Evil Twin / Stillwater / Stone - "The Perfect Crime" - Stone Brewing Co.

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.89/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a brandy snifter.

A: Dark red-brown (but still translucent) with very little head.

S: Pleasant funky-sour Belgian(?) yeast. Grainy, almost like a tripel. Gingerbread? Rather faint, but still interesting. Ever so faintly metallic.

T: Interesting. This is a pretty nice saison, just wild/funky enough for my tastes, with an interesting complexity and bitterness. Herbal-citric hops and dryish endtaste. The aftertaste is a bit barnyardy, but I am more than prepared to live with that in my saisons. The alleged smokiness is virtually undetectable except at the very, very end.

M: No complaints here. Moving on...

O: I enjoyed it, and I suppose I'd recommend it, but I probably wouldn't have another. Interesting and well-made.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 06:50:00 | More by AgentMunky

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.9/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

$3.49 a single is a fair price for this, although i think a saison is too delicate of a style (when done properly) to handle much smoke. and while this one didnt obliterate it, i like the yeast, not the malt, to be the star of my saison. this isnt offensive though. it pours a pretty thick black color, darker than any saison ive come across. fluffy off white head lasts forever. the nose is quite spicy, combined with the smoky malt it feels like fall to me. nice burn malt profile just a litte too big for the yeast though. quite drinkable, sturdy abv, and some nice peppery funk on the back end before the charcoal hits. a good fall seasonal type beer for sure, but not one ill buy again. its just a style that i think doesnt really work, altough this would be textbook if it did. like nothing else, a more than passable beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 01:39:51 | More by StonedTrippin

wvsabbath

West Virginia

3.9/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving Type - Bottle

Appearance - Dark tan/brown with a creamy 1/2 inch head, and tons of lacing.

Smell - Smokey malts, fig, rasin, cherry, plum, some sugars, molasses. Not getting anything else.

Taste - Roasted, smokey malts, sweet grassy floral notes with belgian yeasts at first sip. Dark fruits add some bitterness with the spices and minor floral hops. Theres a sweet note of brown sugars, molasses and some chocolate. No alcohol is noticable. The funky, earth flavors are mildly present, but masked somewhat under the smokey malts.

Mouthfeel - Tounge gets the smokey malts, yeasts, added sugars. Palate gets more smoke, sugars and dark fruits. Aftertaste is bitter, sweet and sour.

Overall - Very unique, a little unbalanced but is a fine drink. You get the smokey flavor first, then the saison comes in and overpowers. Enjoyable but a little thin on the smokey side, and that leads to the saison aspect being dominate. Its worth a drink since its limitied but the price sucks, as all stone colabs do.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 22:50:53 | More by wvsabbath

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle. Served in a Unibroue tulip, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both good. The brew smells like roasted malt, smoke, coffee, peppery spice, and some bittersweet chocolate. It tastes like roasted malt, earthy hops, vanilla, coffee, peppery spice, smoke, bittersweet chocolate, and a bit of dark fruit. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit coating and has good carbonation. To me it seems more like a porter or a stout than a saison, but I'm not complaining. I thought this was a good brew overall. $3.99 a bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 01:04:01 | More by bluejacket74

JMad

Texas

3.94/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

The beer pours a dark brown color with an off white head that was filmy and left a lot of lacing.
Smells slightly tangy with a hint of smoke some dark fruits and a bit of clove.
The taste is roasty and earthy with a nice citrus hop finish.
It is medium bodied with good carbonation ahd is quite refreshing.
Thought this beer was better than the reviews it's gotten so far, it's interesting without getting too crazy.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 21:56:51 | More by JMad

brewtus

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz poured into a dogfish tulip glass. Pours cola brown with a small, flesh tone head. Smell is a little smokey, dark dried fruits . Taste start thin and fruity and fades into a slightly hoppy, and a little smokey great balance of malt and hops. I will say the score makes you think it's not worth picking up, but it is. It's not the greatest I've ever had but it's worth a try for a few bucks.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 16:47:20 | More by brewtus

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.98/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This brew was served from the bottle at the Tap and Mallet Vertical Epic tasting event. It arrived in a tasting glass, showing a medium brown coloring. It held a half finger tall head of tan bubbles, leaving rings of lacing after an okay retention. This was, however, easily reproducible. Carbonation appeared active, and no haze or sediment was noted. The aroma gave deeper chocolate malts, barnyard grass, funk of metallic yeast, general musk, and smokiness to the paler side of the malt bill. With warmth came mineral, light booziness, and more citric and soapy hops for the first time, curiously. Our first impression was that there was great smokiness against the barnyard grass and lighter toasty malts. The flavoring opened with big musk and the serious bittering bite of chalky antibiotics. This was added to by bittered metallics and further bite of medicinal phenols. Musk continued to the peak, with light cherry sweetness to balance. Lemon hops helped this, as did a white sugar flash. The end showed more of that serious muskiness, more grass, citric bite, soured yeast, and the dirt and mineral of a dank cellar. The aftertaste breathed of citric hop bite, metals and mineral, toffee and chocolate malts, coffee metallics, faint vanilla coolness, and of course, more musk and dust. The body was medium, and the carbonation was medium. Slurp, sip, smack, and glug were all nice. An astringent coating was left around the mouth, despite the initial oily froth. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank easily.

