15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

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BA SCORE
94
exceptional
-
1,328 Ratings

rAvg: 4.23
pDev: 12.77%
Reviews: 705
Hads: 623

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Stone Brewing Co.

California, United States

Style | ABV
American Black Ale | 10.80% ABV

Availability: Limited (brewed once). bottle (620), on-tap (76), growler (8), cask (1).

Notes:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.

No notes at this time.

View: Beers (85) | Reviews (242) | Events (1)

Reviews

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Reviews by JimmyTango:

JimmyTango

California

4.25/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours like an imperial stout-black and thick with a big dark brown head. Smells like hops, lots of very tasty hops. Licorice, toast, and carmel malts are also there in the nose, but the main impression is hops and black. The taste follows the smell, but with more of a toast malt than the carmel smell suggested, more grassy hops than anticipated, but accompanied by the oily, piney, soapy hops that the nose promised. A touch of citrus rind, but nothing like in Sublimely Self Righteous. Pretty chewy and sugary, but without much sweetness. Bitterness is gnar, but not unchecked by the big black malts. This was great, hella great. Very different from SSR in a more deep and complex way. I’d say this is for sure gnarlier, but not any less drinkable. Big. Huge! I love that it still manages to come across as something completely different from a hoppy stout… I loved it, but will probably reach for the SSR when I’m in an IPA mood. This is more overwhelming.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2012 21:58:24 | More by JimmyTango

More User Reviews:

beernads

Florida

3.75/5 rDev -11.3%

05-18-2013 06:39:49 | More by beernads

OC_Beer_Fan

California

4/5 rDev -5.4%

05-17-2013 05:22:10 | More by OC_Beer_Fan

Zbeetleman

California

4.5/5 rDev +6.4%

05-15-2013 03:05:13 | More by Zbeetleman

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4/5 rDev -5.4%

05-13-2013 22:24:50 | More by mikeincharleston

csfcmitchell

Texas

4.25/5 rDev +0.5%

05-13-2013 15:54:17 | More by csfcmitchell

Whiskeydeez

Kansas

4.25/5 rDev +0.5%

05-08-2013 17:19:02 | More by Whiskeydeez

cadaugherty

Illinois

4/5 rDev -5.4%

05-07-2013 23:01:09 | More by cadaugherty

Tom-Peters

California

4.5/5 rDev +6.4%

05-06-2013 19:43:12 | More by Tom-Peters

campfirebrew

New York

4/5 rDev -5.4%

04-04-2013 14:53:21 | More by campfirebrew

Obsidian

California

2.75/5 rDev -35%

04-03-2013 03:18:40 | More by Obsidian

Smurf2055

Washington

3.68/5 rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Reviewed Dec 2011

Poured from bottle into a pint glass.

Pours like a stout, with a nice tan head about a finger thick. Good lacing.

It’s got some coffee and licorice, but the pine and hops smell as well. Maybe a bit of caramel. An interesting mix.

Taste really confused me. It’s a light body, very smokey, almost ashy. Greets you with light coffee and finishes with a hop kick near the end. I couldn’t tell it was over 10%. Very powerful. Leaves a nice aftertaste.

Overall, it’s a very interesting beer to say the least. Very complex and very bold. Impressive.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 20:11:28 | More by Smurf2055