Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale

A new Vertical Epic will be released every year, with the goal being to collect them all and have a Vertical Epic tasting once the final Epic is released on 12/12/12. Each new Stone Vertical Epic Ale will be release one YEAR, one MONTH and one DAY apart.

With Vertical Epic 03/03/03, we used some pretty interesting ingredients...coriander (a "Belgian-style" beer favorite!), alligator pepper (wow, bite into these little gems and you get a bigtime spicy rush of flavor), and a bit of both unmalted wheat and dark roasted wheat. And a blend of Belgian yeast and American ale yeast. And a nice selection of high alpha hops (a decidedly non-Belgian style twist). All told it makes for a dubble-ish taken-to-San-Diego-pushed-to-the-edge-and-slapped-around-a-bit beer. So, treat it gently. It's been abused enough already. Store it upright, cool and in the dark. It would enjoy a nice long rest. It will have plenty of patience. Now let's see about you . . . .
In addition, we are pleased to provide the homebrewing recipe:
http://stonebrew.com/timeline/030303

3.7

421 reviews

Escondido, United States

Community reviews

3.9 Hazy amber pour with a very thin white head. Carbonation is still there too. sweet malty nose with notes of honey. Flavor is malt forward, no pepper character to it at all. Slight bitterness in the finish. This has held up pretty well. Props to StFun for the bottle!

3.4 100th Belgian Strong Ale rating. Yeah! 22 ounce bottle poured into a mini-snifter. Pours a clear amber with a thin white head of foam. Aroma is floral, minty, and herbal. Tastes a bitter herbal and minty. Lighter body and medium carbonation.

3.8 Had at the BGoA Winter tasting. Pours hazy brown. No head. Sweet malt. Caramel. Dark fruit. Nice

3.8 Bottle - Vintage ?? - Sweet honey, apricot and spicy. Cloudy brown and orange with no head. Orange, apricot, spicy and yeast. Sweet and thick, very nice.

4.4 Aged bottle. Tough to give details... just to say, wow: everything I hope for in a well aged belgian strong.

2.5 Not to date myself, but I graduated HS in 2003. I had no idea what craft beer was. I certainly knew nothing of a brewery in California called Stone. We’ve all had out experiences with Stone. I think a big part of the craft beer journey is coming to terms with your relationship with Stone. Stone is what it is. But this. . . this is a 10 year old beer. There are a lot of people in the beer world who mistakenly believe that beer should be aged. I think this, this beer, while maybe not the start of this bizarre phenomenon, but it began popularizing it. It pours a clear brownish with a medium creamy beige head. Aroma is muted with tons of oxidation. Text book oxidation right here. But, really, what could you expect? Flavor is cardboard, nondescript sweetness, some odd apricot notes. Medium bodied, finishes with lots of oxidation. Is it my fault for drinking it? Is it their fault for pouring it? who knows.

3.5 FROM NOTES; July 3, ’12 Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into a Stone pint glass. Bought an extra to cellar. A: Roasted malt, maple syrup, chocolate, flowers, gingerbread. A: Very murky looking ruby brown color. What little head there was recedes to a ring around the edge of the pour. T: Follows the nose with Belgian yeast strain present, bready, spice notes and metallic off-flavors. P: Nice malt/hop balance, lean mouth-feel, tart notes, some alcohol burn, a nice hop bite to the finish, peppery finish. O: I didn’t enjoy this one nearly as much as the 02-02-02 and I’m scared to death to try it in December ’12.

3.9 Bottle sampled at RBSG. From notes. Spicy and sugary. No hops or pepper, probably faded out a while ago. Still a great beer, and stoked to have the opportunity to try it.

3.5 Medium brown with a creamy head. Belgian spice and chocolate aromas. Strong spice, toasted malt, and caramel flavors finish dry.

3.0 Bottle at RBSG. Pour was brown, pretty malty, no carbonation. Not bad, but the age definitely affected this.

3.2 Bottle at RBSG. Poured orange little hazy soft white head that left faint thin film. Aroma has some fruity yet vegetable and oxidized malt/yeast. Taste was more the same with some hidden fruit character. Palate slick and dry.

2.6 Bomber at RBSG. Too damn old. Vegetable soup all over this beer. Not as good, I’m sure, as in it’s prime.

3.0 Shared at RBSG - malty nose, oxidized a bit? Pretty flat, a bit sweet and still has some interesting character. Cool to try after 10 years.

3.9 Bottle shared by skinnyguy! Clear brown pour, nice little ring of carbonation and an aroma of slightly spicy dark cherry and scotchy malt. Flavor is slightly peppery, heavy caramel and a little herbal fruit. Holding up nicely for being 10 years old!

3.7 Belmont bottle enjoyed on Harper’s first night home; 10 years old now. Obscene that I got this bottle for $10 about 6 months ago. This has really held up well. It was obviously a touch thin but it also seemed a bit tinny and metallic. Very nice for 10 years later but if you have a bottle I wouldn’t wait any longer. Rating it without holding age against it.

3.6 Vertical epic tasting with a light brown pour. Musty and sweet with some malt forward and sugary spicy bite. Ok for being this aged.

2.8 Bottle shared by Tim, thanks! Pours a cloudy amber with a tan head that starts at the edges and remains. Aroma has musty, dusty grains with a bit of sweetness. Flavor starts with sweet light grains and finishes with musty grains and dust.

