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Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale

Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale

Rated 3.923 by BeerPals
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Brewed by Stone Brewing Company

Escondido, CA, United States

Style:  Belgian Strong Ale

9% Alcohol by Volume

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As with any good epic, herein lies the promise of larger-than-life experiences, heroics, and twists and turns as the adventure unfolds. This bottle-conditioned ale is chapter eleven. Now is the time to enjoy it in a “vertical” tasting side by side with its ten Stone Vertival Epic Ale brethren! Each one unique to its year of release. Each with its own “twist & turn” in the plot line. Each one released one year, one month and one day from the previous year’s edition. This year’s Stone Vertical Epic Ale is the very last one. Yep, this is it. The final chapter. Or as they say on the last slide in some old films: “Fin.” No worries though: this edition is particularly well-suited for prolonging the experience, as it’s as cellarable as any in the series, or more. In this, the final edition, you can expect a perfectly balance *womp* of spices: cinnamon, ginger, allspice, sweet orange peel, clove (only a little!) and rosehips, all in the context of a dark Belgian style abbey-ish beer…but not as sweet. Dry even. Stone style. Thanks for coming on this Epic Stone-style journey with us! You can rest assured there will be new adventures to come…

ID: 50383 Last updated 5 months ago Added to database 11 years ago

Key Stats

100
percentile

0

Drunk

14

Reviews

0

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Statistics

Overall Rank236
Overall Percentile99.6
Style Rank24 of 1225
Style Percentile98
Lowest Score3.7
Highest Score5.0
Average Score4.121
Weighted Score3.923
Standard Deviation0.414

Rating Distribution

Beer vs Style

14 Member Reviews

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  • IBREW2OR3 1040 reviews
    rated 4.0 5 months ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

    Rated in Jan. 2013. 12oz bomber pours very dark with a lasting mocha colored head of foam. The aroma seems modest in strength offering up various winter spices as well as to a lesser extent malt and candi sugar like sweetness. Man! The taste is vibrant and bold with various spicy notes and Belgian candi sugar and then it turns into a mix of maybe ginger and cinnamon to midway. The brash spiciness seems like it will be off-putting but the sweetness and candi sugar sensation somehow manage to keep this thing from coming apart at the seams. At times it seems to be pushing me away but then it pulls me right back. I’m liking this.

  • BLUESANDBARBQ 2568 reviews
    rated 3.8 10 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

    Sampled (the whole bottle) 12-12-2013. Lightly muddy darker brown pour, tight tannish head, ample lacing. Spices still evident in the initial nose and flavors: orange peel, clove, ginger, then some molasses, Belgianesque yeasts, cocoa. A lot going on in here even after one year.

  • GIVMEBEER 795 reviews
    rated 3.7 10 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

    Pours very dark. Not much of a head even after an aggressive pour. What head there is does last and leaves some lacing. Spicy aroma. Belgium style flavour but the beer is dominated by the spice with a little dark chocolate. Medium smooth mouthfeel. Although it’s a tasty beer I would not buy again even if it was available.

  • JABAH 1780 reviews
    rated 3.9 11 years ago

    Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

    I don't really care for nutmeg in my beer...especially dark beers. Thinkin that all the spices, peels, etc. was a little too much for this one. Reminds me of a pumpkin stout(imperial). Last bottle of vertical tasting, and sad to say the least favorite. Solid brew nonetheless....grew on me a bit towards the end. Enough malt here so that the spices aren't overwhelming....actually a good balance. Not one that I would am storing in the memory bank though.

  • MWISCOUNT 74 reviews
    rated 4.2 11 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

    I had the pleasure of enjoying this beer on two special occasions. The second time I drank it I tasted spice that I missed the first time. I enjoyed it more the second time but I believe it had to do with just finishing a huge delicious meal prior to my tasting. My only regret is that this is the last Vertical Epic in the series. Cool idea! Applause Stone Brewing Company!

  • JLOZIER 671 reviews
    rated 4.7 11 years ago

    Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

    Without a doubt, this is the best beer in the VE series. Mind-blowingly good. There was all this rich chocolate and raisins, and then and then the spices. Oh dear Zeus, the spices. Like a enticing chai tea, this beer surpased any expectations of how all these flavors could work together. Almost black pour, with a thick, cocoa colored head. I was not expecting much here, because the otheres that I have had ove rthe years were certainly lackluster. Oh. My. God. This is good. I will have to get more of them.

  • CYBERCAT 11711 reviews
    rated 4.8 11 years ago

    Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

    Strong aroma has malty and yeasty notes and a firm overtone of spices - I get clove, ginger and maybe allspice. Thought I smelled coriander, though that’s not listed as an ingredient. It pours like a stout - a deep, warm sable with a thick, fine-bubbled tan head. Flavor - woooooooo, mouth-filling, strong and herbal; woody, licorice, ginger, roast malt, bitter hoppy, subtle orange and nutty notes. This beer must be sipped slowly! Thick, firm, smooth texture has a strong and persistent tingle. Stones last "triplet date" beer is a winner!

  • CLASH 2576 reviews
    rated 3.9 11 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

    A pitch black appearance with a beige head. The aroma contains some coffee, cinnamon, ginger, and chocolate. The flavor is somewhat bitter with some strong coffee flavors accompanied by a lot of spices including ginger and cinnamon. The finish is somewhat dry with a bit of alcohol showing through. Overall this is a very nice way to finish out the verticals. And with this rating I’ve had all of them! Yes I’m bragging so what.

  • STOUTLOVER72 2327 reviews
    rated 3.9 11 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

    On tap / 22oz bottle -

    A very nice beer and a bit different from the past years VE's. Lots of clove and allspice in both the aroma and palate. Light-to-medium sweetness left behind to help some of the dark fruit flavors come forward. Reminded me of some kind of blend of a BSA / Anchor's OSA and Stone's VE (which it is obv). So it's a VEOSABSA...great.

  • JERRYMORRISON 2130 reviews
    rated 3.9 11 years ago

    Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

    An intense dark brown to black color with a good two fingers amount of head. The head was of a rich chocolate shake color and it leaves plenty of thick lace. The look of this is very nice.Aroma impression is of holiday spice cookies and does remind me of Christmas. I get cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, roast and interestingly way in the back some tobacco. There is some coffee and chocolate mixed in, as well as some dark fruits. There is a noticeable espresso-cocoa note with a some wonderful sweet dark spices. Now the spices are similar to the nose with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.It finishes quite dry and a touch bitter with a ton of spices still in the aftertaste. This beer is very creamy and smooth and full bodied. The alcohol heat that is present is faint at best and does warm the chest.Overall I enjoyed this beer. I don't think this beer fits any specific category but the mixture of styles is what makes it work for me.

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