An Epic Vertical Epic Review

El Duque has set the bar high. There are so many epics that we look to these days. I thought nothing would be better than Homer's Odyssey, but then I remembered that it's been too long since I read that in high school and I can probably only name one character without googling it. What I do know, is A Game of Thrones!!!

These days you can talk about aGoT with just about anyone nerds, business professionals and of course beer geeks.

The true hero of my night was Vertical Epic 05.05.05, so we will call it our House Stark. It was dark and bold with big sweet malt taste. Perfect for a cold winter night. After seven years it had mellowed nicely and there was not much heat remaining from the heavy booze (8.5% abv). Great chocolate and toffee flavor with a nice banana Belgian yeast flavor. It was a medium bodied beer that finished clean and crisp. The beer was  strong, upfront and honest, just like Ned kept his house. It was a shining example of a Belgian Dark Strong.

The second most impressive beer was Vertical Epic 07.07.07, so we will call it our House Lannister. Unlike 05 this was light and bubbly. The flavor was complex and subtle. There was intrigue mixed in with malts, hops and yeast. The ginger provides a great soft flavor that rides throughout the entire beer. It is bubbly and effervescent. The beer is outgoing and social just like the Lions of Lannister. It was a strong flavored brew but finished off dry and bitter. A clean end to a very exiting drink.

The beer that I thought was most under appreciated was Vertical Epic 11.11.11, so we will call it our House Targaryan. I love dark beers with some big off flavors. This beer was infused with a dash of spicy fire. The hot pepper was in the aroma and in the flavor. The hops complimented with peppers very well. They had just a hint of spice and floral flavor. The Belgian flavor was strong in this one as well. It was a true Belgian Strong with an awesome West Coast American kick. This was also one of the stronger beers, with 9.4% abv. Between the chili and the booze this one brought dragons fire to the party in a big way.

The beer I was least impressed with was the Vertical Epic 04.04.04, so we will call it our House Tyrell...don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, it was just a bit lame. There was nothing wrong with the beer, it just had nothing particularly exciting going on with it. It was a pretty traditional light refreshing Belgian beer. The 8.5% abv had mellowed out very nicely after eight years of aging, so that didn't stand out. The flavors were soft and sweet with just a light bit of flavor.

I agree with El Duque, the Vertical Epic 12.12.12, was just misunderstood. Like the men of the Iron Islands, House Greyjoy, it was bold and harsh. It was a strong beer with some pretty overpowering flavors. Please keep in mind that it'd also aged the least, so it hadn't mellowed much at all. The cigar was needed to reign in the dark spicy holiday flavors of the 12. This would be a great after dinner drink, but be ready for it to be in your face.

All of these beers were awesome. The worst of them was much better than a 4. The best of these was absolutely fantastic. This was a modern day epic for your taste buds. It was distinctly Belgian, with an incredibly forceful hint of California from our friends at Stone. They embraced someone else's tradition and made it their own for all of us to enjoy. Like with all good books, movies and TV shows, we are sad when they end, but happy we got to experience them. If you can get your hands on any of these beers, even if it is only two or three of the recent ones, do it. It was a great experience.

Review: Stone Vertical ‘02 thru ‘12

What is a Vertical?

In a nutshell, "A vertical tasting offers a selection of beers from the same brewery, all brewed in different years. This is one of the most educational tasting formats because it offers the opportunity to taste the effects on beer caused by weather, growing conditions and changes in beer-making style over time, as well as demonstrating how beers change as they mature." Paraphrased from Realbeer.com

The Stone Vertical '02-'12 is a ride not only through time but through different styles of beer.  Like any great beer each one is it's own roller coaster of flavor and tastes.  

Here I thought the Professor was going to be on HIS phone all night...

Impressions?

Best Dynamic Duo:

I'm a dark chocolate lover.  Every Christmas I try and stuff my stocking with a dark chocolate orange.  Guilty pleasures, I know, we all have them!  After spending a semester abroad in India I have developed a taste for the extremely spicy.  This beer brought all those flavors together and more.  The 11.11.11 was paired with a Chili Cinnamon Flourless Chocolate Torte.  Either of these on their own would have been a treat, but the combination nearly blew my socks off!  You can tell because I can't seem to find a picture I know I took of that torte...

The 11.11.11 had a spicy chili cinnamon nose that opened up my sinuses just a bit!  The fiesta of chilies and citrus orange rind flavors played merry havoc on my pallet.   It's medium heavy body finished with a spicy dryness.  

The 11.11.11 paired with the  melt in your...  everything torte just about had me seeing my life flash before my very eyes!  This pairing won the race for me.  If this was a marathon run by a fat kid and these were at the finish line waiting...  he would come in 1st every time!

