Bottleworks 13th Anniversary Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

brystmar

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle shared by blatantdream.

Nice appearance, good head & lace. Smokey / roasty aroma, boozy, dark. Taste follows suit, finishing boozy and slightly smokey in the back of my throat. Kinda jumbled, doesn't seem to know its direction. Not good, also not bad. Glad to tick it though.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2012 00:45:30 | More by brystmar

YouSkeete

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Chalky dark brown appearance with a thick mocha colored head. Aroma is full of roasted malts and molasses; sweet, nutty and creamy nose. Rich malt and sour brown sugar kick on the first sip. Predominantly malty and medium-sized body with hints of milk chocolate, bitter chocolate and dark fruits. Nutty, sour, sweet mouthfeel. Not absurdly impressive but a good brew nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2012 00:15:07 | More by YouSkeete

match1112

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

pours a dark coffee color with amber highlights around the edges. an inch of mocha colored head shows good staying power and leaves tons of lacing behind. i'm able to detect hops (go figure), chocolate, oat, rye and alochol. the taste i'm not real fond of. it wants to be sweet, roasted, hoppy, burnt all at the same time. just too much goin on for me. a full body and nice carbonation are over shadowed by the burnt grains and sugars. unfortunatly not real excited by this beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2012 01:49:40 | More by match1112

hosehead83

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 22oz. bomber bottle into a wine goblet.
Deep dark pour with ruby highlights, leading to a nice big head of tan foam.
Aroma-Interestin boquet of hops and chocolate
Taste-Big roasty and hoppy flavors collide in big waves of flavor and a little hottness. This is a high gravity brew to be sure. Very complex and chock-full of character. Smooths out upon warming a bit. Creamy and pretty well-balanced for the insane amount of hops and grains.
A great match for grilled marinated steaks or just sip slowly and enjoy. Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 15:35:54 | More by hosehead83

Jason

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz brown bomber, vintage tied to anniversary date.

LOOK: Amazing head, lacing is spectacular, shade or two away form pitch black

SMELL: Toasty, fruitcake, alcohol, hop resin, papaya, broth, orange peel, spicy, biscuits, kumquats

TASTE: Creamy, silky, dank, bitter, alcohol, pungent, citrus rind, guava, cocoa powder, thick, fresh cut grass, earth, ripe dragonfruit, pulling finish

Some say it is a hot mess and others love it. My palate was tested and I survived. Did I cry? No. Did I have fun trying to figure out what the fuck I was sipping? Yes. To date ... the most fun / interesting brew I have had this year. Gratz BottleWorks on 13 years and a huge nod to Stone for brewing this with them.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2012 03:51:15 | More by Jason

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a bottle into a Dogfish snifter. The ultimate "whatever the hell else we have left" beer...

A- pours black with a robust, three finger tan head. Lighter and fluffier than your typical stout head...

S- the hop aroma from this is interesting...light pine, and light citrus. There's also a little bit of a bready quality from the ton of malts in this one. Hmmm...not sure how I feel

T- this is....extremely weird. The bitterness is very low, and I'm getting an odd piney/citrus flavor...it's not that pleasant

M- thin body. Whatever

O- this is a mess. A complete and utter mess. It can't be classified as anything. Ugh.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 21:51:55 | More by bigfnjoe

homebrew311

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into snifter. Appears deep dark blackish brown with a bit of light passage. Small amount of white head with nice amount of retention. Minimal lacing present. Nose is very malty with notes of molasses and grape. Some deep dark syrupy chocolate is present followed by earthy hops character. The taste starts off very sweet. I almost feel like all the hop and malt varieties are overdone as the result is somewhat messy. The finish is a bit boozy and very sweet. The hops just don't cut into the thick malt profile. The mouth feel is thick and the carbonation is mild. Overall, this beer is lacing in the balance department.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 03:06:16 | More by homebrew311

VncentLIFE

North Carolina

3.35/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pour is a deep murky brown with no head (well whats there is bright white). The smell is loaded with toffee and caramel, with a dominating herbal/medicinal hop presence. Theres an odd mix of Barleywine sweetness and ESB medicinal bitterness that Im not fond of.

The flavors arent all that great, and dont really mesh to well together, until its way above room temperature. then it turns into an English Barleywine with toffee dominating almost too much.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2012 02:58:53 | More by VncentLIFE

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

4.28/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 22 oz. bomber bottle served chilled into a Bruery tulip glass.

Appearance: Pours a very full, beige, three finger head with really good retention. Very thick and creamy. Dark brown to black in color.

