Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale

Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale

This ninth edition of our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series takes two interesting left turns. A Belgian-style golden triple is the starting point of this beer, but the first left turn is nearly immediate with the addition of dried chamomile flowers, triticale, and Belgian amber candi sugar. The second, and rather unusual left turn takes us half an hour up the road from Stone to Temecula courtesy of the addition of just-pressed Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from our friends at South Coast Winery. As the Stone Vertical Epic Ale series has moved through the calendar, we found that the brewing schedule for a 10.10.10 release coincided nicely with the grape harvest, neatly providing an interesting twist in this epic ale.
3.5
632 reviews
Escondido, United States

Community reviews

4.1 Bottle pour at Brouwer?s in Seattle, after the first Mariners win of the season. Light golden pour, sweet wood yeast aroma, flavor of wood, oak age, smooth beer, nice age on this one
3.8 22 oz bottle pour split at Brouwers. Pours a light golden apple juice color with very little head. Sharp fruit, booze and spice aroma. Flavor is dry. Applesauce like with a little spice and sweetness. A bit of a high carb burn to it, though it’s not boozy at all. Suprised at the level of carb. Overall flavorful and different. Glad I tried this.
3.4 sep2011:light sour malty aroma,golden, clear, white foam, lightly bitter, lightly sour, medium body, ight soft carbonation, nice sogt dry finish.
3.6 Pours cloudy reddish gold with a small fizzy white carbonation that quickly disappears. Aroma is very fruity, winelike from the muscat and chamomile with some belgian aspects. Taste is rather delicate for something that has been sitting in a bottle for so long. Fruity, floral, belgian yeast and candi sugar sweetness. Great triple aspects and then the dry mouthfeel from the wine grapes.
3.3 Poured a hazy amber with a 1 inch beige head immediately after the pour, but the head becomes just a film rather quickly. The aroma was fruit and a bit like a dry white wine. The initial taste was slightly tart, but a good malt sweetness comes along to mellow the taste out. The beer had a thicker texture. This beer was not my cup of tea, so to speak.
3.0 650ml bottle from Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York. Golden yellow in colour with a very thin white head, little to no lacing. The aroma is very floral, some oranges, lots of spice, some banana, light sweetness. The flavour is very floral and herbal, quite a bit of spice, noticeable alcohol, yeasty. Thin warm mouthfeel, medium/light body, mild carbonation. Finishes long and warming, some apples.
3.5 From notes. Tasted on 12/12/12 from a capped 22oz bottle with Curtis, and the Nashville crew. Pours hazy light orange with a thin bubbly white head that leaves thin bubbly lace. The nose is sweet and malty with grapes and a touch of earthy/spicy yeast. The flavor is has the sweet malt up front, with some nice acidity coming from the grapes, and an added bitter component on the back. The body is medium with light carbonation and a long malty and grapey finish.
4.1 Somehow, of those last three Epics, I have 3 of 10.10.10. So I’m popping one by itself. Smell has some spice and a bit of Honeycrisp apple on top of a toasty malt backbone. Amber color, with lots of fizz, but little head to show for it. Beer taste seems to be at its prime here. Malt is still toasty and aromatic, chamomile just hovers around the edge. Wine grapes are evident as a slight champagne note, especially in a dry finish to a beer that starts out a bit sweet. Somehow it settles in as a bit of Rose wine. Start to get some of the dead yeast in my glass as I am not being careful with the bottle. A good pour that is probably at its best right now.
3.2 Bottle @ RG 21. Dark straw. Sour honey and grape aroma. Tastes a little winey.
1.9 Bottle pour @ the 21st Richmond Gathering. Medium gold with a small head. Nose is Apples, Belgian yeast. Popcorn and marshmallow. Taste of strong dusty attic. Concentrated apple juice. Nasty, bilious. Weird.
3.3 "i’d say this is my least favorite thus far of all the Vertical Epic brews. the chamomile which intruiged me never made an appearance. it was all spicy belgian triple and wine grapes. obviously it’s still young, and tasted so, and this is the first one that i think will be better on 12-12-12 than it was fresh. i may re-rate in 6 months or a year, but for now, this one is just ok, which for stone is a big fat miss.
3.3 Tap at Churchkey. This one tastes and smells like a post-production blend of a blonde beer and white wine. The wine really overwhelms the beer, not in an appetizing way.
3.9 22 oz bottle from Beverages & More in Tucson, served in a stem glass alongside the 09-09-09 at a tasting at Dan’s. Pours hazy orange-golden with a medium white head that fades to a thin remnant and leaves a trace of lace. The nose has big notes of citrus peel, white wine must and chamomile, along with caramel, pale malt, apple and a touch of flowers. The flavour is medium sweet with huge chamomile notes; grapes, citrus and honey come through as well, along with caramel, apples and a touch of subtle spice. The finish is long and somewhat fruity-spicy with lots of chamomile and a touch of hops. On the palate it is medium-full in body with a smooth, creamy texture and soft carbonation. Overall, wow, a great saison-esque installment in the series with big chamomile, grape and fruity notes. Beautiful. 2014-06-07