Overall, the best thing about this beer was the big musk to it. This certainly helped the beer fully embody and become that aspect of the style. This did, too, hold up greatly against the depth of malts, toffee sugars, and sweetness throughout the flavoring. The hops came out late in the nose, which was interesting, but we wish they were just a bit stronger through the taste, which would have put things over the top for us.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 14:30:16 | More by TheBrewo

SolipsismalCat

Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass.

A: Dark brown with two-finger, tan, creamy head that lasted a long time. Great lacing.

S: Roasted malt, Smokey aromas, Belgian yeast, apple, banana.

T: Light to moderate sweetness and moderate hop bitterness. Smokey roasted malt. Pepper, Belgian yeast. Subtle apple and banana.

M: Medium bodied with fizzy carbonation. Smooth.

O: Interesting Saison. Dark and smokey. Good, but not something I would drink too often.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 02:33:29 | More by SolipsismalCat

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a dfh snifter.

A: pours black, with some translucent dark browns around the edges when held to the light. Half a finger if tan head, dissapates quickly, leavs a little bit of lacing.

S: smells kinda like dark burnt toast, the smoke is no as ovwrwhelming as I anticipated, which is a plus in my book, a light bit of yeast funk starts to poke through the toasty/burnt grain aroma, bit a bad smelling beer.

T: I get toast and toasty and burnt grain character first, with a bit of smoke, also a suprise showing of hops, which I was not expecting, adds some piney and citrus notes to the mix, not annoverwhelming amount off hops, but they are certainly there.... I also get some spicy/funky yeast notes. Bready notes I feel mostly with a touch of clove. A lot going on flavor wise here, seems to work.

M: light, creamy and drinkable, with crisp carbonation, and a dry finish that leavs a slightly bitter aftertaste of burnt toast.

O: this is an interesting beer, I was very Leary of this one at first because I am not really a saison guy, and I am not a huge fan of smoked beers.... However, I thought the smoke was used very nicley here to compliment the burnt/toasty grain malt profile. The odd duck here, to me, seemed to be the hops, they caught me off gaurd. But not a bad beer at all. I feel like all the ingredients were used to try an attain a delicate balance, that was just about reached, and very well could be when the hops mellow out a bit... Maybe I'll try another in a few months.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2012 00:13:21 | More by PeterIngemi

jtierney89

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I like the smell of this one. Extremely dark brown but noticably clear. Finger and a half of smokey white head. Very smokey nose, dark roasted malts, touch of chocolate and asphault and an underlying Belgian like funk. Sour funky dark fruit.

This beer is as weird as it sounds but in a good way. Like a Belgian stout but you can taste the saison influence. Smokey but not overwhelmingly so. Nice roastiness with no astringencies and a funky saison feel. Really super complex with a medium rolling creamy body. A really nice funky and drinkable beer. Sweet up front, funky on the back end with balancing underlying hop bitterness. Love it

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 02:28:47 | More by jtierney89

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from tap into tulip at freshcraft in lodo. Pours a deep brown black with ruby hue and about 4 fingers of head. The aroma is fantastic banana hefe...but its n ot a hefe. Some malty roasted notes and some smokyness but banana dominate. Its smells great but not like a saison....hmmm
Taste is nice smoky banana and very floral hops. Some smoke and malts also present.
Its dry...now I know its a saison. Its very dry...nice.
Its a great brew..very Belgian and not American saison.
Im not sure why there are so manh sub par reviews but this is nice, unique, and worthy of a try. I love the huge euro influence in this brew.
Have one....

Serving type: on-tap

11-30-2012 02:27:41 | More by DrinkSlurm

BearsOnAcid

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I don't understand the reviews for this beer. These guys killed it. It has everything. Smokey, hoppy, bitter with a dry saison finish. I never thought a beer could have all my favorite flavor profiles in one. It's ridiculously easy drinking and reasonably priced. The best Stone collab I've had.