Aroma: Big and sweet milk chocolate notes cut with some earthy hops upfront. Definitely some caramel and a touch of rye in there as well. I definitely get a lot of sweet milk chocolate similar to an oatmeal stout.

Taste: The complexity of the chocolate malt comes out first and foremost. This is not really hop forward at all, but the hops provide a realy nice earthy, piney feel. There is not the clashing of flavors I sometimes get in Black IPAs. A touch of caramel and rye notes round this out. Very tasty and unique.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied and very creamy and smooth overall. I definitely get the full bodied for the addition of the oats. Very pleasant.

Overall, a really nice beer. I definitely enjoyed this far more than new Stone beers I have enjoyed recently. The chocolate malt really paired well with the malt to create some complexity and a nice hint of sweetness. A pleasant surprise.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2012 02:44:34 | More by Gosox8787

obywan59

Virginia

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very dark brown with ruby highlights. Topped by a 3 finger tan head that leaves some nice lacing.

At first whiff it reminded me a lot of my latest homebrew, Chinook IPA, herbal with overripe citrus. Then the malts took over. Sweet, rich, dark roast coffee and alcohol

The malts and alcohol predominate in the taste. Coffee again, with rich dark fruits and the biterness of roasted barley. Very sweet.

Thick bodied, sticky and syrupy. A light prickle of carbonation, but a substantial burn of alcohol.

Decent. A bit too sweet for the thick body for my taste, but still very good. This beer would be appropriate for a fierce winters night.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 03:13:37 | More by obywan59

argock

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap in a nonic pint at Downtown Johnny Brown's (San Diego, CA). Reviewed from notes.

A: Very dark brown with short cap of light beige head with a few spots of lace.

S: A very dark malty aroma crossed with almost overbearing herbal, earthy hops.

T: The dark maltiness is substantial and carries a fair amount of bulk to match the prune and raisin sweetness. The hoppiness is very herbal, almost grassy, with an earthy feel. Not bitter but a little indistinct in all the flavors.

M: The full body was enjoyable with low carbonation and a creamy, smooth feel.

O: A one-off that, while not bad, should probably stay that way,

Serving type: on-tap

06-25-2012 03:13:01 | More by argock

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.95/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served in a snifter.

Appearance: This beer is a really dark brown-amber, body is semi-opaque with a tan head riising to maybe a full inch, don't worry it settles quick.

Smell: Smell is good but little on the light side. Maple, barley and hops....honestly I want to rate it higher but it is little light.

Taste: Very good and complex, little sweet and little bitter. If you can't taste the malts and hops you might need a new tongue. You feel the caramel as soon as you let the beer leave your mouth. Very good.

Mouth: Medium carbonation, beyond smooth. It is sticky, you put the glass down and definitely feel it minutes later lurking in your cheeks.

Overall: This is great beer, absolutely love every sip of it. Grab a little cheese and you will thank yourself for picking it up, Salud!

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 04:34:50 | More by BlurryVisi0n

rustbox70

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - A very thick beer when being poured. It has a nice dark complication.

S - The aroma is not too hoppy but is certainly noticeable. I could not tell if had been dry hopped or not.

T - A very balanced beer which is good for such a high alcohol content. Considering how many hops are in this beer it seems to blend well. The crystal, and dark malts are the most notable when tasting. Does not have the alcohol taste that some high alcohol percentage beers have.

M - Has a good feel to it. It is very balanced it is not too bitter.

O- Overall a good beer that is worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 01:49:06 | More by rustbox70

oberon

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into an imperial nonic a deep dark brown with a tinge of amber,a creamy one finger light colored head atop that left a few browken rings of lace as it settled slowly.Raisin and sweet cakey aromas with mild earthy hops,it smells like a big sweet alcohol bomb.I am glad to see that it's not a sweet alcohol bomb so much on the palate,there is a sweet dark fruit and cake-like flavors along with some chocolate and mild roast,a earthy almost woody finish to the beer makes it pretty well balanced.A full creamy feel to the beer makes it enjoyable with rich flavors and sticky aftermath,it's a good beer if a bit odd.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 22:31:53 | More by oberon

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.38/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

650 mL bottle. No bottle date. Thanks to iHEARTbeer247 for this bottle.

Appearance - Deep chocolate body with an ample thick and dense mocha head. Murky looking beer. Great retention.

Smell - Smells like... brown beer. Chocolate malts and other malts. Nearly impossible to distinguish other flavors. Pine and somewhat herbal hops in the background.

Taste - A little more concentrated on the chocolate malts. Not to a stout proportion, but definitely pushes it toward the stout end of the spectrum. Nothing terribly interesting, again, but good tasting. Some of the smoked malts come through a bit in the end, but not much. Bitter finish, as expected from Stone.

