Stone 8th Anniversary Ale
The Stone 8th Anniversary Ale is, like all previous Stone Anniversary Ales so far, an adaptation of a previous Stone Brewing Co release. This year we set out to make a “Anniversary-ized” version of Lee’s Mild, a 3.8% abv limited release beer from 1999. For this beer we used some of the same malts that we had used in the Lee’s Mild, added more hops, less water (to bring the alcohol content up), and found a tasty balance of toasty/roastyness from the malt and a subtle (by Stone standards!) hop presence. To add further complexity, oak chips were employed to round out the character and give the beer a bit of vanilla/bourbon influence from the wood.
3.7
498 reviews
Escondido, United States
Community reviews
Bottle from August 2004 thanks to footbalm. It’s cool that footbalm no longer shows up as a spelling error because I finally changed the setting a few years ago- a true honor for Eric! Pours a cloudy brown color with a medium orange head. The aroma is sweet chocolates, some oxidation and fruit. The flavor is much like a thinish porter, some chocolate, light oxidation, a thin body. Toasted malts.
Poured dark reddish brown, smooth, dark fruits, molasses, oxidized, little chocolate.
Got this bottle from Holiday Wine (with some effort). Pours deep dark ruby with a beige head. Aroma is warm coffee and toast and chocolate. Flavor is fruity and chocolate with some tobacco accents. Quite mellow. Very pleasing.
Bottle shared by bhensonb. Pours opaque brown with a thin tan head and a fruity chocolate aroma. The flavor is also fruity and chocolate with some leather. Has probably mellowed with age into a pleasantly delicious brew.
Deep ruddy brown pour with a two finger light tan head. Nose is a bit oxidized with mainly dried fruit. Flavor is also oxidized with dried fruit and a touch of soy. Slight bitter finish.
A: The pour is a sort of muddled dark brown color with some red and copper hints. The head is minimal.
S: Sweet toffee, molasses, and brown sugar on the nose with some hints of chocolate. Definitely some oxidation, but not really cardboardy.
T: More of the same on the palate. Fairly sweet and heavy on the toffee and brown sugar. The chocolate is bittersweet and oxidation is minimal. A lingering bitterness on the finish.
M: The body is medium with a medium level of carbonation.
D: This one has held up quite nicely, better than most of the other anniversary beers (probably because of not being an IPA). This one is still worth drinking.
Held onto this for a long time, 6 years old when finally popped open. Pours with a small head and a dark, murky brown color. Beer is oxidized malts but still drinkable with burnt oxidized raisins. Drink up if you still got it.
A decent offering, well worth the money and i’d possibly get it again. Just didn’t knock my socks off. the oak is all but gone, not much left but a grainy and sweet body
In short: An past-due-date fruity, nutty caramelized beer. Too late.
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed when around five year of age. Bottle sent to me as a bonus(!) by CaptainCougar, thanks a lot Tom
The look: Cloudy redish-brown body topped by a very small beige head
In long: Rich nose of caramel and dark fruits and a light oxidation. Taste is unfortunately dominated by oxidation. Lots and lots of cardboard. Underneath the oxidation is almonds wrapped in caramel, dark fruits. Also some maderisation with Sherry notes. Adequate medium carbonation. The beer is obviously way past its prime. There might be bottles well cellared that are still good but I fear most bottles are now just like the one I just drank. I don’t remember having it fresh, I don’t know if I ever had it fresh. This was probably once a very good beer because despite its obvious aging problems the beer was still quite drinkable. I did hesitate before entering my rating on a beer that is so obviously past due-date. But given that there is still a market for this 5 year old beer (as well as much older Stone beers) I think it is fair that I voice my opinion and say that this beer is now gone. I probably had it fresh in my early ratebeer time. I don’t remember. Five years ago this was probably a very good beer, but now it is five years old. I’m against aging beer but I’m exactly like everybody else, I don’t care about my opinions and I think I have an attitude problem.
Bottled: 2004
Consumed: 2009
220z bomber takin out of the cellar and poured into a Chimay Goblet.
Appearance: translucent brown with honey red corners. A decent 1 finger foam head with minimal retention and a touch of lacing.
Smell: loads of nutty malty notes that just entrace your nose. At times the smell borders boozy but never actually crosses the line. This smells delicate and declicious.
Taste: Oh my this is just a home run! The flavors are soft and well balanced, if not homogenized. Nutty goodness coupled with a touch of brown sugar and cola. But despite the notes mentioned, the sweetness is really down. This is delicious with the residual sugars consumed.
Mouthfeel: Very good considering this bottle is 5 years old. Still enough carbonation to make it a nice experience.
Drinkability: This is smooth and still has enough carbonation. Now is the time to enjoy this vintage people. I don’t see it getting any better with additional time!
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 04-19-2009
On tap at Stone Winter Storm. Opaque copper colors with a whitish head. Aromas of mild citrus and grassiness. Light medium bodied beer. Mildly hoppy and bitter with a chunk of sweet malt. Not a bad beer.
22oz bottle dated 08/2004 and purchased at Liquor Max. This one is almost two years old at this point. Color is dark brown (what a surprise) and the head is short and white. The smell is a little chocolate. The taste is a little chocolate and then standard boring brown ale. I bet this was really good when it was first released but time may have faded it a little. I was glad to have the opportunity.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 03-12-2007 16:19:14
On draft at Stone Winter Storm 2010. Poured a brownish/red color. Taste was malty, roasty, some hints of oak.