Runner Up:

10.10.10 paired with Bacon Wrapped Nectarines.  Besides the fact that bacon goes with everything, even fruit...  The light flora grape nose, light crisp bodied, white wine finished citrus fruit experience of the 10.10.10 was a VERY close second to the 11.11.11.

Back of the pack:  

I didn't care for the 2.2.02, affectionately named the International Incident.  I have a sneaking suspicion that if The Big Guy let it sit for a cool 11 years then busted it out I would have had a different opinion of it, but we didn't have that amount of time to burn.  Definitely a great base recipe to tweak and make his own!

Thats RIGHT! $5.99! ...in 2004...

The 4.4.04 was not what I thought it should have been. The taste was not as intense as I would have liked. It was all light touches of lime and ghosts of clover and spice. Call me classic, but I like a nice battle ax to the flavor face... Bold, intense! Those words just did not describe the 4.4.04

Just the Facts Mam:

2.2.02 - 2.5

3.3.03 - 4

4.4.04 - 4

5.5.05 - 4.5

6.6.06 - 4

7.7.07 - 4.5

8.8.08 - 4

9.9.09 - 4.5

10.10.10 - 5

11.11.11 - 5

12.12.12 - 4.5

El Duque's Epic Vertical Epic

I love that my first thought of trying to describe to people what going through the Vertical Epic was like was that it was a Wagner opera, each brew it's own leitmotif.

Then I realized that makes me sound like an asshole, so I'll go with this: Yeah, it was like drinking Star Wars.

Luke Skywalker: (7.7.7)-  Yes, my name is also Luke, and yes, I was tortured for years with Star Wars references, but I grew up with him and even though I think Obi Wan Kenobi is the most interesting character, Luke will always be my favorite, which means, yes, the 7.7.7 was by far my favorite brew.

I then, as I do now, refer to it as "that one beer that was Mountain Dew?"  Stone billed it as Saison and Golden Trippel influenced and it's obvious.  It's a perfect blend.  You get the refreshing lift of the citrus peel, spices, and ginger, as well as the high alcohol and candy sugars.  Like I said, Mountain Dew.  Surprisingly complex and refreshing and very glad I had it after it had aged. 

Han Solo: (5.5.5)- My second favorite beer of the night shared many characteristics with this space pirate.  It was dark, smooth, boozey, and not liked by many.  Han, like this beer, started from a simple beginning.  No spices were used in this beer.  Simple things led to complex malts and deep plum and sherry notes.  It was like drinking leather and it was damn sexy.  When I told it, "I love you." Its simple response was, "I know."

Jar Jar Binks: (3.3.3)- Jar Jar Binks is the beer equivalent of banana clove for me.  Both of these things are unpalatable and bring up deep wells of hate a loathing.  I don't remember much of 3.3.3.  I blacked out its terribleness.  It was too thin, too boring, and way too sweet. In the words of Jar Jar, "Dissen berry, berry bad. Oh! Icky icky goo!"

The Death Star: (6.6.6)- A man made moon that destroys planets and rebel trash.  Epic right?  Try huge letdown.  With a number like 6.6.6 I was expecting something... foreboding, or spicy, or daaaarrrrk.  Instead it was underwhelming.  I think this suffered worst from age than the other brews.  Fresh, the oak/toasted taste, dark malts, or odd tea leaf (Stone said it was supposed to be cedar), might have been a good mix, but when I had it, it just seemed too thin.  Obviously the planetary shield generator was down.

Anakin Skywalker: (12.12.12)- This one was my dark horse.  It was misunderstood, spicy, dark, and whiny.  Everyone, including me, immediately wrote this beer off.  It was confused as to what it was supposed to be: a winter beer, or potpourri.  Like the aforementioned Jedi, It was too spicy and bi-polar.

That was until it was paired with a cigar and wow, it really came together.  Like Anakin, once this brew took a dip in smoke and fire, it chilled out.  The spice and smoke of the cigar really made the flavors congeal and the antiseptic smoke numbed the tongue and mellowed the potpourri punch.  It was a great way to end the epic.

Stone billed their Vertical Epic as an epic told in beer form and it truly was quite the journey.  It was an amazing night full of friends and laughter, even if all those Belgian strong ales may have frozen me in carbonite and gave me hibernation sickness the next morning.

Epic Vertical Epic Party

For those of you who do not know what the Vertical Epic is, Stone Brewery has been releasing a Belgian Strong beer every year since 2002. The first one was released on February 2nd, 2002 - 02.02.02. The second was released on March 03, 2003 - 03.03.03, and so on all the way till last December with 12.12.12. They were all bottle conditioned, and were made to be tasted after 12.12.12 was released. Each beer is a unique twist on a Belgian Strong with a seasonal flavor from the month that it represents. The beers are only available for a limited time after they are released. After that you have to beg borrow and steal to try and get your hands on the older brews.

