Were this blog post dated April 1, it’s doubtful anyone would take it seriously, for the subject of our latest communique is a most unusual beer that merits attention not only for its uniqueness, but for the art behind its crafting and its overall deliciousness. It’s these qualities that led to it winning our 2015…
I’ve been honored and privileged to be involved with some really amazing things here at Stone over the past 14-plus years, and that was certainly the case this past year when a very special letter showed up on Greg’s desk. I figured it was another project…
by Lee Chase
Alright, now this is going to be a little different than last years (OK, a LOT different!!). By now you might know that these "Vertical" beers are not just the same recipe as each other, they are designed to be quite different than each other. We are not trying to make the recipe as difficult to brew as possible (we're not doing triple decoctions, or aging…
by Lee Chase
So, it is year number 3 in the series… and we have the Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale at hand. This is an interesting beer that, as with the others, will be wonderful to see how it develops over time. This year, as you probably know, is a pale beer that has a lot going on in the flavor and aroma…with a hint of Kaffir lime leaf in there to add some…
by Lee Chase
This year, the Vertical Epic has taken another turn…but this time toward the simpler! I wanted to highlight a couple of things with this brew, with particular attention being paid to the future flavor development of the beer. You know, keeping it fairly simple, but making it relatively high-alcohol and full of flavor. Having had a bit of this in March, this baby…
Big changes afoot this year for the aptly named 5th version of our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series. First, as you may have noticed, this is being written not by Lee Chase, but by Mitch Steele and John Egan. Lee has moved on to other things, but since this was his last recipe formulation for Stone Brewing Co., we will try and carry on his tradition of providing all…
We decided to brew this beer with a hint of ginger, a traditional Saison brewing spice, and also with some cardamom, which comes through as an exotic spiciness in the finish. Additional complexity comes from the blend of grapefruit, lemon and orange peel which combine nicely with the tropical fruit esters provided by the Belgian yeast. It’s going to interesting to see how this beer ages over time…
Each year we put out the word to "Drag your big fat cans over to Stone!" for our annual collection for the North County Food Bank. This time we had the fun idea to give a little incentive for your good deeds: If you manage to fill the food collection…
Our seventh version of the Vertical Epic series was inspired by some of the wonderful Belgian beers that Steve and I tasted during our trips to Europe to brew “Stone California Double IPA” at the Shepherd-Neame brewery in Kent, England. This ale was served at the J.D. Wetherspoons pub…
BeerAdvocate CoverI got the new BeerAdvocate Magazine last week. Cool. I always enjoy reading it. New happenings, interesting perspectives, current goings on…it’s a good read. Love the visual tone too, and this time I thought it was especially…
