Stone Brewing Co. - 2015 "Crime" ale

Being home in Connecticut for the Thanksgiving holiday is always fun, but when it comes to this blog, it means access to my cellar of beer and wine. Back when I lived here full-time (and in the intervening years, when I'd visit) I'd grab various fancy beers and wines and store them for the future. It's easy not to drink them when you're hundreds of miles away! Today's is one such special cellar beer, mellowing in the basement since 2015t. It's called "Crime", and is a 9.60% ABV ale made with a laundry list of peppers.

A product of Stone Brewing Co., this is another entry in their "Arrogant" line of beers. I've reviewed a few iterations of this series before, namely the "Depth-Charged Double Bastard" and "Double Bastard in the Rye". Today's is a pepper-infused variant of the "Lukcy Basartd" ale (which itself is a blend of "Arrogant Bastard", "Double Bastard", and "Oaked Arrogant Bastard"), the rather-extensive list of peppers I was able to find:

• Red & Yellow 7 Pot
• Red & Yellow 7 Pot Douglah
• 7 Pot Jonah
• Red Scorpion
• Black Naga
• Green & Red Jalapenos
• Red & Peach Moruga Scorpions (these are particularly strong)
• Chocolate Douglah
• Ghost
• Giant White Habanero
• Habanero
• Caribbean Red Hot
• Fatali
• Peach Ghost Scorpion 

Crimony, that's a lot of peppers. According to Stone's website, this is quite a strong beer, with quotes like "The heat is disturbing!"and "Be careful!" There's even a video of patrons trying the "Crime" and recoiling in horror as the flavor hits their tongue. Well, blah blah blah, everyone has their own spice levels and I love ghost peppers, so bring it on. I laugh in the face of danger.

Now - full disclosure - this has been sitting downstairs in my mother's basement for a few years.  I do not have a fresh reference bottle, and the flavors will have mellowed out over time, so I'm not really trying this as the brewers intended - however, it does say "ages well" on the bottle, so it certainly has not gone bad.

Opens with a light pop, pours medium to dark amber with not much aroma.

Whooo-eee, OK, there's a lot to unpack here. Almost instantly, this beer presents a slightly-sweet ale flavor, a bit like a barleywine (without the consistency.) Not very syrupy but has that thick woodiness. Immediately thereafter, though, the peppers come in a massive wave, and despite the aging, it's still quite lively and sharp. The peppers are oily and slightly sweet, kind of like the chili oil you get at a dim sum restaurant. Very nicely done. The hops aren't particularly present, and there's some element of char and a hint of sweetness - that's the bourbon barrels coming through. The peppers really hang on, though, and last throughout the aftertaste. Remarkably clean taste afterward, too.

Overall this is an excellent blend and very well balanced. As noted, there are numerous flavors in there - oaky sweetness, bourbon barrel char, hot peppers, and brown ale maltiness - but I find they're all blended expertly. One flavor does not particularly bulldoze any other flavors, and despite the strong character of the peppers, I can still detect other ingredients and flavor nuances. That's the mark of a great beer. Should I have had this fresh? Yes. But I also should have bought one to age, too. This is still damn good and well worth trying. I believe this was $19 for a 500mL bottle, so not super cheap, but worth it in my opinion. Happy Thanksgiving!