Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 22oz bottle from Binny's in Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 9.0% 

Reported IBUs: 50

Merry Christmas! Today, I woke up to snowfall (which was a small miracle, as the snow was very scattered). Me and my girlfriend played with our new kittens, and then caught up on Dexter over some shitty Domino's pizza. It was...relaxing. ABC was running A Christmas Story all day long, so I watched that three or four times before turning on Bad Santa.

But enough about how great Christmas is. We wouldn't be here if the Mayans weren't wrong. The end of the world didn't happen, probably to a few people's dismay. I didn't commemorate the occasion with a party or anything special like that, but I had a hunch I'd live to drink my 12.12.12 another day. So that day is today. About Stone:

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.

The Vertical Epic Series is a series of 11 beers that Stone has been releasing annually since 2002. Starting with the 02.02.02 Vertical Epic release, Stone has released a new beer, every year, corresponding to the numbers and date in the series. In March of 2003, Stone released the 03.03.03 Vertical Epic. Probably out of sheer coincidence, Stone released the final Vertical Epic beer on December 12th, 2012 (a few days before "the end of the world"). The idea behind this series of beers is that you save the beers as you go, and drink them all at once. Unfortunately, I only joined the fun starting with the 11.11.11 Vertical Epic...but I digress. You can learn more about the Vertical Epic Series in this Q&A (like...why there wasn't a 01.01.01 Vertical Epic Ale).

Tonight's beer, the 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale, is a beer brewed in the style of a Belgian Dark Strong Ale. According to Stone, this beer features lots of cinnamon and allspice, along with fruity banana esters and clove. You can get a little more info on this beer if you check out Stone's Blog: this beer is brewed with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, orange peel, and rosehips. Clocking in at 9.0% ABV and packing 50 IBUs, this beer uses Simcoe, Tettnang, and Willamette hops; and should feature prominent Belgian Yeast and lots of malt body. Let's see if this is the last beer you would want to drink.

Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale

WOAH. I don't even know what's going on here. This beer pours a pretty DARK BLACK, with 2 to 3 finger's worth of dark, coffee-brown head. The head is dense and foamy, and frankly...quite Stout-like. Head retention is great, and there's a ton of sticky lacing being left on the side of the glass as I swirl this. Even in bright light, I'm just catching shades of ruby red on the side of the glass (like a Stout!). A centimeter of dark brown, bubbly head has settled in.

At 50 IBUs, this is messing with the style guidelines (the BJCP puts most Dark Strongs/Quads at 20-35 IBUs). It's darker than most Quads too. But then...that's Stone for you. The aroma on this is huge nutmeg and clove...clove hard, like a clove cigarette. I'm even getting a hint of earthy smoke, reinforcing that clove cigarette vibe. I'm getting fruitcake, plums, chocolate, and some yeast funk...maybe a hint of bread and orange spice. But really, lots of clove and nutmeg. 

This is delicious...but it's not traditional Belgian Dark Strong, which is totes okay. I'm getting big cinnamon, orange peel, hop bitterness, slight malt astringency, and nutmeg in this. The big surprise: coffee. I swear, there's coffee in here. This is quite bitter, in fact...and not really ratcheting up the sugary sweetness and dark stone fruits typical for the style. I'm getting some clove and Belgian-banana-funk, but it's hidden behind the spices, orange peel, and big hop bitterness. The hop bitterness in this grows as you drink, with hints of citrus and pine. It plays off the roast and coffee...and it finishes with nutmeg and clove. Boozy complexity sits beneath all this, but you don't really taste it.

I don't know if it's intentional or not...but this shit is super complex. It also has great palate depth, finishes dry and slightly sticky, and goes down pretty damn easy for 9.0% ABV. It also has some alcohol complexity, which is always a nice feat. The mouthfeel on this is full-bodied, slightly oily/sticky, and supported by lively, thin carbonation. It's effervescent, but not quite as lively as many Belgian ales. Up front is bitterness, Belgian funk, and huge clove; this rolls into orange peel, cinnamon, noticeable hop bitterness, coffee, roast; the back end is lingering nutmeg, roast, hops, and boozy complexity. 

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. Where Stone often cranks out big, bold, aggressive beers...they sometimes don't have the complexity associated with top-tier, comparable examples. This beer is both big and complex. It's not really a Belgian Dark Strong Ale though, is it? I mean, style guidelines be damned...this is very Stout-like at times, and quite bitter. If I had to pair this beer with food, I would pair this with cocoa and chile-rubbed pork tenderloin (per Stone), or anything covered in coffee (coffee-rubbed beef?). This would go great with coffee flavors, and desserts. Given how bitter and bold the hops are right now, I do wonder how this would settle down with some age. Maybe grab a few of these, and let one lay for a couple years. 

Random Thought: If the world was ending tomorrow, would I reach for this beer? I don't know, but it's no La Fin du Monde.