3.9 22 oz bottle, bought online and tasted alongside vintages from 2004-2006 at a tasting with Chris, Dan and Greg. Served in a branded glass. Pours hazy molasses-brown with a small, fizzy tan head that fades immediately. On the nose, there are big notes of molasses, brown sugar and candy sugar, along with flowers and fruit. The hops have faded substantially. The flavour is surprisingly dry with complex molasses-brown sugar notes, raisins, figs, earth and significant pepper. On the palate, it is medium in body with a dry texture and fizzy carbonation. Overall, this is a very nice Belgian dubbel-style ale. There are lots of raisins, figs, molasses and brown sugar, but it is drier than I had expected. It has held up to aging fairly well, but the carbonation is rather coarse. 2012-08-04

3.5 Consumed in 2/13. Pours amber with no head. Aroma was a musty sweet tang. Flavor was mostly sweet cherry aged malt. Very mellow after all that time.

2.5 22 oz. bottle served in a CCB snifter. A: Pours a hazy dark amber color with some brown in the body. A thin, light tan head forms on the pour and recedes at a normal pace. S: Dark fruit with a light over-cooked caramel. Some artificial chocolate notes, almost like a Tootsie Roll. T: The taste really shows the oxidation, it wasn’t that prevalent in the nose. Light paper, stale saltine crackers, medium sweetness and light Tootsie Roll. M: Medium bodied with a medium carbonation level. The carbonation saves this one form being a complete drain pour. O: This one didn’t stand up as well as the 02.02.02. It was alright, but it had an old artificial flavor to it that didn’t sit well with me. Serving type: bottle

3.5 Light orange in color actually had a bit of carbonation. Very smooth, mellow, sweet, with a lot of fruit. Apple, apricot, etc. Quite drinkable, but not that complex as a lot of the flavors had mellowed over time.

3.3 (bottle - 22 oz - Night of the Titans 2013) Murky amber pour with a thin tan head. Slightly dry and seemingly wet fruit and dark malt note. Some light chocolate and fruity notes with a mildly muddy and yeasty finish. Held up well with the age, but wasn’t as good, in my opinion at least, as the 02.

3.1 From bottle. Huge thanks to Tim and Rachel! Ugly yeasty amber with a loose bubbly white head. Dirty, cardboard, oxidized spiced aroma with notes of sweetness. Earthy chocolate, roast, cardboard with hints of dark fruit. Not terrible, but hese old ones are dead.

3.9 Bottle thanks to Tim and Rachel! Pours a murky brown on tap with no real lacing or head. Aroma of dark fruits, belgian funk, port wine. Taste of chocolate, dark fruit, red wine, and a hint of booze. This one is pretty damn good.

3.4 Traded with daknole. From bottle. Old wet cardboard murky amber color. Lots of cardboard. Still carbonated. Cherry plumb coconut. This beer is past its prime but still surprisingly good. Tastes like a strawberry twizzler.

3.6 Location/Date:Bottle on January 25th, 2013 during day 1 of Nerd Beer Epic Weekend. Appearance: Pours a dark brown clear. Aroma: Aroma of caramel. Taste: Dark fruit, yeasty, caramel, faint wheat. Palate:Medium body. Summary: First of many Stone Vertical Epics this weekend. Considering this beer was made on March 3, 2003, it has aged pretty well. Might have been the best of the day when we had 03-07.

3.6 Location: Bottle at Nerd Beer Epic Weekend, 1/25/13 Aroma: The aroma is fairly sweet with some dark fruit, nuts, a little spice, and some yeast notes to it Appearance: It pours an orangish color with a small head, but not nearly as flat as it could have been Flavor: The flavor is quite sweet as well, and this one has developed some intriguing complexity Palate: The fell is pretty clean and soft, it has a medium body, and isn’t too cloying from the sweetness Overall Impression: It was really cool to get to try this one, and was a great way to kick off the weekend. Props to Dave, Kramer, and Andy! As for the beer, I think we were all shocked it had held up so well. It really didn’t taste all that worse for the age. Sure it is extremely sweet, but it has developed some nice complexity. This certainly exceeded my expectations.

3.4 Thanks to the Thorpe’s for sharing. The beer is copper hued with a thin tan head that quickly fades. Pockets of bubbles evident throughout the glass. The aroma offers malt, citrus, booze. Notable signs of age. Toffee and caramel flavors. Light sweetness, with butterscotch candy and caramel chews. Fairly light in body with moderate carbonation. Pretty good.

3.8 Pours medium dark amber, half finger off white head into pilsner glass lots of bubbles streaming up. Big malt aroma, toffee, caramel, biscuity, very slight astringent, cleaner and cardboard, it is 10 years old! Taste is very malty, slight biscuit, belgian crystal, peppery and spicy mid mouth, bit of noble hop character. Slight alcohol, no off flavors at all, much different than the nose here. Good carbonation, medium thin, slight alcohol and pepper burn. Overall excellent, first time I had it, so I don’t know what it would be like fresh, aroma would probably be better fresh though.

3.5 Walnut and almond nose, marzipan and dusty wood. Clear copper, no head. Flavor is simpler, red currant but not ezceedingly tart. Maybe a light almond note.