It's rare, but not unheard of, to find original Vertical Epics out in the wild. Irving Wines and Spirits had a couple of "12.12.12"s a few years back, which I eagerly grabbed up. Whole Foods recently started carrying vintage 12s for $17. So when I saw this, I did a double-take. However, look closer. It's actually an encore re-release - Stone has re-released some of their more famous offerings in celebration of the brewery's 20th anniversary. I, also, am celebrating a bit of an anniversary...this post is my 200th post on this blog!
As with all Vertical Epics, there's something of a mystery of what's inside. Let's figure out what's up with it later - let's try it now. It's way lighter that I expected. Maybe because the 12.12.12. was super dark, I was expecting this to be the same. But as you can see, it pours a light amber.
It produces a lacy white foam that settles to another amoeba-like pattern in the glass. It's got a faint aroma of sour apple and malts. Interesting.
It's sharp, kinda sour, but warms up well on the tongue, ends up being super yeasty and warm, with a bit of spices, and a bite of hops on the way down. I can definitely feel the carbonation. I don't really detect any of the apple flavors I found in the aroma, but I like that big, bold body to the beer. It's worth noting as well this drinks below its weight, too - it's 8.6% ABV, but tastes more like 6 or 7.
So let's research this bad boy and figure out what it is, exactly. According to the back of the bottle, it's an 8.6% ABV pale golden ale inspired by Belgian trippels. Kind of a West Coast take on the trippel, which is fun. Adding lots of dry hops isn't uncommon for test or experimental beers - Stone also made last year's off-season iteration of the Old Guardian with tons of extra hops. I enjoy the boldness of it, and coupled with that tinge of Belgian yeast and spice flavors, makes for a good beer.
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