Symposium Ale (2004 Craft Brewers Conference)

Specially brewed for the 2004 AOB Craft Brewers Conference held in San Diego, CA. This ale is the result of a collaborative effort between three San Diego County brewers and breweries. Peter Zien of AleSmith Brewing, Tomme Arthur of Pizza Port Solana Beach /Port Brewing, and Lee Chase of Stone Brewing all gathered together and brewed this celebratory ale up at the Stone Brewing Co.

This Belgian-style strong golden ale was brewed with multiple yeast strains, a pretty substantial amount of Czech Saaz hops, and a touch of lemon grass.

3.6

186 reviews

Escondido, United States

Community reviews

3.5 Bottle at the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens on 08/03/2008 on day three of RBSG 2008. Clear golden amber body with a small off-white head. Sweet light malt and floral hops aroma. Sweet malty body with light hops. Medium body with mdoerately high carbonation.

3.4 22oz bottle. thanks to kan for sharing this old brew! pours hazed bright gold with white head. nose is slightly sour, mild papery oxidation, some grain and yeasty notes. flavor is a bit papery, sour dough, tropical fruit, peppery finish. holding up all right but past its prime.

3.5 22oz bottle thanks to my man dennis.....pours a hazy orange with a thin film of white head.... sweet caramel papery malt with sweet candied sugar and dried pineapple.....papery malt, somewhat oxidized with some sweet dried fruit flavors. dry finish. pretty drinkable overall.

3.8 Bottle from ebay. Dark cloudy yellow with a fizzy white head. Earthy caramel and fruit aroma and taste with some honey notes. God but not great.

3.7 Golden-brown with a small head. The aroma is of vanilla, citrus (orange.) Very hoppy in flavor with notes of hay and citrus with an orange peel finish. Bitter throughout with a watery texture. Overall I’d say its a good beer that is easy to drink.

3.8 2004 Bottle. Pours a rocky off-white head with a clear yellow body. Aroma of orange, corriander, vanilla and a bit of rye. Taste is yeasty with some vanilla and coriander and a bit of spice from the lemongrass. Dry mouthfeel with lively bubbles.

3.4 Bottle thanks to Axilla at BCTC. Poured deep golden in color with a very small white head. Aroma is of citrus, bread, and some dust. Tastes of caramel malts, citrus fruits, Belgian fruity esters, bread and grainy.

3.3 22 fl oz bottle. Pours clear and golden yellow. Lacing white head. Dry wooden hops aroma. Smooth and slight hoppy finish. Slight spiced too. Held up quite good given it’s age.

3.7 Bottle shared by WeeHeavySD, poured a bright orange gold with decent tight white head. Nose is banana clove spice, as id the flavor, and they all meld wonderfully to make this a very smooth Belgian.

3.5 Bottle shared by axilla at BCTC ’08. Thanks Jon! Pours golden with a small white head. Nose is sweet and slightly oxidized with a bit of hops still lingering. Flavor is chewy malts, some bread, and lingering hops. This was bit passed its prime.

3.5 22oz bottle, generously provided by some fine soul on Saturday at BCTC. Thanks! Pours a murky, golden-orange color; small off-white head. Loads of citrus fruits, oranges, yeastiness, and soft toasty breadiness in the aroma; toasty, dry, bready nose; some dry caramel from oxidation; some touches of alcohol. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: chewy, toasty yeastiness, dried yellow fruits, bananas, and caramelized sugar; average carbonation; messy, murky, yeasty beer. Medium finish: yellow fruits, breadiness, and toasty grains; slightly messy, oxidized Belgian.

3.8 Bomber @ Stone during RBSG shared with many. Pours yellow with a bright white ring. Nose is sweet and nice and taste. Taste is nice and light.

3.1 22oz bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf (thanks!). Poured a medium golden color with an averaged sized white head. Aromas of spices, fruity, and yeast. Tastes of the same fruitiness, spices, and yeast. Very similar to the Sawyer’s Tripel we had right before.

3.2 Thanks to hopdog for sharing this one. Pours a mostly translucent golden orange with a smaller bubbly white head. Aroma of vanilla, bready, banana, lemon, Belgian yeast spicy notes and some floral notes. Flavor was a lot of the same...not sure the age did this one all that well.

3.7 Tasted at 2008 Woodshop hosted by cquiroga. Light amber color. Some carbonation. Buttery. Some saison yeast aroma. Not too dry or too sweet. Very little oxidation. Medium body.

3.4 Golden color, not alot of foam, nose is alcohol and vanilla, some sopices. wheaty some good hops as any stone product should, medium body dry finish, tasty

3.5 Nice clear orange body with a big white head, this bottle has held up well over the years. The aroma has a oxidized component to it, and this unfortunately caries through to the taste. it hasn’t ruined the beer, however. The aroma otherwise carries some peppery notes and some orange. The flavour again has hints of oxidization, but you still get a strong sense of what this beer was. More spices in the flavour with a reoccurrence of orange and an appearance of some fading hops. This was actually a well rounded beer that is a bit past its prime.