Mouthfeel - Viscous. Really nice texture. The mess of flavors linger nicely and it's well carbonated. Heavy, but not boozy.

Overall - Well, it's Stone, so it's certainly not bad. But it's uninteresting. Quite dull. I shared this bottle with a friend who described it as going to a Mongolian barbeque and adding a little bit of every ingredient before cooking it. It still tastes like Chinese food, but not good Chinese food.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 14:35:57 | More by Alieniloquium

scottfrie

California

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into tulip.

A: Pours a deep raisin brown with a huge, dense, and oily dark tan head that slowly faded into a thick and rocky film leaving streaks of lace down the glass.
S: Complex nose of malts and hops. Definitley hard to nail down any one element. Smells like a combination of styles, but I would say it reminds me the most of a black IPA.
T: Boozy. Definitely boozy. It works well with the potent mix of flavors though. I get a malt profile that tastes like a mix of a brown ale and a smoked porter, with a leafy, grassy and piney hop profile that doesn’t overpower the grains. The finish is slightly sweet, but the aftertaste is lightly smoky and definitely bitter. I get hints of caramel, toasted marshmallows, cocoa powder and rye. Potent, grainy, spicy, boozy and hoppy all around.
M: Thick body, thick, chewy and greasy mouthfeel, with smooth and slick carbonation. Booze is warm and a bit distracting though.
O: A bit of a clusterfuck. This beer is potent and boozy. I think I like it, but it takes some getting used to. There is definitely a lot going on. Worth a try. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 02:42:50 | More by scottfrie

ChadQuest

Illinois

2.63/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Color is a dirty brown, not opaque, but dirty in color. There is a finger of head and light lacing.

The aroma is unique, it has some elements i normally note with Black IPAs, like the combination of Roast and Big Cascade/Chinook hops along with some peat and raisin.

The flavors are a lot to work through, there is a lot of overlapping and things going on. I really notice Chocolate and Rye like spices, the Rye spice notes seem to really pop out, but some of that might be the healthy amount of noble hops in here, and the Piney Cascade are prevalent also. All of that space between the hoppy spice shin dig is the malt fest that turns this into an interesting dark holiday fruitcake of a beer, so much going on and a lot of it doesn't add much positive, sort of a mess.

Well, it was an affordable bottle, but falls into the same fate as Bells 10,000 of using simpy too much.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2012 04:05:01 | More by ChadQuest

zeff80

Missouri

3.98/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - This limited brew poured out a dark, dark brown color with a bubbly, tan head of foam. It left some sticky rings of lace on the glass.

S - It smelled roasty with notes of pine and some tropical fruits.

T - The 13 malts really come dominate the flavor. Roasty with chocolate, toffee and molasses. It is almost like a big American stout. The is a touch of pine and citrus.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A medium to full bodied ale with a dry finish.

O - This is a great beer. I'm glad I was able to get to try some.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 01:18:46 | More by zeff80

Greywulfken

New York

3.78/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: pours dark brown, nearly black in the glass; head like a milk stout - full and fat, then settles into creamy remains

S: malt bomb with espresso

T: lots of roasty bitter malts and hops, espresso and some sweetness on the backend

M: creamy, bitter, medium-full body

O: Falls somewhere between the American strong ales I've had (Double Bastard, Funky Jewbelation, Life and Limb), and the American black ales I've had (Dubhe, Self-Righteous Ale, Wookey Jack, and Pitch Black IPA) - it was like an Imperial black IPA, but with a little more sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2012 22:37:06 | More by Greywulfken

ccrida

Oregon

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber poured into my large Gulden Draak tulip, Bottleworks 13th Anniversary Ale is a dark brown with a small tan head that leaves very scattered, foamy lace.

Smell is sweet malt, caramel, mish-mash, touch of smoke, char, and fairly pungent over-ripe grapefruit hops.

Taste is better than I expected with the kitchen sink ingredient list. There's some sweetness to the malt, rich caramel as the main component, with a little chocolate, hint of smoke. Nice punch of hops. Not in CDA territory or anything, but it's a notable flavor component, some fruity, sweet and sour citrus, with a bit of fresh pine on the finish.

Mouthfeel is oily, medium-heavy bodied.

Drinkability is pretty good for a big, somewhat thick beer. I actually thought the alcohol was reasonably well masked behind the cacophony of flavors. Paired well a big Nicaraguan cigar (La Perla Habana Rojo perfecto).

