Stone Brewing Vertical Epic Ale 04.04.04

Vertical Epic Ale 04.04.04

 

Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸

  Belgian Style - Strong Ale Series Out of Production
Score
6.90
ABV: 8.5% IBU: 35 Ticks: 58
As with the 02.02.02 and 03.03.03, we are again making a detailed homebrewing recipe available on our blog. This time around we used some unmalted wheat, just the right touch of kaffir lime leaf and a really cool Belgian yeast. The result is a bit like a strong Bière de Garde/Saison-esque influenced beer coupled with some aromatic Bavarian Hefeweizen-style phenolic banana esters, and a backnote hint of lime from the lime leaf. Perfect for a match-up with some Thai in SoCal (or wherever in the world you might be), as kaffir lime is often combined with garlic, galanga, ginger, fingerroot and chiles (in the Tom Yum that is, not in this beer). Or, most certainly, you may choose to enjoy alone in a glass along side its Epic brothers.
 

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9.2
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9

Pours a beautiful golden color, with a small white head. The aroma is breathtaking! Sweet cherries, loads of lemon, and lime zest, sweet fruity candi sugar, and just an overall abundance of sweet fruity esters, just amazing! I could stick my nose in this all day! The flavor is awesome! more of those great fruits! apricots, lemons, limes, cherries, bananas. A great sweet cherry finish. Holy hell this is outstanding. Its like fruit cup in a glass. This has aged VERY well. simply perfect!

Tried from Can on 28 Feb 2025 at 05:01


6.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Backlog December 2008. Well stored bottle. Unclear orange body under a big off-white head. Light spicy aroma with hint of fruit and yeast. Taste is quite sweet, malt, caramel, bitterness and some warming alcohol. Medium body and same aftertaste. Nothing extraordinary really, but actually quite nice as it is.

Tried from Bottle on 04 Feb 2022 at 09:52


7.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle courtesy of rlgk. Pours hazy reddish orange with a small offwhite head that doesn’t leave any trace on the glass while dissipating. Smell mostly oxidised with biscuits, raisins, leather, cardboard, prunes, dried apples and pears, minerals and hints of lemon peal. Taste is tiny sweet, tiny bitter and oxidised. Mouthfeel is soft, round, tiny dry, very tiny tart and medium bodied. Finish is surprisingly pleasantly oxidised. Kind impressed this is holding up as it does.

Tried from Bottle on 17 Aug 2016 at 16:57


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

On tap at Flying Saucer for 12-12-12. Pours a clear orange gold with paperthin wht head that diminishes to nothing. Aroma is faint yeast and clove. Medium mouthfeel with strong banana and lime, light booze, held up well.

Tried from Draft on 24 Aug 2014 at 02:22


5.8
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

Draft on 12/12/12. Cloudy golden color. Aroma is an odd combination of peppermint and fruit that grows less pleasant as it warms. Taste is similar.

Tried from Draft on 21 Aug 2014 at 13:49


7.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

22 oz bomber on 04.04.14 from Enniskillen. Nose is light bubblegum, banana, and spices. Clear amber with a small beige head. Flavor is lightly sweet, spicy, with only a slight bit of oxidation. Still drinking very nicely after 10 years.

Tried on 04 Apr 2014 at 16:08


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle sampled at RBSG. From notes. Banana with citrus and belgian yeast. Still pretty good.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Oct 2013 at 22:56




6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

22 oz. bottle, sent from St Fun (thanks a lot, Josh), pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. Aroma of citrus, perfume, some floral notes, and a bit of oxidation. Flavour brings out notes of perfume, citrus fruits, some floral notes, and light spices. Somewhere between a saison and a light Belgian strong ale. Past its prime for sure, but not too oxidized. Good stuff.

Tried from Bottle on 10 Mar 2013 at 01:06