There's a little acrid bitterness that I find in any dark hoppy beers. Nothing overtly offensive. I don't get any sourness. Yeast flavor profile reminds me of 3711. Lots of pithy bitterness from the hops. I wish it was a little lower in alcohol and came in 6-packs so I can session dis bish.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2012 00:54:26 | More by BearsOnAcid

albertjr21

New York

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Into a snifter, brew pours a solid roasted brown color (black) under a light beige head. Interesting sweet and tart herbal aroma that hints at spicy pungent lemon peel up front over earthy notes of cocoa. Certainly carries the aroma of a saison. This may be the brightest/herbal/spiciest flavor I've ever had to so dark of an appearance. Voila! Black Saison it is...Sweet and tart citrus spice takes a sharp ride in the mouth feel at an enjoyable level. Roasted malt subtly but significantly lends itself to the palate in a dry fruity finish. Very interested to pair this with food next time...

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 23:08:26 | More by albertjr21

Reidrover

Oregon

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle from "Lifesource" Salem. $3.49 Black beer with a nice tan head..lovely. Nice smokey aromas..like crispy roasted ham , a hint of saison and some light hop. Taste is more sweet grapefruit hop and a little saison dryness..the smoke for some reason is not so pleasing inn the taste as it was in the nose..more ashy. Nice juicy mouthfeel. Nice unusual beer

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 04:17:23 | More by Reidrover

busternuggz

Arizona

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into an etched everted tulip glass.

Black with a little brown around the edges, not totally opaque, with a nice creamy 1/2" beige head. Leaves some spotty lacing.

Subtle sweet smoke and soily earthiness lead on the nose, a little cocoa, some pepper. Some herbal notes too, like licorice root.

The taste comes on with bittersweet cocoa, soft smoke, moist earth, some roastiness, grains, a little dark fruit, like dates. Just a little sweetness up front, ends fairly dry and lightly bitter with herbal/grassy notes.

Nice, lush texture up front, a little creamy, ends light but still soft and moist.

I like this beer, even though it's an atypical saison. It balances the saison characters with the "smoked" and "black" characters well to make a unique beer. The Stillwater influence is very prevalent.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 23:52:10 | More by busternuggz

riored4v

Colorado

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured in to a tulip. Pitch black body, hints of ruby. Tan colored, one finger head.

Aroma had some typical saison funk aromas. A bit estery. Light smoke aroma.

Taste was a bit chocolately upfront with some estery flavors. Slightly spicey. Subtle hints of smoke. Finished a bit bitter and earthy.

Mouthfeel was medium body, thin mouthfeel and dry finish.

Overall a unique twist on a saison. Still had some traditional flavors with a nice addition of chocoalte flavors.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 23:14:29 | More by riored4v

pkalix

California

4.01/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

very dark, cant see through it; nice creamy tan head on top which diminsihes to nothing in the time it takes to urinate.
smells... like hops foremost, but a little something malty too....
dang, anything stone is hops, aint it? even a stinking saisson... tastes like al the rest. why does everyone think their beer is so good?
okay, so overall, it's supposed to be a creation among breweries to be a saisson but it tastes like a mellowed ipa. just my opinion. i get the smoked malts, but it just seems that we have to have an overpowering amount of hop to be called stone. am i wrong? my experience of a saisson is a taste of fields. grass, maybe, but not pine. malts, to be certain, but not roasted to the point of being the only way you can taste them...
but it looks nice in the glass . . . .

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 02:22:44 | More by pkalix

Mebuzzard

Colorado

4.03/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A smoked, hoppy saison, eh? Ok, I'll give it a go.

Pours dark brown/reddish. Perhaps black. Off brown foamy head, nice lacing.

Spicy aroma of Belgian yeast, some roasted malt and floral hops. Exactly what to expect. Subtle smoke and caramel.

Flavor is like a saison with smoke and roasted malt. Nothing complicated, I guess, which makes it taste pretty good. The yeast lifts the smoke/roast and dances around. Hops provide a bit of bright floral and slick bite. Finishes dry with some herbal spice.
Feels good, too. Perhaps a tad more carbonation would up the refreshing factor a bit, but this isn't a summer saison. It's quite good

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 05:25:39 | More by Mebuzzard

EgadBananas

Louisiana

4.03/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours is a nearly black color, with a dark tan head. Had decent retention, and left a nice trail of foamy lacing down the side.

The aroma comprised of pepper, some herbal notes, yeast eaters, grass, and mild backing smoky char note. The smoke was subtle, not over done and lender a nice uniqueness to the aroma.

The more I sipped it the more I enjoyed it. It started a bit more smoky and meaty than the aroma entailed. Then moved to a white pepper and spice note, quaffs of yeast esters, with a smoky, somewhat bitter and herbal finishing note.

The feel was good, was light in body, but was a litter undercarbonated and didn't have that crispness that I enjoy with a good refreshing Saison. Still, it was nice overall.

