Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

mjgarrett2

Maryland

4.15/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

You really can smell and taste the Anaheim chilies up front with the cinnamon presence on the nose. Struggling to appreciate any cinnamon flavor, where I mostly taste the chillie and special yeasts.

An interesting and whimsical beer on the whole from a brewery who have the tradition of smacking you in the face with bold hopped up monsters.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 01:16:17 | More by mjgarrett2

DmouthCaliBrewz

New Hampshire

4.29/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured into a FFF teku a hazy copper with a minimal few millimeters of foam that quickly recedes leaving a minimal amount of lacing - most likely from the wet glass

S: Spices - cinnamon and clove, some chile, tart red wine, and a bit of funk.

T: Tart fruits and red wine at first, immediately giving way to a subtle yet noticeable hint of chile spice and detectable funkiness. After a few moments, the Cinnamon starts to reveal itself, along with a definite peppery zing from the Belgian yeast, and more herbal notes. I also am detecting a buttery sweetness, which is an interesting companion to the tannicity from the red wine barrels. Finishes with a pleasant and crisp hop bitterness that emerges from the peppery and herbal spice, which nicely balances the buttery sweetness present in the middle. After exhaling I get more pepper, cinnamon, spice, andsome medicinal phenol.

M: Oddly buttery and sweet, considering the tart and tannic aspects from the yeast and red wine barrels.

O: A very unique and interesting beer that really pushes the limits of what yeast can do, without overdoing what many brewers chose to push too hard. Perfect level of funk, and I really was intrigued at how it could be so buttery, and yet also have a somewhat tannic as well as tart finish. Truly an interesting blend. Thats why time after time, Stone fails to disappoint…..but maybe thats just homerism

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 03:13:23 | More by DmouthCaliBrewz

Rogorama

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-21-2013 13:47:42 | More by Rogorama

CDCNAM

Louisiana

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-20-2013 16:17:28 | More by CDCNAM

IP-EH

California

2.75/5  rDev -27.1%

05-19-2013 22:08:46 | More by IP-EH

beernads

Florida

3/5  rDev -20.4%

05-18-2013 06:39:24 | More by beernads

olafphysics

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-17-2013 23:36:25 | More by olafphysics

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-17-2013 15:10:00 | More by twenty5

jpaulsen

California

4/5  rDev +6.1%

05-17-2013 01:45:27 | More by jpaulsen

lucasj82

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-15-2013 03:03:03 | More by lucasj82

Zbeetleman

California

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-15-2013 03:01:25 | More by Zbeetleman

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -13.8%

05-13-2013 22:28:37 | More by mikeincharleston

csfcmitchell

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-13-2013 15:55:23 | More by csfcmitchell

vrbulldog22

Ohio

3/5  rDev -20.4%

05-13-2013 01:50:59 | More by vrbulldog22

C20Percent

Virginia

4.04/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Hazy bronze with a tan head of foam. Body is not clean. There is much complexity in the color.

S: Fall spices -- cinnamon. Biscuit malts. Bready. Chiles (I guess so). Tabasco. Oxidation.

T: Cinnamon is strong. Chiles. Tart. Bit sour. Bready. Kinda boozy.

M: Smooth and creamy. Nice carbonation. Buttery.

O: Very unique beer. They get points for that. My best judgement is the way this beer taste is the way it was intended to taste after that one year. Not something I could drink every day, but for something as experimental as this it was pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 22:24:40 | More by C20Percent

koopa

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-12-2013 02:36:15 | More by koopa

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -20.4%

05-10-2013 12:55:20 | More by tommyguz

cadaugherty

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-07-2013 23:16:37 | More by cadaugherty

mfnmbvp

Illinois

4.23/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bottle, with a more than obvious vintage date. This is my first beer in the series of Vertical Epic beers that Stone did, although I will review the Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale soon enough, to see how they compare.

Due to the lack of a snifter, I'm pouring this into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Aggressive pour manages to conjure a finger of tan off-white foamy head on top of a dark cherry / chestnut colored body. Some bubbles lazily floating to the top. Virtually no lacing on the glass. Second pour yields an entirely different, darker, hazier, dark orange / brown hybrid color, with massive amounts of dark and light sediment floating around.

