San Jose, CA. Poured into a snifter to review.

Nice light beige head of about an inch consistent of medium sized bubbles. Nice retention of fine bubbles about a quarter inch in height. Good lacing.

Smell is strong, complex and very well balanced. Herbal hops mingle perfectly with sweet caramel malts. The strength from the alcohol is detectable but plays nicely with the balance of the beer.

Taste is equally strong with the sweet caramel malts taking the forefront. Hops still quite present, backing this one up nicely.

Most of the mouthfeel seems to be somewhere in the middle road; medium body, finish, thickness and carbonation.

It is hard for me not to compare this to Arrogant Bastard and in doing so, I think it that this is the older brother who is even more of a bully. I've always been amazed by the balance and strength of flavor in Arrogant Bastard. This one pushes the envelope and if I had to choose, I think I'd go for a bomber of the Arrogant Bastard, but I'd still recommend this to any Stone fan. I've read reviews of this beer recommending cellaring this one to let the booze settle down a bit; not a bad recommendation, but it would be at the expense of a more subdued hop profile. I'm curious to know how it works out for them.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 00:59:42 | More by ibbjamin

heliosphann

Indiana

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Lucky #13! My favorite number. I've loved the Stone Anniversary beers in the past, so hopefully this one will continue that trend. 22oz Bomber poured into a pint glass. Split with fellow BA Infestaxion.

A: Dark Ruby Red brilliance with a small amount of head. This is one damn good looking beer. Let's hope the carpet matches the drapes!

S: I'm not getting much from the XIII, even as it warms up. The hops and malts seem to even each other out, yielding some faint caramel/fruit fragrance.

T: Malty smoothness upfront is shattered by the heavy handed hops which dominate the finish. Not only that, but they linger around. As I work my way down to the bottom of the glass, I notice the malt backbone a bit more, but the hops are still prevalent. Virtually no sweetness at all.

M: Average carbonation with a medium body. Nothing crazy here.

D: I suppose it's decent for such a hopped up red. The 9.5% ABV is hidden pretty well. Not sure if I'd drink a whole 22oz of this, the bitterness definitely fatigues the pallet.

One of my least favorite offerings from Stone, and somewhat of a disappointment. I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was more malt presence and sweetness to balance the massive hops.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2009 19:08:59 | More by heliosphann

craytonic

District of Columbia

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Hazy chestnut-mahogany-brown, very small amount of spotty lacing, average head

Smell: medium-dark malt, light hops, biscuity-bread, toffee

Taste: "Balanced" in all the wrong ways, tastes like an encyclopedia entry for the style - a bit boring with some sticky grapefruit for a bit of life. Typical stone.

Mouthfeel: Bit thiner than I expected; also a bit oily.

Drinkability: Not a beer that disappears.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2009 02:45:58 | More by craytonic

Naugled

New York

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Found on tap at Half Time

dark ruby brown clear body. loose brown head with adequate retention.

Hops up front in the nose with roasty sweetness in the back ground

bitterness up front, with a deep resiny hop flavor to follow, mostly pine notes. somewhat good balance but the high carbonation kinda throws it off for me, adds too much sharpness and carb bite.

drinkability is ok but not fantastic.

Serving type: on-tap

01-03-2010 22:49:39 | More by Naugled

ClavisAurea

New York

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22ox bottle in a snifter glass

Appearance: dark amber with a firm head head

Nose: strong hops, chemical, very slight dark fruit

Taste: aggressive hops, slight malty sweetness, flowery but not in the traditional IPA way, almost like a Belgium double as it warms up, the complexity deepens as the temp went up

I normally like Stone's product but this one struck me as way too aggressive and difficult to drink. It was very hard to get past the intense bitterness of the hops. I think I'll stick with their Arrogant Bastard and Double Arrogant Bastard Ales.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2010 13:11:45 | More by ClavisAurea

charlzm

California

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Consumed Feb 19th, 2010.

Beer pours a hazy mahogany. Though few, tiny bubbles rise steadily for quite a while through the glass, repleneshing a pale tan head that's really more of a foamy skin. Good lacing.

Aroma is yeasty with resiny, sappy hop notes still apparent after many months in the bottle. Slight spicy note (cinnamon? ginger?) as well.

Flavor is different from fresh draft I consumed seven months ago! Bready malt up front, though relatively fleeting, is a mildly sweet launching point. Strong resiny hops form the middle, borrowing a page from the Arrogant Bastard playbook. The finish is slightly woody and significantly bitter. Some warming.

Mouthfeel is slightly thick and a little bit oily. The evaporative finish I noted on draft is not present here, though the end of each quaff is RELATIVELY clean and dry. Except for the lingering bitterness, of course.