I love smoked beers and Saison, so I had to try this...and I like it. It's a well executed mashing of of the two, not over done, but kept within the Saison realm. I can however see how this could rub some the wrong way so, if you're open enough to it, keep an open mind.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 00:05:13 | More by EgadBananas

Seanniek91

New Hampshire

4.03/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from a 12oz bottle into an Allagash chalice.

Appearance- Beautiful black with 2 finger off white fluffy head that shows no sign of leaving. Good lacing

Smell- Belgian bready yeast, apple, cherry, vanilla, very light smoke, light hops.

Taste- Funky yeast up front, roasted malts, very light smoke. Mostly hops. Hoppier than expected.

Mouthfeel- Light, ample carbonation, clean finish.

Overall- Not bad at all. I wouldnt call this a saison. Reasonably hoppy.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 02:30:37 | More by Seanniek91

ThePorterSorter

New York

4.09/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Picked up a bottle @ Of Love & Regret

The beer pours a dark black with > an inch of tan head after a vigorous pour. Sticky lacing, no apparent sediment, flecks of brown in the light. The nose is a unique blend of rauch, earthy hops, yeast - neither of which are too distinct or overpowering. However, give this beer some time to warm and you'll be surprised by how the nose changes. The taste ramps up a biting bitterness, which serves to amplifies the beer's smokiness. The aftertaste is a slightly sweet and tart yeastiness, which competes with the beer's palate-coating bitterness. It's a relatively light-medium bodied saison -- yeast, honey, smoke, hops, and alcohol that are all well balanced and has a semi-dry finish. This is a great beer, surprisingly underrated in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 02:48:18 | More by ThePorterSorter

Friedmanandeggs

Arizona

4.1/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I got a 12 oz bottle from my local total wine, kept it in my fridge, and poured it into a tulip glass.

A -- It poured darker than what I was expecting. The head was nice though, light and sandy and pretty dense, with a ring around the edges and some light froth now that it's calmed down.

S -- The first thing I got was the dark roast, like a sweet char (I have trouble distinguishing between coffee and chocolate) with the wild, fresh spring-air quality of the saison behind it. Maybe a little smoke around the edges (the label says smoked) but I think it gets lost in the others.

T! -- Not bad! Nice smooth and sweeter malts up front (like a porter) before it goes into a warmer, peppery, hop finish. There's a little anise on the front, too, maybe fennel. The malts are more dark fruit than they are chocolate or coffee, a little molasses, which I like. Again, I can sort of pull out the smoke most of the way through in a kind of tinny or metallic quality but I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's not unpleasant. The first sip had this really bright, lemony finish, but it's gone now. The aftertaste is definitely dried fruit (raisins?) balanced with hops. It smoothens out very pleasantly as it warms up, too, the hops losing prominence.

M -- It's good! Relatively thick, good for swishing and swilling around. Matches the flavor nicely, too. Their promo video said oat. I can see that.

O -- The only other dark/black saison I've had was the Green Flash/St. Feullien Friendship brew and it was weird. I think the style is a difficult one to pull off, conceptually, I think the roast is appropriate here, I like this one, but it's definitely more black in my book than it is saison. Like this last sip was more like a spiced porter or the Dogfish Chicory Stout. Like there's good complexity, balance and depth of flavors, the saison comes through clearly on the nose, but it's a subtle undercurrent in the taste, just that touch of wild and spice. With that said, it's a totally enjoyable brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2013 02:07:17 | More by Friedmanandeggs

facundoCNB

New Jersey

4.11/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a dark brown, almost black with a finger of creme colored head, good retention. smells of farmhouse yeast, toasted grains, chocolate, lemongrass. oh hell yeah, band aids, wet hay, lemongrass, toasted grains.. a tart yet smoky flavor profile. now it's all coming together! medium body but drinks like a light beer. nicely carbonated and has a very refreshing mouthfeel even though the flavors are all over your palate!

a great collaboration, but what would you expect?! it's some damn great world wide brewing all brewing an excellent style, and adding a nice dark twist to it.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 01:22:03 | More by facundoCNB

grittybrews

Washington

4.14/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured near-black with a finger of light tan head. Weak aroma of roasty cocoa with a hint of smoke.

Moderate carbonation and a full, creamy mouthfeel. Dark, roasty chocolate up front followed by some fruity esters, a touch of mesquite, and a coffee-like bitterness on the tail end.

Strong flavors that don't quite meld, but that's half the fun. Pretty nice!

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 04:19:11 | More by grittybrews

acsprouse

South Carolina

4.16/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

A - very dark. Ruby redness coning through against the light

S: roasted malts.. chocolate, smokey

T: roasted malt and smokiness

M: Medium body nice carbonation.

O: good brew. You should give it a try, its a little different on the style that traditional but that makes it fun. Not the best beer.. but its a Good one.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2013 07:00:32 | More by acsprouse