BrewDog / Stone Bashah

What does it mean? Yes, what indeed does it all mean. Meaning of course is elusive and illusive. It can’t or shouldn’t be found on this bottle. Should it? Yet what if it was? Would you begin to look for pearls of wisdom or life direction on a beer label? Perhaps it’s been there all along. Since meaning is a mere illusion, perhaps we shouldn’t let it have any influence on our destiny. This particular beer refused to succumb to the illusion of meaning or allow capricious parameters to have any influence on its own fermented fate. Are we even asking the right question? Are you feeling frustrated in the emptiness? If so, that could be because someone got to this beer before you, and thus there’s a reason for that emptiness. It’s empty. And if so, perhaps there indeed is not any meaning for you here after all.

Style over Substance, or Substance over the scriptures of Style? The latter, thank you very much. Twice.

3.7

701 reviews

Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Community reviews

3.8 Bottle. This is a great brew with tons of hop and malt charecter. Would love to try again.

3.7 A gem? Bottled 12-25-10. Pours "black as sin," with dark brown edges, and the slightest large bubbled ring of khaki head. Nose involves cocoa and light toast. Dark chocolate and roasted notes grow with warmth. Pretty sweet flavor, lightly tart, and somewhat bitter. Heavier body, soft carb, oily, with a lengthy dark chocolate bitter finish. Any "Belgian" elements are virtually non-existent at this point, and it certainly isn’t "hoppy as hell" anymore. Still, it held up pretty nicely as some sort of a strong stout.

3.6 Rated from backlog. Very dark brown with brown head. Well balanced beer, with a good combination of bitter hops and both sweet chocolate and bitter coffee malts. Fine slightly oily body, nice soft carbo.

2.3 Poured from bottle. Little to no head, dark. Not as strong as I was expecting. Less IPA and more dark ale.

2.7 light white gentle frothy head. some nice roasty coffee element at start becomes more soathing at middle& end

4.0 Bottle from Corvallis Brewing Supply, which advertises itself as a double Belgian black IPA. Pours deep browns like good dark root beer, slightly warm, but still some yellow notes at the very edge. Light-brown head which fades fairly quickly to nothing. Aroma is plumb, date, raisin, caramel, light sweet molasses (not too spicy)brown sugar, light clove, licorice, herbal grass. Body is quite light (for the style). Carbonation is moderate but non-intrusive. Flavor is spiced caramel-apple pie. Herbs and grass, balanced and refreshing bitterness. Brown sugar spelt-oat scones. Great beer. Not a black IPA though as it’s fairly balanced, nor are the hops prominent or notably American (ASA). I’d go with BDSA.

3.7 Black pour from bottle. Tons of brown head. Big dog beer. Carmel and malty. Sweet brown sugar aroma. Hoppy and bitter. Good I think

3.9 Bottle sample at a tasting at our place. Thanks troubles. Bottled in 2009. Black, tan head, liquor and a little iodine in the nose, fun, dry bitterness in the nose. Smooth texture, heavy body, long, dry liquor finish.

3.5 Bottle sample at a tasting at kerenmk’s place. Thanks troubles. Pours black with a beige head, aroma of honey, wood, toffee and brandy, flavor is slightly bitter with coffee, smoke, nice sweetness, medium to full bodied, nice

3.4 Bottle sample at a tasting at kerenmk’s place. Thanks troubles. Dark brown to black. Roasty aroma with some dark chocolate and light notes of stale hops. Bittersweet roasty flavor with dark chocolate. Medium-bodied. Nice.

4.0 Good and decent with odor. The taste is really good. The aftertaste is never ending. A real goodie this.

3.8 Dark beer with a foamy tan head. Nice malty nose with some some vanilla notes and alcohol. Toffee sweetness, molasses, vanilla and spice with some burnt toast, sweetened coffee and a lot of green hop bitterness. Warming alcohol sensation as it warms. Complex set of flavors in a big beer.

3.3 Tasted in 2010 (backlog). Black with a decent manilla head. Aroma is of roasted malts, light cardboard, sugar and woody hops. Taste is of roasted malt and chocolate.

3.4 Pours a very dark brown with a medium dark tan head. The aroma contains lots of candyish chocolate, some slight mint, but overall it has a real musty impression to it. Taste is more complex. Chocolate, pine, grapefruit, and a little bit of licorice. It is hoppy and bitter, with the citrus impressions becoming more pronounced at the end. Aftertaste is pine and grapefruit. Full bodied, with a more thick texture. Decent carbonation. This one is pretty good, although kind of unusual. There is quite a bit going on here and many should enjoy this more probably more than I do. I just don’t think this is my style.