Not as special as some of Stone's other anniversary ales and not especially drinkable due to the overwhelming, barleywine-like hop midtaste.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2010 22:09:57 | More by charlzm

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.55/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22 oz bottle, purchased for 5.99

Very dark crimson/amber color, translucent clarity, with a high creamy, tan head with excellent retention and streaks of lacing. Aroma is dry and hoppy, citrus and pine, lots of malt, very similar to a barleywine. Body has caramel and roasted malt backbone that attempts to balance out the hop assault in the finish. Flavor in body is fairly sweet and the finish has a drier pine bite. Mouthfeel is slightly thinner than expected, with sharp carbonation. Finish also has potent alcohol presence. Reminds me more of Rogue XS Red or Terrapin's Big Hoppy Monster, more than Nugget Nectar. A solid offering from Stone as usual, but something just seemed off in the balance and the alcohol presence was a little strong. A bargain compared to the Rogue Imperial but overall disappointing for Stone.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2009 00:49:57 | More by yourefragile

Beaver13

Colorado

3.55/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 oz bottle. Pours dark amber with a creamy tan head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is piney hops, molasses, anise, some fruits and a little tar.

The flavor is sweet caramel malts and some fruits with a big piney, charred hop finish. As it warms, the fruits start to overwhelm the charry nature. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with good carbonation.

Overall, a pretty simplistic "black IPA". It's got some good hops and sweet malts. This seems pretty similar to the 11th / SSR Ale. I remember liking that one a bit better.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2009 08:19:45 | More by Beaver13

blivingston1985

North Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

My first impression when pouring this brew into my glass was that it looked beautiful. Nice, light creamy mocha head that had decent lasting power. Then I smelled it. Not good. Not bad. Interesting, for sure. Kind of hard for me to place. Sort of a decaying vegetable smell to it when the head is thick and fresh. Not wholly unpleasant, just different. Certainly fades quite a bit as the head shrinks down. Settles into a pretty common dark strong ale scent. Hops and alcohol.

Rather malty when it first hits the tongue and is finished with the typical Stone Ale bitterness that so many of use love about their brews. I am very middle of the road on this one. It is worth a try, interesting to describe, but not much of a drinker. I am glad I only bought the one bottle. Nice try fellas. Can't wait for the 14th Anniversary.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2010 03:22:16 | More by blivingston1985

warnerry

Michigan

3.55/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

"enjoy in 2009"; yeah, didn't get to it until 10/5/2010

Pours a deep amber with three fingers of head, leaving nice lacing behind.

Smell is mostly grapefruit rind and rind, followed by some caramel malt and some quite apparent alcohol.

Still a decent hop punch in the taste, mostly grapefruit and pine. Balanced with caramel malt, and a faint taste of bubblegum. Quite bitter on the aftertaste, and the alcohol makes no attempt to hide itself.

Medium, slightly oily mouthfeel.

Overall this is bitter with some obvious alcohol, but still enjoyable even if it was past it's prime.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2011 01:40:51 | More by warnerry

Overlord

California

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours amber, not red. Maybe some ruby highlights if I hold it up to a car's high beams.

Surprisingly robust and long lasting off-white head.

Smells like bitter hops. Maybe some grapefruit in there, too. I don't know ... I was expecting a bit more of a malt or tropical fruit presence .... or maybe a bit more balance. This is kind of like a more subdued tongue buckler in the aroma, when I was expecting a juicier, maltier impy red.

Tongue Buckler is the beer that comes to mind in re: the flavor. Grapefruit/orange rind, bitter piney hoppiness ... maybe a smidgen of lighter citrus ... but it isn't a complex beer. And, frankly, not as good as much of Stone's regular lineup. There's some toffee/caramel malt lingering about, but the hops take over.

It's listed here as an American Amber/Red, and while it fits that style, I was expecting more of a 2006 Alesmith Decadence style Imperial Red, with a f***-ton of sticky malt to complement a complex hops presence. Blindfolded, I'd think this was a perhaps slightly sweeter than normal IPA. You get some balancing agents, but basically, it's a bitter brew.

Smooth and drinkable with a good mouthfeel. Somewhat boozy.

As the years pass, Stone's 10th anniversary IPA shines brighter and brighter.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2009 09:47:52 | More by Overlord

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I don't buy nearly as much Stone beer as I used to but I'm always game to pick up a lone bottle of any one-offs or anniversary beers when they show up. Given that this was billed as the hoppiest beer they have produced I was a little excited to see how it lived up to that claim. It is an unsurprisingly red-amber color, very good head and it sure smells damned hoppy. The flavor is abrasive, brash hops which I can see why some people are put off by the way Stone hops their beers but I dig it. There was also a solid maltiness and the mouthfeel was thick. This was a good beer but nothing beats the 10th in my opinion that stuff was one of my favorite IPA's ever.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2009 19:59:13 | More by ArrogantB

teamizm

California

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Serving: 22 oz bomber

A - Dark amber pour, with an initial 2 finger head and subsides into a very thin lace.

