In Reply To #1 You may be able to get the 030303, but the 020202, forget it, that's about impossible to get. There was a guy selling all three years on Ebay about a month ago for, I think, $99. Not worth it, IMO.

In Reply To #1 I'd settle for trying the '04, but I can't even get Stone in Oklahoma yet. Have to drive to MO or TX. So, what's up with 12/12/12? (End of the world?) My point being, is the '03 to be cellared for 9 years, while the '05 is to be cellared for only 7? Interesting. I wonder if each beer for subsequent years is engineered (by adjusting the amount of hops and gravity) to be cellared for a lesser time?

In Reply To #3 Check out the recipes posted on Stone's website, Brett. Pretty complex and "cellarable" so far. Maybe they get a bit less esoteric as we approach 2012? This is one of the best beer marketing ideas I have ever seen. Not only will people want to cellar each vintage, but they will tell their friends, creating demand for the older vintages.

Ya, as far as I know, each one is carefully engineered to be enjoyed on 12/12/12. So that is 11 beers that are supposed to be drinken in one day, and they are no dinky beers either. We are talkin the 1Pt 6 Oz 8.5% ABV variety. It's going to be one fantastic day. Also, like Foam said, they have home-brew recipes for the previous years. I am going to have to give them a shot, although I doubt mine will be as good as Stone's.

In Reply To #5 Please post a link to the recipes if you have a chance. I'd like to take a look at them as well. Thanks. B

In Reply To #6 http://www.stonebrew.com/epic/040404/recipe.html Click on the release on the right side to get the 03 and 02 recipes.

In Reply To #7 Lee Chase is too damn cool. You don't see many breweries handing out their recipes. I guess they just do so well at brewing their beer that posting their recipes is just not an issue.

In Reply To #8 It's marketing genius. Genius, I tell you! Bwa-ha-ha! Think of the "buzz" he's creating for Stone! What homebrewer is going to say, "here's a little something I cooked up." No, they'll say, here's my attempt at Stone VE 04/04/04. People who never would have tried it will not only try it, but also compare homebrew versions. And the anticipation builds, and the audience grows, every year for ten years. Now the other question: What commercial brewer is going to come up with their own VE? They’ll be copycats, also-rans. Stone owns this idea. All others who try will only be compared to the originator. Giving away the recipe normally implies you don't care enough to guard it. That will still be true, for everyone else and everything but VE. You won’t see the recipe for any other Stone brews posted. And you won’t see knock-off VE beers in recipe books like Clone Brews, either! What will Stone think of next? That question, on everyone's lips, is the whole point. And giving away the recipe is a brilliant way to achieve it. Hey, we're talking about it now, and will be for years. I can hardly wait for 05/05/05. Gee, I wonder how many VE parties there will be on 12/12/12? For marketing ideas, horses playing football was pretty cool. This (the VE concept, and publishing the recipes to build a buzzing audience) is way cooler than that.