3.4 From the four year old bottle. Clear golden color with almost no head, but a little effervescence. Thin winey nose with some white grape and spice. Nice flavor of yeast, spice, white wine, a little bubblegum, and too much alcohol as it warms. This was better fresher.
3.6 22oz bottle pours a clear gold with a small white head. Fruity grape aroma. Belgian yeast and apricot taste.
3.4 Rated on 11-03-2010. This bottled beer has a small off-white head with a short retention, hazy golden body, no visible carbonation, and spotty amounts of lacing. The aroma is malty, sweet, grapes, spicy, candied sugar, and floral. The taste is sugary sweet, malt, grapes, spicy, floral, and alcohol. The mouth feel is soft carbonation and this beer is medium bodied. The flavors in this beer are quite different than what I have experienced with this beer style in the past. This is a sipping beer with a warming sensation. It is worth trying.
3.5 Cloudy golden with a tiny white head. Spicy afruity tones. Malt, fruit and spices. Full body with a fruity / spicy finish.
3.7 Aroma: Musty Grapes, Belgian Yeast, Mild Belgian Candied Sugar Appearance: Golden Straw/Amber Hue, Passes Most Light, White Head Ring, Some Lacing Taste: Belgian Candied Sugar, Belgian Yeast, White Grapes, Mildly Boozy Mouthfeel: Average Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Boozy, Mildly Drying
3.5 Backlog. Slightly acidic with green grape aromas some citrus and floral aromas as well. The grapes really make themselves know.
4.0 Bottle. I’d had back in 2010, but just recently drank my last two bottles. Goddamn is this one brilliant beer. The accents of the wine grapes just fill everything in so nicely. Super stoked I drank them when I did, as I think they were almost ready to start their slow death.
3.6 22oz bomber pour. Orange hazy color with white head. Sour taste. Weird fruity and bitter flavor. Can't appreciate this one but can't knock it. Unusual.
3.9 Reviewed 12.12.12 Celebrating the Vertical Epic Series P: Clear golden body with active carbonation. S: Clean, banana, bubblegum, floral, subtle spices, cirtus and white grapes. T/M: Citrus hops, apricots, white grapes, acidic, zesty lime and lemon and yeast. Dry wine feel syrupy stickiness and tart puckering finish. O: Similar to white wine with tart grapes and dry finish. Really nice and clean. Serving type: bottle
4.3 Hazy golden pour with a white head. Aromas of wine and grape must with chamomile notes. Sweet malty flavor upfront with the grapes coming through nicely in the finish. Very smooth and easy to drink, no trace of the abv. This was one of my favorites in the series, great brew! Props to StFun for the bottle!
4.0 On draught at 2014 CellarFest at Bailey’s Taproom. Obviously 2010 vintage. Deep golden color. Aroma of grape, Belgian candi sugar, and citrus. Taste is sweet wine grapes, candied citrus, light yeast, and pineapple juice. Nicely balanced, with some smoothing from the aging.
3.7 Had at the BGoA Winter tasting. Pours hazy yellow. Nice head. No lacing. Fruity and sweet. Slightly tart. Bitter finish.
3.8 Tack för hjälpen Daniel. Äppeljuicefärgad med ett litet skum. Stor fruktig doft av söta äpplen, aprikoser, söta jordgubbar och aningens jäst. Smaken är först söt, men stramas snart upp och övergår i en torrare, lite syrlig och lätt jästbesk eftersmak. I bryggningen används rågvete, ett hybridsädesslag som främst används för etanoltillverkning. Riktigt gott men kanske lite enkelspårigt.
3.9 I was surprised to find this on tap 1/9/14. Pours a hazy orange-golden color with light head. Aroma is full of sweet fruit (apricot) and grapes with Belgian yeast and some caramel toffee. Taste is slightly sweet with floral and spicy overtones. Finish has some tartness. Body is medium with slight carbonation. I hated to see this one finish.
3.2 Bomber pour 2nd installment in 09-12 tasting..quite light color compared to 09..has some vinous notes in the nose to coincide with the Belgian triple action..nose is slightly sweet with rum butter quality..good offering totally different than 09 to say the least..
3.0 Poured to NB globe during tasting of 06-10 VE’s. A: golden apple juice ale. Little head production. Evident carb from the base. S: Grape and grain. Light hints of chamomile as it warms. Otherwise the entirety is accented by the belgian yeast. T: Grapes, belgian yeast. Too much fruit for me in this one. Maybe tone down in a year or two. M: High carbonation, light body for this kind of ABV. Dries the mouth. D: Too sweet at this time. One and done for me on this one. Serving type: bottle 02-22-2011 1
3.8 Äppeljuicefärgad med ett litet skum. Stor fruktig doft av söta äpplen, aprikoser, söta jordgubbar och aningens jäst. Smaken är först söt, men stramas snart upp och övergår i en torrare, lite syrlig och lätt jästbesk eftersmak. I bryggningen används rågvete, ett hybridsädesslag som främst används för etanoltillverkning. Riktigt gott men kanske lite enkelspårigt.