I didn't care for 14...13 was WAY better.

And I'm not talking about puberty, where the acne attack kicked in...yikes. I'm referring to Stone's 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA. This English-style IPA is the result of Stone going across the pond and finding all sorts of historical English ingredients and creating a beer out of it. I will admit that I'm not a big fan of English style beers - they just rub me a bit the wrong way. It could just be the way they they add a "u" to a lot of words, I dunno.

Appearance - Lighter than your average IPA with cloudiness that is remenscent of a hefeweizen. Frothy and sticky white head. Definitely gets points for uniqueness. 4.5/5.0

Smell - Sour citrus with a focus on grapefruit. 3.0/5.0

Taste - Sweet malt with a prominent hoppy bitterness at the end. Earthy, piney hops. Lighter bodied with a solid flavor. The use of the British hops (mostly Kent) isn't my cup of tea. 4.0/5.0

Feel - Good mouth coverage, aftertaste is primarily in the back of your mouth and very tart. 3.5/5.0

Drinkability - Not sure if I'd get this one again, given my preference for American style IPAs. Good flavor and not bad after a long day, though. 3.0/5.0

Is it 10-10-10 already?

The first Vertical Epic I tried was last year's 09-09-09, which was a Belgian style Porter. Definitely one of my favorite beers, as it took a style I love (porter) and added some nice custom tweaks to it. This year's edition is a Belgian Tripel with some wine grapes incorporated into the brew - specifically Musct, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc.

Appearance - Appropriately golden, with a frothy almond head. The light bubbles make the beer look really inviting - my mouth is watering! Nice and clear too. 4.0/5.0

Smell - Flowery sweetness and sugar. Lemon, banana and honey too. 3.0/5.0

Taste - The belgian taste is dominant - all of the spice, coriander and lemon are really potent and easy to pick up on. I don't mind the sweetness and it masks the alcohol extremely well (and at 9.5% ABV, this one will sock it to ya). The use of wine grapes is different - it adds some tartness to it that you don't normally see in a tripel. The taste changed a bit as the beer warmed. - 3.5/5.0

Feel - A clean beer - there is a little aftertaste, but it's very mild. Flavor is predominately on the tongue. 3.5/5.0

Drinkability - I gotta say, I enjoyed the beer, but I didn't really think it was so amazing that I would buy this by the case. I could get a bottle of New Belgium Tripel for about 1/2 the price. 2.5/5.0

Tonight seemed like a good night to get ruined

Not that type of ruined, more like the Stone Ruination IPA. I taught class tonight and after a long day and having to talk for 4 hours, beer was a good idea to close out the night.

This IPA is lighter than I expected, almost the color of a hefeweizen. Not as cloudy, obviously as a hefe, but still pretty opaque. Head didn't stick around much, leaving being spotty clouds at the top of the beer and a little filmy residue as you drink the beer. Lovely floral, piney hops that offer enough scent to be inviting without being terribly overwhelming. For being a Stone beer, I really did expect a more robust taste. This brew is surprisingly subtle and blended. The sourness of the hops is blended in with some yeast that really does change the flavor of the beer from what you'd expect out of an average IPA. I think that it brings out a very fleeting moment of hoppy sweetness near the end of each taste.

I have to disagree with the bottle which describes the hops as "binding and blinding" that will have a "ruinous effect on your palate." While this was a very enjoyable beer, this isn't so blatantly hoppy that I want to cut my tongue out to regain some sembleness of taste. It really didn't taste THAT bitter, especially for being 100+ IBUs. Perhaps I have abused my mouth with so many IPAs that it takes a really REALLY intense hoppy beer to knock me out of my chair. I like that though, as it takes more skill to make a beer so infused with hops, but not so bitter that you can't drink it.

There is definitely smoothness to the beer, with distinct flavor and hops. If you enjoy hops, you'll really enjoy this beer. It's a sneaky bugger, with a 7.7% ABV, so just don't partake in too many of these.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - Golden, opaque, minimal head with lots of lacing

Smell - 4.5/5.0 - A tastefully blended mix of hops that are obvious but not overpowering

Taste - 4.5/5.0 - Smooth, hoppy with bitterness, but not enough to make it tough to drink.

Feel -5.0/5.0 - Silky, feel it all over the tongue, aftertaste is a nice lingering bitterness

Drinkability -5.0/5.0 - an excellent double IPA!

