Stone Vertical Epic 09.09.09 at Whole Foods

Another Friday evening beer flight tasting at Whole Foods and tonight it's with one of my favorite breweries, Stone.

These might be hard to find now, but if you ever get your hands on a Vertical Epic, buy and save it (if you're like me, under your bed) for December 12, 2012 (12.12.12) because they are all amazing. This fellow has a spicy roasted malt with flavors of chocolate and coffee. Looking forward to drinking it again in two years. THE ROCK rating

Stone Smoked Porter Finishes Stone Brewery Week

The last night of bowling was tonight and we're not going to make the playoff this year, single tear (think we're behind the cut by only 90 points). The Smoked Porter is also the 11th straight and final beer of the Stone Brewery week. Here is a tribute for our now empty comrades:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WRoWPhLU2Q

This is my first 'smoked' beer and I found the smoke subdued and a nice touch. This is a solid porter with the standard hints of chocolate and caramel and malt bitterness. I won't be circumlocutious; this is good. TRANSFORMERS rating.

It's really impressive to consider that a single brewery makes over FOURTEEN different kinds of beer (not counting limited productions like the Vertical Epics) and I haven't had one 'bad' beer yet. If it wasn't before, Stone is certainly one of my top 5 breweries is now. Color me very impressed.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout aids my first Home Brew!

 

This handsome devil was good. Roasted malt followed by coffee flavors. The hops are present but allow the stout to shine. I'm impressed by Stone's ability to mix a stout's character and their signature hops together for a well rounded and bitter-less brew. THE ROCK rating.

King Moonracer's Revenge begins

Tonight also marked my first foray into the world of Home Brew, with David as my guide. David has all the equipment and the background, so he helped me design the recipe and oversaw the cooking. It's purposes to be a Christmas Ale and will be bottled by the time we takeoff for the holiday break. It was a lot of fun to make and I'm already looking forward to my next batch, I'm eagerly awaiting to see how the spices I added turn out and I have a better idea of how to better cool the wort in our apartment, which is super important in the process.

I have picked a name and created a logo (to be revealed at bottling) which I'm really excited about: 

KING MOONRACER'S REVENGE

I think it's a sweet title for a Xmas beer and David agrees. It may sound weird but it won't after I tell you its origins...which I'll do when it's bottled. If you can't wait, wikipedia the story of Rudolph and you'll recognize the name. Here's the recipe:

8oz of Belgium Aromatic Malt
8oz of Crystal 10 
9 lbs Alexander pale malt extract
2oz of cascade hops 6 alpha acid
1oz of williamette hops 3.7 alpha acid (half added with 15 minutes left)

Yeast: Northwest Ale strain

Cloves- half a spoonful

During 2nd Fermentation, I plan to add two Tahitian Vanilla Beans for aroma.

Stone Self-Righteous isn't as Sublime as the band

Remnants from bottling David's brew on Sunday greeted me as I entered the apartment tonight. And by greeted I mean, the beer we missed during cleaning on the floor and counter-top cultivated into a funky kitchen smell. Oops.

We are down to the last three Stoners in Stone Brewery week and each of them are dark ales. Introducing the Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale.

Self-Righteous befriends David's latest brew bottled in 12oz's

Light malts with splashes of coffee and chocolate confront bold hops, which hit like a street pimp's slap to the face. This is basically the Stone IPA's hops poured on top of a dark malt ale. It's solid but they don't play well together.

Still, don't be shy with this fellow; he's worthy of some attention. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Vertical Flight of Stone Old Guardian 2008-2010

I decided to combine the posts from Friday, Saturday and Sunday into one MONSTER post because we tasted a vertical flight of Stone Old Guardian Barleywine from 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Despite its name, Barleywine is very much a beer. It's actually one the strongest and most intense of the beer styles because of their complexity and high alcohol content (Old Guardian +11%). So why include wine in title? Because it is brewed to be aged like wine and stored for future consumption. Hence my interest in tasting them vertically, one year after the other!



2008

Tasted Friday November 12, 2010

Had AJ, Nic, Tiffany and Nic G over for some wine and pasta Friday night. We popped the Old Guardian 2008 and drank during the cheese appetizer. The '08 is bold and complex, with swirling with malt, fruit, buttery hints of caramel and the well rounded hops note Stone is known for. I REALLY enjoyed this beer. This is a complex but balanced beer that put you on your ass. I'm going to buy this again and age it many moons, bringing it out for some special occasion, like finishing a book. See you in 2014 you dank bastard. 

2009

Tasted Saturday November 13th, 2010

Another beautiful Saturday ends with a poorly lit picture. The 2009 Old Guardian didn't meet the standards of the '08. It was raw and unbalanced. Maybe a year does make a difference. I still enjoyed it, but the '09 is still in the Beta phase.

2010

Tasted Sunday November 14th, 2010

Like THE WALKING DEAD, the '10 startled me. It was super good, but it hasn't aged! How could this be? And it raises the question; is the '09 batch the problem or will it get better with time? Am I going crazy? If I use one more question mark I might....The '10 is fantastic, really. I can't wait to age this one.