3.5 Golden in colour, thin white coloured head, no lacing. The aroma is spicy, lots of black pepper, very floral, some yeast, orange zest, grassy. The flavour is yeasty upfront, some spice, citrus, honey sweetness, grassy and herbal. Lightly bitter mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes lingering, yeasty, spicy with a bit of lemon citrus. Along the lines of Sawyers Triple and just a bit better I felt. This isn’t getting any better although this didn’t show any major signs of oxidization. 650ml bottle obtained in a trade with Sven, thanks Steven for this and all of the other hard to find Stone beers that you have sent me. Opened on April 21, 2007.

3.4 (Bottle, courtesy of TChrome) Pours a lightly hazy orange body with a medium white head. Aroma of orange peel, mustiness, florals, and dried pineapple/papaya. Flavor of orange peel, sourness, mild hops, spicy yeast, caramel, and pear. Thanks Tad!

3.7 Bottle shared by the ever generous Ohiodad, thanks! Yellow-gold pour with a somewhat off white head. Aroma of yeast, lemon zest, and some light sweet malts. Sweet malt, honey, and some very light earthy hops and yeast make up the flavor of this one. Medium bodied with a lively carbonation and a sweet/clean finish.

4.5 Bottle obtained @ the brewery. What would you expect a Belgian collaboration between Stone, AleSmith, and Pizza Port to taste like? Awesome- exactly. The most true to style of all the Belgian beers Stone has bottled. Flavor packs more of a punch than the 7.5% alcohol suggests.

3.8 Bottle thanks to OhioDad for sharing. Cloudy golden color with a white head. Aroma, sugary, yeast, citrus. Flavor, lightly bready, lemony citrus notes, some yeast.

3.7 22oz bottle via my Christmas In July Secret Santa - Poured golden with a slight haze and an offwhite head with good lace. Aromas of lemon, yeast, and saaz hops. Flavor is full of lemon zest, yeast and other citrus notes. Crisp and clean on the palate but good body as well. This was a pretty tasty beer and it appears to have held up pretty well so far..

3.6 Pre-GTMW tasting @ 1FastSTi’s place. Clear, light amber with white head. The aroma is caramel, toffee, candi sugar, golden raisins and floral. The flavor is relatively light, apricot, sugary sweetness. The mouth is soft and smooth, slightly warm.

3.7 Clear gold color. Dusty white head. Sweet, light spice aroma. Very nice… kind of hard to describe. Taste is a little odd… sour spice, sweet dry malt, husky yeast, cheese, etc. Pretty good… I sat on it two years, could have been good or bad. Looking at other Stone beers (though this is not 100% stone), I’d say maybe at least a year would have been fine.

3.6 Shared by Jason. The beer pours to a clean golden body with a thin white head. Very nice lacing. The aroma is bitter. Flowers. Delicate. The flavor is bitter, floral hops, pale malts. Medium palate, bitter, alcoholic.

3.5 Straw colored sticky well laced white head, slightly cloudy. Smells big & sweet reminded me of an old ale full of heavy syrups and carmels w/ touches of yeast. Paalte is nice but a bit thin. Flavor is light yeast a weak dry hop, swet grains but kind of plain flavor. Thanks to Jason for sharing.

3.7 Aroma of lemon, musty raisins, dried figs, nice and vinous with spices. Golden yellow in color with a thin, white head. Flavor is very grape-ish with dried fruit, a touch of spice and a tiny touch of paper-ish oxidation. Light body, almost oily texture. Thanks to JCapriotti for sharing.

3.7 Pre-Great Taste sampling at 1FastSti’s house Another one that was opened fairly early on, this was the first suprise of the night to be opened. Apparently when you get together this many great beers hidden gems come out of the woodwork. For a two year beer it has certainly held up amazingly well. I wish Pizza Port, Stone and Alesmith would do more shared brews if this is the type of thing that they can come up with. Aroma / Appearance - Hints of crisp green apples, honey and a vinous nose floated up out of my glass. It had all the hallmarks of a well done Belgian strong ale based on that alone - I could almost close my eyes and imagine taking a sip. The body was a peach color with a thin head that rapidly disappeared. Flavor / Palate - The dense creamy mouthfeel felt like drinking a sweet sherry. It was extremely thick and satisfying. From the small sample I picked up honey, caramel, berries and cream. I might have been able to detect more if only there was another bottle. I could drink this one all night easily.

3.5 Pours a deep golden color, small white head. The aroma is very sharp. Tingles the nose, with an overtone of Belgian goodness, lemon and spice. Flavor is sharp, hops hit the nose immediately with the Belgian malt flavor counteracting and harmonizing quite well. Age has held this one up quite well, I’m wondering what the ABV is…