Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: Single, big-ass, bomber (1 Pint, 6oz) from Binny's in Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: Belgian Strong Ale, 9.4% 

I've already mentioned Stone Brewing when I reviewed their 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA. Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. 

If there ever was a guy who projects his personality onto his beer, it would probably be Koch. I don't know anything about Koch personally, but I feel like I know him well just by reading about and drinking his beer. That's a good thing, right? 

Anyway...today's beer is part of Stone's Vertical Epic Ale series. The Vertical Epic Ale series has been running since 2002. Each beer is released annually, in sequence. So in 2002 the 2.2.02 Ale was released; in 2003 the 3.3.03; etc.. The intention of the series is to drink all beers in sequence when the final beer is released. That requires you to cellar the beers of course, and to have been a savvy beer geek for the past 10 years. This is my first Vertical Epic Ale, so savvy beer geek I am not. The especially savvy beer geeks will be selling the complete collection on Ebay for an exorbitant price when the final beer in the series comes out. That is financial foresight. 

Anaheim Chillies

Tonight's beer is a Belgian Strong Ale; at least according to Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate. Stone's website says the beer is brewed with Warrior, Target, Perle and Pacific Jade hops. The Target hops are intense, the Warrior hops are used for bittering and aromatics. The Perle hops are slightly spicy and fruity, so I will look out for those notes. And the Pacific Jade hops are bold with pepper and citrus notes. According to the Stone Brewing blog, this beer uses Belgian yeast. They suggest banana aromatics and flavors. The beer uses a number of malts common in Belgian Ales, including Pale and Crystal. And finally, the beer is brewed with cinnamon. Stone's blog suggests the beer will have notes of toffee, toast, fruity esters, and spices. Honestly, this beer kind of sounds like a Belgian IPA, right? 

There is one final ingredient I have not mentioned. Tonight's beer is brewed with Anaheim Chilies from New Mexico’s legendary Hatch Valley. Yes, this is a Belgian Strong Ale with yeasts that impart banana and fruity notes, toffee and toasted malts, spicy and citrus-like hops, cinnamon, and mother fucking chilies. I'm excited! Let's pop this bitch and say cheers to the end of time. 

First off, props to Stone for the kick ass bottle artwork. This is a "Vertical Epic Ale" so the words are placed vertically on the bottle. The artwork screams Mayan apocalypse, with the sun on the bottle made up of 11s. The bottle cap says "All-time Top Brewery on Planet Earth," which is a quote from BeerAdvocate magazine. Imagine finding a bottle of this in a post-apocalyptic setting. 

As for the beer itself, it pours a wonderful dark brown color in low light, with a one-finger, brown/greenish/yellowish head. In bright light this is clearly a reddish beer with hints of brown and orange. The head is bubbly with very small bubbles, and I can stir up a head by swirling the beer in the snifter. The beer appears to be filtered, and has moderate carbonation. There are some alcohol legs, and there appears to be some lacing. 

I've had a couple of Belgian IPAs. The New Belgium Belgo, and the Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Wild Ale. This smells a lot like a Belgian IPA. I'm smelling a ton of bananas and Belgian yeasts up front. I'm picking up on some spice - black pepper, and cinnamon. And I'm definitely smelling some chillies in the mix. When I swirl the glass I get hit with banana again. When the beer settles I pick up that chilli note - I'm reminded of ballpark nachos with jalapenos, and preparing jalapenos for cooking. I'm also picking up a hint of citrus, and maybe a touch of very subdued malt. There's also some booze on the nose, but hey, at 9.4% that's not unexpected.

Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale

Holy chillies, batman! Wow! I'm picking up a lot of chillies in this, especially cutting through the middle and back. I'm immediately reminded of that salty, earthy, and spicy note you get with ballpark nachos. I eat a ton of spicy foods, and I love spicy peppers. This really has a nice flavor that would go well with something Mexican or spicy. I'm also tasting some cinnamon, black pepper, citrus bite from the hops that lingers in the back, bananas, and a touch of malt support in the form of maybe toffee or toast? 

This is a very strange brew. The back end is hugely warming, dry, and spicy. The mouthfeel is medium-full, with moderate carbonation. This is not as effervescent as a typical Belgian Strong Ale, and still reminds me quite a bit of a Belgian IPA. There are hints of citrus and black pepper, but the chillies cuts through this beer in a truly unique way. Despite the uniqueness from the chillies, this beer seems to be only moderately complex with moderate palate depth. On the front end I'm getting bananas and spices like cinnamon and black pepper; this rolls into bananas, Anaheim Chillies, orange citrus, and touches of malt support; the back end is all Anaheim Chillies, lingering malt, lingering cinnamon and pepper, and alcohol warming. 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 78%

This is a very interesting beer. The Anaheim Chillies really impart a salty and spicy note that is very unique. This beer has big, bold flavors, and reminds me of a Belgian IPA with a spicy twist. There is nice lacing on my snifter, and a wonderful cauldron effect atop the beer. 

All-in-all I am pretty pleased with this beer. I would definitely pair this beer with something spicy or Mexican. Hell, you could drink this beer with some Taco Bell or ballpark nachos. But this is also a classy and refined beer. I never figured that bananas of all things could play well with chillies. I do think this beer is a bit chilli-forward. So consider that a warning in advance if you have an aversion to chilli peppers. If you are into exotic craft beers, you definitely should pick this one up while you can still grab it. Cheers.