3.7 Ccb hanuphu day. Brown pour with tan head.smells like toffee. Tastes like sweet coffee flavor. Oily. Easy to drink

2.6 Hunahpu Day pour #12. Pours dark brown with big kahki head. Smells floral with a bit of citrus. Flavor is heavy scotch and dark fruits. A bit boozy. Not my favorite. Blegh.

4.1 Pours black with a light lace on the edge. Sweet malt aroma. Lots of coffee flavor with a mild hop flavor. Aftertaste is bitter and nice. Mouthfeel if full. Not a bad beer!

4.5 Dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma of hops, chocolate, roasted malts and dark fruits. Taste is medium sweetness, medium bitterness, full body, average carbonation, sweet hoppy finish.

4.2 Bottle from BrewDog website. Drank in 2015, aged for 5 years. Black in colour with a thin tan head. It has a rich, warming dark chocolate, red fruit and liquorice flavour, powerful burnt toffee and coffee notes followed by a nutty and oak and vanilla finish. Excellent! Aged for 3 and 4 years. A black oily beer with very floral hoppy, red fruity and orange blossom flavours followed by black chocolate, blackcurrant, liquorice and a coffee, roasted finish. Amazing!

3.8 Bottle at craig’s. Black with tan head. Ashy roasty aroma, hint of bubblegum, toffee and resin. Taste of chocolate, bubblgum, licorice. Quite thick amd sweet with a bitter finish, slightly salty. Nice

3.5 NIce and very strong. NIce aftertaste a little too bitter but nice in every aspect.

4.1 Bottle: Batch 352...12-19-10 Black with a solid, dark tan head. Scent is yeast, a slightly burned aroma...chocolate. Taste is malty, vanilla, chocolate, orange hops. Very soft and smooth. Really excellent.

3.6 35,5 cl bottle @ home, rated on 23.04.2010 Aroma is rather hoppy with fruits, some nettles, gooseberry bush and hay. Flavour is somewhat sweet and rather hoppy with fruits, ash and hints of hay. Kind of reminds me of hopfenweisse.

4.0 Pours dark brown/black with a thin tan head. Aroma sweet citrus hops with a hint of roastiness. It’s very unique and hard to describe. This beer has a lot of character. There’s a lingering roasted malt flavor as well as fruity citrus hop notes. It’s complex and great

3.9 Bottle from a trade with Abemorsten, batch # 409. Pours almost pitch black with a small creamy tanned head. Aroma is light roast, vanilla, chocolate and some distinct hops. Taste is smooth, easy roast ,some nice piney bittering hops,traces of liquorice, lingering light bitter and dry end. Good beer, oh yes.

4.2 I’ve had this a while and it held up nicely. The hops aroma was less but the roasted malt was very present, even a little spice. Really nice dark color with very little light making it through. Very little head. Crisp palate with good carbonation. Great balanced taste. Roasted malts, pepper, hops bitterness. The Belgian character of this brew was not very prevalent, however. Great collaboration. It’s a shame they aren’t making this anymore.

3.3 Drinking an aged bottle of this. Batch 378, bottled 2010. Pours almost opaque red/brown, no head. Smells of syrup, molasses, dark fruits, sugar, with a bit of alcohol. Taste starts with a massive bite of hops, dark chocolate, and alcohol. Gives way to bitter coffee, charcoal, hints of molasses, and spiciness. Some salt as well. Spice and bitterness lingers on tongue.

3.9 Duft af kaffe. Mørk som en porter. Smager porter agtig af kaffe og chokolade men også af blomme. Rar eftersmag.

3.4 Aroma: Strong roasted, a bit sour tones. Coffee beans, burnt wet old pine or juniper wood. Appearance: The beer is pitch black, with a tone to the red, a brown strong head leaving tons of lacing. Taste: A very raw burnt taste, bitter beans, and yet floral pine. A sweet, dusty, taste in the background. Palate: Low carbonation, a rough dry feeling. Overall: Nope - not a favorite, complex but a bit unbalanced. Note: Bottle. Reviewed 2010-03-02.

3.1 Poured from 12oz. bottle into pint glass. A: Pours a light black with a light tan head that quickly disappears. A nice film stays across the top of this brew. S: This is quite the interesting combination of smells. I smell some roasty malts with a hoppy coupling. There are some woody characteristics as well. T: At first I pick up dry malts and some barley almost like a very light stout. This transforms into a little sweet and bitter hop backbone that floats throughout the drink. M: Medium bodied with a very oily feeling. Light carbonation as well. Goes down ok and it’s pretty deceptive from the sight. O: This was an interesting brew. Some good flavor profile but I don’t think it works as a beer I would come to again and again. It’s ok. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-05-2011