Stone 20th Anniversary Encore Series 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale

Stone 20th Anniversary Encore Series 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale is a Belgian style IPA, 8.9% ABV. Bottled on 8/26/15, opened 12/20/15.

The beer pours with a golden honey color with just the slightest hint of haze. I really love the aroma of this beer. The nose is loaded with classic Belgian Tripel banana, but is there is also a nice caramel malt, hints of vanilla and citrus hop in there as well. The taste loses some of the beauty of the aroma, but that isn’t to say this isn’t an excellent beer. I’m getting a fairly complex flavor profile of grapefruit and lemon, light banana, honey, and a bit of pine and grass. Some mild alcohol heat comes in on the finish, but nothing that is too offensive. In fact, it reflects the common heat of a Belgian Tripel as it mixes with a return of the sweet banana.

I missed this one the first time around (I got to try 09.09.09 thru 12.12.12), so I was happy to see this as one of the beers they reproduced in the Encore Series.