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.

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Reviews

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Reviews by ThisWangsChung:

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

4.53/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured into a Williamsburg Winery wine glass.

A: Pours an unbelievably black body along with a light tan colored head. This has an insane head for 10.8%, with incredible retention and lacing. Aesthetically, an amazing beer.

S: The best descriptor of the smell is chocolate-glazed grapefruit. Not the smoothest blend of flavors to me, but it does smell nice.

T: Starts with some subtle, roasty chocolate and coffee, while it finishes with a textbook grapefruit hop/slight booze finish. Not much in the way of pine notes, and in terms of booziness, it comes across like it's 9%, rather than almost 11%. I was worried that the roast/chocolate wouldn't mix with the hop character, but my fears were assuaged. Excellent.

M: This doesn't have the sticky, palate killing finish like SOME Stone beers (cough Arrogant Bastard cough), which in this situation, is good. Nicely heavy-bodied, with high carbonation and a warming alcohol finish.

O: It was worth getting too drunk after drinking 2/3rds of this, throwing up half of my dinner an hour later, waking up with a solid hangover at 5:00 AM, and being completely sick of anything alcoholic for a couple days after having this. That is all.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 00:59:24 | More by ThisWangsChung

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