Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale
Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale
Rated 3.505 by BeerPals
Brewed by Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, CA, United States
Style: Spiced Beer
9.4% Alcohol by Volume
65 International Bittering Units
Availability of this beer is unknown
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As with any good epic, herein lies the promise of larger-than-life experiences, heroics and twists & turns as the adventure unfolds. These bottle-conditioned ales are specifically designed to be aged until sometime after December 12th, 2012. Provided you can wait that long. At that time, enjoy them in a "vertical" tasting. Each one unique to it's year of release. Each with its own "twist & turn" in the plotline. Each one released one year, one month and one day from the previous year's edition. To remind you, the remaining dates are: 12.12.12 Release Date: 11.07.11 Tasting Notes Hop Variety: Warrior, Target, Perle and Pacific Jade 11.11.11 Stats: ALC/VOL 9.4%, Availability: 22oz Bottles & Draft You’re undoubtedly aware of our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series. You may even have a cellar stocked with previous incarnations of our annual (plus a month and a day) homage to the wondrous effects of Belgian yeast and transformative hand of Father Time. So the series itself requires little introduction, but this year’s installment merits some explanation. To put it succinctly, it is a Belgian-style amber ale brewed with cinnamon and Anaheim chillis from New Mexico’s legendary Hatch Valley (famous for growing complexly flavorful chillis prized by foodies.) How that brief description translates into the taste of a beer is another matter. For those duties, I give you Stone’s Brewmaster Mitch Steele: Appearance: The Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale pours a deep amber with a cream colored head of foam. Aroma: The Belgian yeast strain we used this year has more pronounced banana aromatics than the clove flavors produced by some of the yeast strains we have used in past years. Mixed in with the banana esters are toffee malt notes, hints of spice — clove and cinnamon — and a trace of very mild green chili in the back. The aromas all blend together incredibly well. Taste: Upfront, the yeast-derived banana flavors are blended very nicely with toasted and toffee-like malt flavors, fruity esters, and balanced hints of cinnamon. Mid palate the Perle and Pacific Jade hops and the Hatch green chili flavors come through. The beer finishes dry, and bitter with just the most subtle of hints of chili heat and a touch of alcohol. Overall: Not your typical chili beer! The famous mild green chilies from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico add layers of delicious flavor with a very mild heat component. The base beer itself is very reminiscent of a European amber beer, with Perle and Pacific Jade hops, Munich and other roasted German and Belgian malts, hopped and brewed to a very Stone like 65 IBU and 9.4% ABV. Cinnamon is a wonderful spice if used judiciously, which we did here-it doesn’t by any means dominate the beer’s flavor, but definitely adds a subtly complex spice note that blends amazingly well with the banana esters and green chili.
ID: 46461 Last updated 1 month ago Added to database 13 years agoKey Stats
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Statistics
| Overall Rank | 3134 |
| Overall Percentile | 94.4 |
| Style Rank | 61 of 1288 |
| Style Percentile | 95.3 |
| Lowest Score | 2.6 |
| Highest Score | 4.1 |
| Average Score | 3.594 |
| Weighted Score | 3.505 |
| Standard Deviation | 0.446 |
Rating Distribution
Beer vs Style
17 Member Reviews
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9
Rated in July 2012. 22oz bomber pours amber with copper hues and 2 minute long dark tan head. The aroma offers up spicy Belgian yeast, some lemon grass notes, a bit of black pepper and then sugary sweetness at the end of the draw. The taste comes across fresh and lively and deep and rich too. I get some plums and cherries rolling into coriander and cloves. Toward the finish it picks up an additional complimentary note of black pepper corns. I’m digging this. The more I consume the more it picks up sort of chili pepper flavors. Nice stuff indeed.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8
A deceiving brew. The rating is weighed down a couple points by the lack of appearance and smell. Looks clear in the bottle and pour, but has some malty/chocolate flavors there. Toffee, banana, cinnamin, and chili which adds some slight heat. Complex flavors with a lighter feel....especially for 9.4%. My buddy brought this camping for a taste testing because he had 2 bottles, so I am glad that I still have mine that I was aging. I'm sure I'll be popping that open soon.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8
Very interesting installment, just over a year old and fairly mellow at this time. Primarily caramel and bread with a hint of cinnamon throughout. Mild chile pepper providing a subtle warmth to the finish, I can imagine this being overbearing a year ago although it's a near perfect accent to the overall profile now. Amber body with a thin head and streaks of lacing. Medium bodied and clean.
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Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6
From Haggen (Burlington, WA) in a bomber. 9.4% ABV with Anaheim chilies and cinnamon. Oh really? Sadly, I didn't notice the tiny print on the label where it said to keep until after 31 December 2012. If so, this might have turned out better. Rich and clear cooper pour under a creamy tan head. Nice appearance, at least. Nose had malt and something else. The cinnamon, maybe? Just did not care for the flavour, too sweet; why does "syrupy" come to mind? Mouthfeel almost buttery, abd a confusing finish. My first Epic. Hope my next one is better.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6
Picked this up at Uptown Market. Wasn't all that impressed. Not my favorite vertical. Poured from the bottle into the glass a lighter amber. Nose is all on tropical hef. First thing I noticed. Taste is a little odd. SPice, cloves, some fruity loops. Mostly just an odd balance of hef, fruit and spice mixture.
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Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8
Smells Belgium, must be the yeast. Lots of ripe fruit, banana, some clove and a bit of bread in the nose. Pours dark copper with nice white head and some lace. Full mouth, carbonation is spot on. This is a sweet beer, not overly hopped at all. Good carmel tasting malt background, some banana and clove but its mild, chillis barely detectable. Stars sweet finishes clean, alcohol very well masked. Gets a bit sour as it warms.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
This poured a dark copper color with a beige head. The aroma contains some spices, green peppers, caramel, and citrus. This very much looks like and tastes like Arrogant Bastard with a few exceptions. One being the extra spices namely cinnamon that is present and two the kind of earthy peppery thing. A bit of alcohol is present in the finish. Overall this is not bad but doesnt stand alone as unique either.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6
Sampled from bottle. All I can smell is hefe and I don't like that. Great looking beer though. Clear brown with a sudsy tan head. A touch of banana and clove in the flavor. Lots of just plain fucking weird too. Glad I tried it. Better to have loved and lost rather than to have never loved at all? Check it out for yourself especially if you're fond of hefes.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5
Clear copper pour with tight fluffy off-white head with nice lacing. Hodgepodge aromas of fruits, bananas, Belgain yeasts, then floralness, honeysuckle and very little of advertised chilies. Flavor has a weird floral bitter up front, probably due to the chilies, slightly sweet and fruity, very little of the bananas and chilies. Mostly weird chili-floral bitter for me. Not my favorite Stone.
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Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5
22oz bottle. Pours a reddish amber with a medium creamy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.
The aroma is dubbel like with banana and cloves and some sweet malt with some chilis and cinnamon thrown in.
The flavor is sweet bready malt with bananas and clove. Some spice from the chili and cinnamon comes out in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and a little watery.
Overall, I remember liking earlier samples more. This was just too much sweet malts and bananas. I remember less dubbel and more cinnamon and chili which was better.