S - Piney resin and floral hops. A near IPA smell. The booziness smell comes out strong as it warms up.

T - Bigfoot-esque notes - borderline barleywine profile here. You get hit with the initial hops (fairly strong too) and then comes down w/ a fairly alcohol flavor (almost rum-like)

M - Lightly carbonated, fairly light mouthfeel

D - This is where I probably deviate from the other reviewers. I really like SN Bigfoot, but this beer just comes off too boozy for me. The hard alcohol (I'm thinking rum) notes are just way too strong for me. It hits your mouth right away, almost as if there was a pour of rum sitting on top of the beer. What struck me was the lack of balance

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2009 04:26:03 | More by teamizm

paco1029384756

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark ruby brown color with a large off white head.

Scent of strong oily hops, light grain, and alcohol. The hops are nice and strong, but the alcohol is pretty strong as well; a good scent regardless.

Taste of hops, sugars, charred malts, fruit, and alcohol. The flavor itself isn't too bad, but the hop level in the taste is very disappointing. This one fell pretty far below my expectations.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with good carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2009 00:34:51 | More by paco1029384756

BeerManDan

California

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Compared to other Strong Ale's, Stone just dosen't do it for me. The color was of a dark reddish brown and that was good. But, the smell of piney hops just like all of the other beers was like, same ole, same ole. The taste was of piney hops and not much of anything else. Same bitterness as always! It's getting to be that all of there Ale's are starting to taste the same. I guess my palete must be going south. Excuse me for saying, this is a good ale, but for me, just another Above Average IPA!

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2009 22:55:25 | More by BeerManDan

number1bum

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a viscious looking dark scarlet/mahogany color with two plus fingers of creamy, dense tan head. Retention is good, keeping a full lace and leaving some patchy stick on the sides of the pint glass.

Smells of floral, citrusy hops with a strong malt presence, as well. Malt consists of lots of bready, dark caramel, some toasted malt and even a hint of chocolate. There is some booze in this nose, as well, but overall it's quite nice. I actually wish the hops popped even a little more than they do, though.

Like the nose this is quite hoppy but also balanced nicely by a big malt backbone. It's also on the boozy side, however, which detracts from what otherwise would be a nicely balanced brew. The hops are very citrusy, with an aggressive bitterness, but where a super juiciness would fit the bill there is instead a hot alcohol finish. Lots of malt, as well, with big caramel flavor in particular, but again the booze is a bit much.

Mouthfeel is a hefty medium body, quite slick and smooth but it's hurt by the hot alcohol in the finish. Beating a dead horse here, but it's just too damn not and the mouthfeel is harsh and suffers for it.

This is a pretty good beer but it's too hot, and surprisingly for a brewery like Stone it could also be hoppier. Maybe the hop flavor is overwhelmed by the alcohol and big malt backbone, but for me I'm left wishing for more hop flavor. If the alcohol were toned down and the hop flavor was cranked up this would be a real winner. Still worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2009 02:05:49 | More by number1bum

thryn

Florida

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

dark reddish-brown. Lets a fair bit of light through. light tan two-finger head.

tons of piney hops and some biscuit in the nose. Also a bit of raisin.

this is a pretty hoppy beer, but it's balanced too. hits hard up front, with piney and grapefruity hops that get very bitter, but that bitterness is then tempered by the roasty and sweet notes coming through. some caramel and biscuit.

sticky finish.

light to medium body and some sharp carbonation.

worth a try for hopheads, but not my favorite Stone.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2009 06:04:45 | More by thryn

mdfb79

New York

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz. bomber into a pint glass.

a - Poured a dark hazelnut brown with about two fingers of brownish white head with good retention. No carbonation evident.

s - Smells of caramel and sweet malts. Also a tiny hint of hops and booze. Was expecting more hops to jump out in the smell.

t - Tastes stronlgy of sweet malts again. Also tastes of caramel and toffee, as well as a little bit of booze.

m - Medium body with a little carbonation and a littler creamty. Also a little bit hot from the alcohol.

d - Overall I thought it had a nice sweet malt taste to it, but was a little too hot. I was expecting more hops than malts, but the malts still smelled and tasted good. An above average strong ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2010 02:26:39 | More by mdfb79

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Got a bottle of this in August of 2010, so the brew was not fresh like the bottle says it should be enjoyed. However I wanted to have it and give it a try. The brew poured out as a brownish color with a pretty decent head on it. The smell of the beer is malty and had some nice hops in there also. The taste of the brew was similar to a Barley Wine to me. Sweet, hoppy and dry. The mouthfeel was on the thicker side. Overall not a bad brew, wish I could have had it sooner just to see the difference.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2011 03:35:50 | More by Knapp85

mattwjones

California

3.6/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured this beer from a bomber into a 17.5 oz snifter.

