Look: Amber color, light foamy white head when poured
Taste: Lots of citrus, definitely barley… almost Belgian, but not as sweet.
Conclusion: I know, I know, it’s a Belgian-ish beer, but this one is different. It does not have the horrid, over-the-top sweetness that many other Belgians do (Delirium Tremens). Vertical Epic has the citrus tang to it, the natural barley sweetness, and the malt liquor taste to it, but it does not have the “extra sugar added to cover up our errors” flavor.
At first sip, the citrus and sweet hit my nostrils like a Mike Tyson punch. “Aw Crap!” I thought, “a freakin’ Belgian…” My first few sips were not too exciting. It had a distinctive malt liquor taste to it and a distinct citrus flavor, but the sweet was not there. After a few sips, I began to enjoy the beer. It could have been that my taste buds to used to the flavor, or that I was getting buzzed rather quickly, but after a while, the beer is not bad. The strong flavors last through out the drink (and my buzz), and eventually you get used to it. Don’t get me wrong, its not the best offering Stone has, but its not the worst… or maybe it is, but that’s not a bad thing, it still Stone!
The alcohol content was not listed on the growler label, but I imagine this one to be in the 9-10% area. Even the Stone site does not give a percentage, only that it “varies.” Well, this one varied well.
I give Stone’s Belgian-ish offering a 7 out of 10.
Taste: Lots of citrus, definitely barley… almost Belgian, but not as sweet.
Conclusion: I know, I know, it’s a Belgian-ish beer, but this one is different. It does not have the horrid, over-the-top sweetness that many other Belgians do (Delirium Tremens). Vertical Epic has the citrus tang to it, the natural barley sweetness, and the malt liquor taste to it, but it does not have the “extra sugar added to cover up our errors” flavor.
At first sip, the citrus and sweet hit my nostrils like a Mike Tyson punch. “Aw Crap!” I thought, “a freakin’ Belgian…” My first few sips were not too exciting. It had a distinctive malt liquor taste to it and a distinct citrus flavor, but the sweet was not there. After a few sips, I began to enjoy the beer. It could have been that my taste buds to used to the flavor, or that I was getting buzzed rather quickly, but after a while, the beer is not bad. The strong flavors last through out the drink (and my buzz), and eventually you get used to it. Don’t get me wrong, its not the best offering Stone has, but its not the worst… or maybe it is, but that’s not a bad thing, it still Stone!
The alcohol content was not listed on the growler label, but I imagine this one to be in the 9-10% area. Even the Stone site does not give a percentage, only that it “varies.” Well, this one varied well.
I give Stone’s Belgian-ish offering a 7 out of 10.
3 comments:
The Vertical Epic series is cool because they release one every year. I have the one from 07.07.07 and the one from 06.06.06. I'm going to get 08.08.08 and do a try them back to back with some friends.
I'll second...err third the good vote for this fine ale. We had this at Stone, on tap and it has massive power(as all Stone brews do) coupled with some delicious sweet, but not to sweet, flavor.
Jeremy you have a mountain of will power. How you could avoid touching those bottles for that long is a mystery to me! You must have a locked vault?
Enjoy your Epic!
I agree with Lancy (pedaler), how did you not finish those off once you bought them? That is a testament to will power right there. Mine only lasted a day or so. I couldnt wait to pop the top and savor the beery goodness.
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