Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale

The Vertical Epic series from Stone brewing was started February 2nd, 2002 with 02.02.02 followed by another release on March 3rd, 2003 with 03.03.03, etc. Get the pattern yet? Each year is a different style but they were sort of meant to be aged until December 12th, 2012 and then shared together. The 02.02.02 goes for a bunch of money on ebay which is pretty funny. I don't know if it will work out as some of the styles don't seem like they'll age well but Stone seemed to think so. The 09.09.09 I opened is a Belgian Stout.

At first I thought the nose was slightly sour, but soon realized it was a result of the roast mixing with the hops and Belgian yeast. Pretty interesting. Nice body on it even after 3 years. Rich creaminess up front, vanilla, some dark fruit and then earthy hop bitterness to finish it off. Very tasty and definitely holding up well. Enjoyable even in the 90+ heat we had last Friday. Air conditioning really is the best thing on earth.