The pour was nice. This beer is much darker than I expected. The head is slight and looks like espresso foam. The color is dark and turns red when held up to the lights.

The smell is malty with hops in the background. It almost smells like dried fruit and molasses.

The taste is big malt upfront and has a hoppy finish. Molasses comes out again. Once the beer warms up there is a strong alcohol bite.

Te mouthfeel is solid. It is thick but not syrupy.

Although this is not a syrupy brew, I dont see myself sessioning this beer. I would buy it again if I had the chance though.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2009 04:46:30 | More by mattwjones

movingtrain

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Growler pour into a Stone Levitation glass.

Dark, dark amber/brown...lingering on black. A good two finger head formed at first, but has since receded to a very light bit hanging out on top.

Smells hoppy...to be expected from Stone...but it's not overly hoppy in the nose. Some cinnamon, apple, ginger spice, peppercorn.

Taste is not what I expected...some very strong cinnamon taste...man, I can't put my finger on the flavors here. It's pretty bitter. There are some fruited notes, pineapple, apple, plum, maybe? Some clove flavor...hops are becoming more and more present throughout the drink as the beer continues to warm. Bitter grapefruit coming through now...again, hops are beginning to overpower some of the initial underlying flavors.

This beer is good...but I'm not super impressed. It's very hoppy, which continues to build in the flavor. An interesting color and body. I am interested to see this one with a bit of age on it, to see if the hops will settle down and bring out some of the other tasty flavors that seem to be in this beer, but are not fully present right now. At the end of the drink, the only thing remaining on the palate is hop devastation.

Serving type: growler

07-12-2009 22:43:32 | More by movingtrain

ChillMike

Alabama

3.63/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a dark ruby red color that allows only a bit of light through. A perfect 2 fingered "burnt" white colored head that leaves some nice lacing all around the glass.

S: Smells like a sweeter AB with more hoppiness. That was the first thing that came to mind, zesty hops and nice clean crisp hop scent. Very nice.

T: (I've been waiting for this one!) Lots of bitter hops here, again sort of a different take on an arrogant bastard, more hop, a little sweeter but the alcohol shines through a bit more than usual for a stone brew. It is a big in your face type of brew but not as interesting as I would have hoped. (I still miss 10th with all my beer soaked liver)

MF:Medium bodied beer with lots of carbonation. Meh.

D: Sort of down on this one with how high the abv is on top of the fact that the alcohol is ever noticeable, this is a nice to try beer but definitely not your every day or even every week type of beer.

Overall I have to say I'm a bit disappointed, not that it is a bad beer far from it but I was just really hoping for something crazy from the Stone guys this time around. I think 10th really set my expectations way too high.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2009 05:59:52 | More by ChillMike

jdflyer06

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from a bomber into a snifter

A - Exceptional! Dark, almost ruby like color when held up to the light. The head is light, tan, but with enough substance to hold it's own throughout and leave some thick lacing on the side.

S - Complex but not completely there yet. It smells young, but that's to be expected. Some piney notes and over ripe citrus dominate at first followed by a hint of dark fruit and a rich caramel and malt finish. I can feel the burn of the alcohol in my nostrils.

M - Medium carbonation, medium body with a dry finish and a pretty good bit of warmth from the alcohol

T - Pretty good balance of hop bitterness and malt sweetness but the alcohol is way too aggressive right now. Picking up some apple peel and bitter unripe citrus. I was expecting some more fruity esters after reading some reviews. It falls flat in the taste category but still good enough to finish by myself.

D - Not very drinkable right now. Should mellow out in a year or so. I'm going to lay some down for a while and review six months and one year from now.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2009 01:50:51 | More by jdflyer06

zplug123

Georgia

3.63/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured out of a 22 oz bottle:

A: Dark red-brown, cola-like color. Solid head with persistent retention.

S: Strong hops smell followed by malt, aroma is pleasantly appropriate for a strong ale

T: Bitter throughout with undertones of smoked malt. Pine-citrus taste is apparent and sticks to the tongue

M: Dry finish, leaves the typical resin feel at the end. Medium body with mild carbonation

D: Definitely a beer to sit down with and explore. Wouldn't have it for anything other than a special occasion.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2009 03:28:22 | More by zplug123

lackenhauser

Maryland

3.63/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Deep amber in color-somewhat of a pale mahogany color. Small tight head. Big hops blast in the aroma. Blast of hop bitterness upfront that tends to fade into more of a hop flavor. Sugary sweet caramel malt flavors. Somewhat astringent for me and there is a bit of alcohol burn. Balance seems a bit off. Ok body-again the hop bitterness comes across as harsh and the whole thing is a tad boozy. A notch above average. Some cellaring is in order here.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2009 03:01:40 | More by lackenhauser