RATING SCORECARD
Old Guardian 2008 - THE ROCK
Old Guardian 2009 - TRANSFORMERS
Old Guardian 2010 - BAD BOYS

SUMMARY: I don't know about other breweries' barleywine but Stone does it well. I would recommend any of these for consumption, but do realize that barleywine isn't for the weak-willed. Like the Arrogant Bastard, this is a sit down, shut up and sip it brew. Personally, I plan on going to Whole Foods this week and buy the '08 and '10 for a future date.

Stone Cali-Belgie IPA, IP'D my attention

Once upon a time, a sweet Belgian from the wrong side of the pond meet a charming hoppy California IPA  and when sparks flew, they put on Josh Groban and made some babies. Delicious Belgian-style IPA kids. And boy do I love to drink their babies. It's like a delicious fairy tale, similar to the fable of when oatmeal met the chocolate chip cookie.

About to kill Nazi Zombies, just like the old days

So how does this fairy tale turn out? A ton of hops upfront. Grassy, bitter and tasty. They hit me like a wave and then it's over. There's a little belgian flavor left but but overall there is more Cali hops than Belgie. However, I wouldn't expect any less from Stoner.

I wanted more Belgian but you're still delicious and I can't stay mad for long. This is still a tasty, well rounded beer. THE ROCK rating. I'll have you any day.

Stone Ruination couldn't destroy this evening

Back from the Brandon Flowers concert, who was AWESOME. I actually went solo because I wanted to rock out and knew a +1 would distract me. And was there ever rocking and a rolling. Not only did he bring the energy, but the guitarist for The Police, Andy Summers, came out for the first encore song and Brandon sang ROXANNE...YOU DON'T HAVE TO SELL YOUR BODY TO THE NIGHT....It was, sublime.

Awesomeness prevails

I get the idea behind calling an IPA a ruination (of the palate), what with all the hops; but I'm not sure why Stoner bestowed the name. It's quite tongue-friendly and really freaking delicious.

My new favorite pastime - hop portraits!

For a big bold IPA, it's smooooth. It has a big hop flavor but is thoughtfully well rounded with a tasteful malt balance. The drinkability is high. Like Brandon Flowers, this fellow was pretty sublime. You have to try this, it's one of the BAD BOYS.

Stone IPA Conan'd my mind

Conan is back and I hope he's still there in 20 years. Or just 10...I'll just cross my fingers for the best. He's the shit and I miss his shtick. Without further ado, Tuesday's beer at 12:01am is the Stone IPA!

Golden

It's well rounded and grassy hops! Can't go wrong with this beer. The show was just OK, but it was very good to see Coco back on the air. You could drink this every night during Conan. Why? Because you can and should. It's solid, so just do it and support basic cable; Jon Stewart is on there too. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Double the Bastard INDEED

Can you double the excellence and still make a well rounded beer? The answer is is YES if you're Stone Brewery.

The Double Bastard is the Arrogant Bastard's beast of an older brother who clocks in at 11.2% alcohol, which is basically 2 beers in 1. It really simply tastes bigger and bolder and drunker. Essentially the Double Bastard is an Arrogant on steroids, like Roger Clemens 1986 Red Sox compared to Roger Clemens 2000 New York Yankees...mmmROIDS

No Benicio del Toro, you will... I forgot how incredible TRAFFIC is, shame on me.

In addition to the Double Bastard, we're also having Tuesday's beer at 12:01am tonight/Tuesday morning because David is on a flight to San Fran tomorrow. Conan's premiere might be twice as funny. Stay tuned.

THE ROCK rating, but only have this if you drink un-responsibly and are ready to rage. This is a great choice for Poker Night.

Arrogant Bastard sucker punched me to kick off Stone Brewery Week

We're going for it. An 11 day Stone Brewery tasting regimen including a 3 year vertical tasting of Old Guardian. This combined with the Oaked Arrogant Bastard from Thursday will make it a dozen from the Stoners in roughly two weeks. Pretty wild.

Aren't they freaking beautiful? (not pictured - Arrogant Bastard and Oaked Arrogant Bastard)

Regarding today's brew, ARROGANT BASTARD, I always wondered how they chose that name. Then I tasted and discovered it's a big beer with light nicely round hops and dark roasted malts with a high alcohol level. It's impressive and I am compelled to respect it. They threw everything in this brew but the kitchen sink and actually got away with it, those dirty bastards.

David's ingredients for his famous Salty's Clam Chowder

Comparing this to the Oaked Arrogant Bastard, it is clearly apparent the oak chips affect on the malts. The oak chills the hops out and amplifies the malts but the brew remains refined. It's no wonder Stone decided to expand the distribution of the Oaked Arrogant Bastard with six pack bottles.

Going by David's rating system, the Arrogant Bastard is Lee Marvin, who was the leader in THE DIRTY DOZEN. According to my ratings, welcome to THE ROCK.