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 04:38:32 | More by ccrida

WVbeergeek

Ohio

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

This seems like a lot of ingredients in one beer, 13 hops and 13 grains. Deep cola, brown a bit murky with ruby highlights. Big thicket of tan head, forms thick and resilient. Aroma has dark roasts, caramel, herbal, earthy, and pine hops flowing forth. Big dark roasted malt beer, with herbal/pine notes going on. Awesome well made big burly beer, roasted malts, hints of coffee, big hops all day, a very big beer, I figured it would have been one big clusterfuck with all of the ingredients tossed in, but each sip is tight cohesive well blended and just straight up flavorful and good. I can't believe how damn good this beer is, as it warms it becomes a bit more abrasive with hot alcohol. The hops really are unrelenting when you add in 13 varieties, hop burps galore, big mouthfeel slightly slick with hop oils...this is one big beer. Overall I'm a fan because it hits hard with flavor, hops wielding the power of big beer in a manageable fashion.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2012 00:11:11 | More by WVbeergeek

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

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

22oz bottle.

Pours dark brown with murky shoulders and an inch-plus head of dense tan foam. A partial skim coat remains on the surface along with some dotted lacework.

Aromatics are roasty, chocolaty, and boozy. Shades of Kahlua, nougat, espresso, dark rum and pine sap follow through.

Full bodied, a bit syrupy and a certainly chewy mouthfeel.

Dark chocolate, booze-laced dark fruits, and charred malt start the palate. Resinous, bitter, and piney hops step forward but are muted by the strong alcohol presence and roasty, malty character.

Finishes with some lingering heat, chewy malt and some faint grapefruit.

Big beer. Tough call weather to enjoy what hops there are now or cellar for a year or two to allow the heat to subside and flavors to integrate. A bit rough around the edges now but I love a big beer!

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 02:48:30 | More by brewandbbq

Docer

Washington

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

Appearance: (4.5)

- Wonderful dark rootbeer brown with a couple fingers of viscous light mocha colored head that slowly has settled to a messy bubbly lace-making froth and thick island over the brew. Like a frothy shake. Certainly a pretty beer.

Smell: (3.5)

- Lots of esters and creamy dark smoky and earthy grains. A husky dark brew. Smells of light salts, peat, raisins, fig, alcohol, and a mess of herbal and grassy hops.

Taste: (3.5)

- Huge bitterness pine, grass, and earthy hops. Lots of them. The grain is a big tossup of smoke, chocolate, caramel, peated malts, and sweat husky bready grain overall. Quite the interesting mix. Some strong alcohol is present, and unfortunately an off band-aid-like flavor which is usually due to chlorine in the water. Perhaps that isn't it, but the medicinal off flavor is there.

Mouth Feel: (4.0)

- This is a rather heavy bodied and chewy brew. Quite drying and cloying, and sweet without really being sticky and syrupy. Stone has always been very good with their sweetness levels being rather low in feel. Well carbonated.

Overall: (3.5)

- Overall this beer could be a lot better if it didn't have the off flavors. I feel it could be refined a little more. It's use of bittering hops is huge which is nice, and overall it could be a huge balanced well aging beer. Just not quite there for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2012 23:59:19 | More by Docer

Billolick

New York

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber bottle, w/o bottling date info.

Pours a dark shade of brown, approaching black. Long lasting mocha head, leaves nice fine, high webs of lacing.

Nose that I get is mostly malty with a back note of lite spice.

Large, heady and flavorful brew. Obvious candidate for aging as its 11%! But the alcohol is non existant, at least on my palate. ( But not to my senses, after about 1/2 of a glass)

Malty, with dark chocolate, dark malts, and cafe au lait notes. Densely flavorful and full of nuance and complexity.

Quality sipper/night capper

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2012 02:45:13 | More by Billolick

FosterJM

California

3.55/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

1339th Review on BA
Bottle to Stone Pint
22oz

Purchased at Total Wine, Brea for $6.99

App- Nice solid brown appearance with a good density behind it. A bit of ruby and crimson edges. A very solid two finger head with a good dense cap. Great cling and stick. Best part of the beer.

Smell- There is so much going on that even warm everything is just condensed into one note. A huge malt bill really adds up. Big and thick. A bit of smoke on the finish like a rauchbier.

Taste- This is a big beer. Huge malt bill takes over and all the hops just get buried IMO. A little one dimensional. Had a ton of malts but also was fairly creamy. A little bit of the smoke was on the backend of the flavor.

Mouth- A full medium body with a full medium carbonation. Large amounts of malts with some roast and some smoke. A little creamy and some spicy notes.

Drink- A beer that kinda let me down. It was a mish mash and hard to pick out individual flavors. One dimensional with just a very large malt bill. It was tasty but needed more layers.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 17:56:19 | More by FosterJM