S - At first, what is more apparent is the Belgian yeast and funk. As the head dissipates, herbal spice rack notes begin to emerge, not cinnamon, almost more like oregano or thyme. Very strange, it must be the chile smell. Also a sweetness buried in there, which could also be from the Anaheim chiles. Faint muted hops come through, as well. As the beer warms, dark fruit smells begin to emere; plum, fig, & raisin with some nutty wine-like characteristics.

T - Taste is very pleasing at first, thankfully not overly hot with chiles and spice. What little heat there is can be attributed to the alcohol. Taste is of caramelized malts and tea leaf like sweetness, with a fair amount of lively carbonation, and a warm finish, which I assume is from the chiles. Aftertaste is of brettanomyces. I am actually really enjoying this. Again, not really getting any distinct cinnamon out of this, though. As the beer warms, the bretty aftertaste fades, giving way to a sweet tea leaf finish & sticky hop presence, with a faint subtle warmth from the chiles.

M - Feel is sweet, lightly bitter, light hotness. Ends somewhat sticky & dry, beckoning the palate for another sip.

Overall, having no prior knowledge of any of the other beers in this series, I would say that this is a good worthy beer, considering this beer was aged for year and a half, and also considering I'm not the biggest fan of Belgian style ales. I would definitely be interested in seeing how others in this series have held up, and I will be getting myself a bottle of Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale soon, to see how that one fares as well. In the meantime, if you're holding down a bottle of this, I would recommend opening it now!

Stone 11.11.11. Vertical Epic Ale ---4/5.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 21:13:45 | More by mfnmbvp

DefinitelyNotBatman

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +19.4%

05-07-2013 17:30:04 | More by DefinitelyNotBatman

beertardis

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-07-2013 09:44:51 | More by beertardis

Laurenessa

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-01-2013 21:50:28 | More by Laurenessa

blknikon

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

04-30-2013 19:10:22 | More by blknikon

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.76/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a murky dark reddish amber in color with light amounts of gentle visible carbonation and some garnet red + copper highlights. The beer has a finger tall sudsy beige head that quickly reduces to a medium patch of very thin film with a medium thick ring of larger bubbles around the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of sweet malts with some notes of fruits (apple) and candi sugar. There are light to moderate notes of spices - cinnamon, spicy black pepper, chili peppers, and clove. Light hints of booze.

T: Similar to the smell, upfront there are moderate flavors of sweet pale malts with caramel, brown sugar, candi sugar, and toffee notes. There are light to moderate flavors of spices - cinnamon, black pepper, chili pepper, and cloves. Also, a light amount of pine/resin hops are present in the finish. Light to moderate amounts of bitterness which fade rather quickly.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth with just a light hint of dryness in the finish.

O: This beer seems to have become a little more barleywine like than it was when it was fresh (gotten a little sweeter and a little more boozy) while retaining many of the interesting spice flavors. Enjoyable but not my favorite of the vertical epic series.

Note: Originally had this beer fresh on-tap at Mug's Alehouse in Brooklyn, NY (Belgium 2 Brooklyn Festival).

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 00:53:54 | More by dbrauneis

BurgeoningBrewhead

Pennsylvania

4.41/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a chalice. I guess "pale ale" is a relative term in this case; but I'd be disappointed if beers in this series stayed within style lines. It's a dark cloudy orange with a lively white head that dissipates leaving some lacing on the glass. Smell is quite perplexing; warm and spicy, presumably the intermingling of the chilies and the belgian yeast. Taste follows; no actual spice from the chilies, but a delicious warm flavor. The "belgian" character is very diminished in this beer (which is good for me, I don't like belgians). Alcohol isn't noticeable at all, surprising for 9andsomething%. Mouthfeel is rather full. Even though it's more of an experimental beer, it's the best belgian-style beer I've had so far.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 01:27:24 | More by BurgeoningBrewhead