After six months of searching, I was able to acquire ten of the eleven Stone Vertical Epic Beers. The 02.02.02 was going on the net for more than $300 per bottle and there was no way I was going to pay that price, even to complete the Vertical Epic. Stone was kind enough to put home brew recipes on their website so you could replicate, or at least come close to, their brew. I made two cases of 02.02.02 (which I have decided to call International Incident). We had one bottle of 03, 04 and 05 and then two of everything else.

  

I invited nine of my best beer buddies and co-writers to my house and assigned everyone a beer to do a food pairing with. Stone gave descriptions of all of the beers' aroma, color and taste, plus pairings for food, dessert and cigars.

My friends did not disappoint; the food was outstanding. Since the 02 was a home brew I did not have anyone bring food for that. (The home brew turned out great. Thanks to the guys at Great Fermentations, the Scene post to come soon, for helping me tweak the recipe to get it going here). The pairings were as follows:

The 03 was paired with a light monchego cheese and a grilled portabella mushroom. 

The 04 was paired with a nice soft brie cheese

The 05 was paired with a ginger marinated thinly sliced beef

The 06 was paired with Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese

The 07 was paired with a coconut lime marinated shrimp 

The 08 was paired with mini fish tacos with avocado, cilantro and home made salsa 

The 09 was paired with mini BBQ pork sliders and spicy slaw

The 10 was paired with bacon wrapped nectarines with basil and balsamic vinegar

The 11 was paired with a chili pepper flowerless chocolate cake

The 12 was paired with chocolate covered espresso beans and, my favorite, a nice dark cigar

The food did such a great job accentuating the beer. It was a well put together pairing list by Stone. My personal favorite, other than the wonderful shrimp cooked by my wife, was the chocolate chili flowerless cake. It was a great pairing with Stone's chili Belgian Strong 11.

Over the next couple of days each of us will put a post up with our favorite beers, favorite pairings and those that were less impressive. 

Belgian Dark Strong

Creation: Belgian Dark Strong
Style:  Belgian Dark Strong
Masterminds: Bier Brewery
Location: Indianapolis, IN
ABV: 10 %
IBU: 20.8
SRM: 17
Hops:
Availability: Special release
Drinkability:  I could have a few, but the sweetness may prevent mass consumption
Awards:

"Legend... Wait for it..."

Served cold right out of the BRÄULER™

Pours with a dark glow that swirls around the glass depths of your pint.  Very minimal head that sticks around and not much fizz to speak of after the initial pour.  (Tips hat to the bartender at BIER once again on a perfect growler fill)

The nose, like most Belgians, is a sweet and fruity banana.  It has a slight caramel-bready aroma.  This only whets the pallet in anticipation for the glory that is The Belgian Dark.

It starts off with a sweet Belgian Crystal Malt and Candi sugar flavor with notes of slight spicyness. This gives way to a sweet tang finish that permeates the pallet.

It will leave your mouth with a sweet and fruity zip that sticks around for a minute.

Serve warm(er) to mellow out the sharp flavors and cozy up with the warm high octane ABV.

3.5 heads: Defiantly a crowd pleaser and would want more if available.

Post Mortum:
You ever have a growler just stick around?  I mean you have a glass or two then get interrupted by a last minute "Honey could you go to the store for me?" or "Mom, Dad!  What a pleasant surprise!  You never stop by unexpected..."

I must have had 3-4 pints when I first opened this bad boy.  I thought I was just about done.  Cut to that following weekend.

I know... why are you letting perfectly good beer sit around in your fridge when you should have drank it all...  Please! I am a beer conioussuer, not a lush!  Besides the beer-geneers over at The Zythos Project - Home of the BRÄULER™ are going to nip that proverbial problem in the bud for me upon the month of February 2013.  Thank God I hit up their FreshCap™ CO2 injection system Kickstarter project.

Ok, this gem of a beer has been sitting around in my BRÄULER™ in the fridge for the better part of a full week untouched.  Like any dutiful red blooded american male I popped that puppy open determined to finish it rather than pour it down the sink.  Two angels lose their wings if you have to sacrifice beer to the sink god in this way... not so Ho Ho Ho if you know what I mean.... 

I was pleasantly surprised to note that the beer tasted almost exactly as it had when I had first poured it a week prior.  Now this doesn't happen to beer.  You let it sit that long in I don't care what type of run of the mill growler and you will end up with flat and stale beer.  Added to this not only did I have one pint left in it... but I had another plus a half to go!  That is 2.5 pints left in the growler for those of you playing the home game.  Now I may have been a little intoxicated and lost count the first time... or my beer magically repopulated itself in my fridge.  Either way this was a "Two in the hand is better than... Wait..."  Dary!