From notes. Multi amber/brown. Off white carbonation. Earth, toast, caramel, cocoa powder, dried dark fruits (fig), light dose of bitter and earthy hops. Medium body, moderate carbonation.
(Sample Date: 7/18/2009 Source:Other) August 2004 bottle. Deep malty roastiness with lots of dark fruit character. Light caramel brown with med tan head. Malty quite roasty flavor with dark fruits and some woodiness. Medium body and mouthfeel.
Thanks to richlike beer for this one. Pours a nice amber color with just a little head to it. Has a nice molasses and wood smell to it. Taste is very similar but with a little vanilla. This may be an American Strong but it sure smells and taste like a barley wine at this point.
22 oz bottle with a big thanks to richlikebeer for sharing this 5 year old retired gem. Poured with a murky light brown body and a small creamy beige head. Aroma had some serious oxidation notes creeping in but man did, they compliment this beer. Aroma of a finely aged barleywine, caramel, toffee, molassess and honey over some less obvious dark grains. Thinner body that still had lots of carbonation despite the age of this one. The flavor isslightly thinner then the aroma implies but notes of caramel, molassess, fleeting citrus and cardboard. Wow this one is holding up nicely even with 5+ years of age on it.
22 oz bottle. Consumed 11/14/09. Aroma is still pretty malty, hop aroma is almost non-existent. Pours a slightly cloudy dark brown color with a small tan head. Tinge of sweet herb, touch of nuts. Still has a pretty decent amount of carbonation.
Note: I will rate it a *notch* higher than I probably would have - mostly due to any inconsistencies existing due in part to the age of the beer.
31st July 2008. Dark brown cloudy ale. Very smooth and mild. Not much carbonation. Smooth malt with a little creaminess and a hint of milk chocolate. Easy going finish with a whisper of hop bitterness. Does taste a little aged but that isn’t a bad thing in this case.
I had a whole case of this but just getting aroiund to rate thius now. Very nice even 5 years in. A liitle bit of cardboard but also a lot of caramel and chocolate in the flavor. Felt like a solid barley wine that was aged to a little bit past its prime
bomber thanks to jsquire! pours a deep red with a huge 3-4 finger white head... sweet, bitter, nut and raisin aromas... medium body with fruit up front - dark cherry, plum and more raisin... more defined finish... with some nuts, herbs and spice... a bit of mint on the finish as well.... overall this has held up very well and was refrigerated for a few years.... really nice.
22oz bottle @ Immy’s Backyard Throwdown. Pours clear copper in color with brown head. Aroma hops, malty and caramal. Taste hops, malt and toffee with bitter finish. Very impressive for 5 year old beer.
22oz bomber from andrew. thanks for another oxidized beer, drew.... pours a dark caramel amber brown with a thin light off-white head..... aroma of heavily oxidized papery malt. ... flavors of less oxidized caramel malt, quite dullened in flavor with medium carbonation. tastes like it has been aged and past due.
August 2004 / Rating #2100
1/06/2009: Stone 8th Anniversary Ale... Aroma: Extremely malty paired with aged dark fruits, plum, some gracefully aged citrus hops, and even a hint of "granny smith apple, chocolate, and candied fruit" (according to my wife). Appearance: Deep golden-amber color, nearly opaque; Fine, shimmering carbonation bubbles, but there really isn’t any foam on top except for a slowly bubbling mudpot-like effect in the middle. Flavor: Richly caramelized malts, toffee, slight cooked chocolate pudding, plum, slightly vineous, and a touch of smoke; warming alcohol more and more apparent when it warms; slightly dry finish with a good level of "grassy" (as described by my wife) bitterness to balance out the maltiness. Palate: Medium and smooth, but starting to get a little thin; very little carbonation. Overall: Still very good, good complexity; this seems slightly past its prime though, so I would probably think about drinking any remaining bottles sometime in the near future...
1 Pt. 6 Fl. Oz. bottle (7.8% Alc. Vol.). Rating #457 for this beer.
22 oz. bottle courtesy of TheBeerGod shared at Immy’s Backyard Throwdown. Pours reddish-orange with an impressive (for its age) head. Aroma of toffee, caramel, and grassy hops. Big, bold flavors that teeter between a Belgian ale and a DIPA. I don’t know what this tasted like fresh but 5 years later this is simply awesome. An outstanding beer.
22 ounce bottle shared at Immy’s Backyard Throwdown. Pours a copper-red color with a small head and floaties. Aroma is toffee and raisin with some herbal notes. Taste is toffee, chocolate, caramel, nougat and a citrus, herbal hop bite. Full bodied. Hoppiness pretty impressive for its age.
@ Immy Backyard Throwdown. It poured a dark brown. It had a strong coffee and dark chocolate aroma and taste.
Bottle at RnH Drink for Charity. Thanks to everyone who brought great beer to this. Amber with head and lace. Toasty caramel brown sugar aroma. Toasty brown sugar carmale fruity flavor. Cloying. Sticky.
Bottle at the “Drink for Charity” event at Rattle & Hum thanks to Mike who brought a vertical from 2nd to 12th. Pours a deep ruby brown with a thin white head. Aromas are all caramel, malt, and a light plum. Flavor follows the nose mostly, with little bits of sweet caramel and malt. Finishes with a light bitter.
Bottle Shared By EDA, thank you Mike. Pours an amber body with a thin white head. Caramel malt, etoh, chewy with hints of sugar and grass, oxidation and tobacco notes. Still okay.