Not just bastardly...DOUBLE bastardly!

The first time I had Arrogant Bastard was at Murphy's in Prescott, AZ. In fact, I think this was my first experience with the rough riders at Stone Brewing. A few months ago, Stone released the Double Bastard and the Oaked Double Bastard. I got to try both and they definitely were bastardly beers. I had the Oaked Double Bastard on cask at Papago Brewing and the standard Double Bastard in a bomber from BevMo.

The opaque, dark brown beer had a beautiful foamy light tan head. The alcohol scent was pretty potent, along with the strong malt. The Oaked Double Bastard was a silkier, richer beer, but the sourness was overpowering. The regular Double Bastard was more enjoyable, as it just wasn't soooo robust. Both versions featured a lot of woody flavors, with bourbon and oak. Lots of strong flavors, which leaned more on the oak side with the Oaked DB; the regular DB leaning more to molasses and a little hops. The carbonation of the regular DB was low, with the Oaked DB being much more smooth thanks to the hand pumped nature of the casked beer. The beer was a unique experience, but if I were to pick it up again, I'd go with the standard DB rather than the oaked one.

Appearance - 4.5/5.0 - blackhole of light, no light comes through, dark brown, beautiful foamy light tan head
Smell - 3.0/5.0 - malty, alcohol, oak, alcohol and alcohol.
Taste - Oaked Double Bastard = 3.5/5.0 - sour malt, alcohol, aftertaste is subdued but sour; Double Bastard = 4.0/5.0 - sourness is less potent, flavor is more enjoyable and less robusto.
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Oaked Double Bastard had hand pumped smoothness, both had flavor that sticks around with the aftertaste
Drinkability - 2.5/5.0 - not what I expected, wanted a bit more; especially out of the Oaked Double Bastard

On the 6th day of Christmas, Santa Beer gave to me...

a beer that is between a Stone and a Hard Place. I really like Stone beers as they are more often than not robust, flavorful and distinctive. If you have any of the Stone offerings, you're not likely to forget it easily or mistake it for another type of beer. Earlier in the year, I had picked up a bottle of the Russian Imperial Stout which I thought as the Smoked Porter. That beer was robust enough to grow you a full beard and chest o' hair. The Smoked Porter is a "lighter" offering, but still tasty.

Pouring like crude oil (something it shares with the Russian Imperial Stout), the Porter lacked much head and what it did have was kinda spotty as it defoamed. The brew smelled like roasted coffee that was tossed into a enclosure of pure smoke. The roasted malt is blended well enough with the chocolate, coffee and smokey taste to avoid it being too overpowering in any one area. I've seen some reviews of this beer that thought the smoke was a bit much, but I disagree. Good mouth coverage, with a sharp first taste (something I think is pretty common with Stone brews), then it ends with a sour bitterness in the aftertaste. Would have this beer again, but it does not stand out as so unique that this would be my ideal smoked porter.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - Really black, very little head that defoams very spotty
Smell - 4.5/5.0 - Coffee, smoke, nice blended malt
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - Bitter coffee, chocolate, roasted malt, some sourness
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Good mouth coverage, sharp initial taste, slight bitterness in the aftertaste
Drinkability - 3.5/5.0 - Surely would have again, just wish I could it get in something other than a bomber.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, Santa Beer gave to me....

....Juxtaposition!! An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast. In this case, Juxtaposition Black Pilsner is the combination of efforts from Stone, BrewDog and Cambridge Breweries to take a variety of talents and brew-skillz and generate a potent beer. I had never heard of this beer, but had luckily found it in the beer cooler at Papago (God, I love that place!).

I have to admit, that when I saw "pilsner" I figured that this beer would be a unique type of pilsner, but it would be a lighter brew. Obviously, the "black" part didn't kick in, but after I poured this beer into a pint glass, I realized that the bottle was not dark, but rather pretty clear. The beer was really that black.... The head was pretty tan, but dissipates pretty quickly. Lots of coffee, alcohol, malt and sour scents. The taste was really robust with a hint of sourness, a lot of sharp malt and acidic flavors. The initial taste will come off really potent, but then it smoth out pretty quickly and leaves a sour aftertaste. I would have this beer again, especially after my wife stole the pint glass from me and took the rest of it. At an astonishing 10% ABV, just be careful that you don't take this beer down too quickly.

Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - Surprisingly black, originally thought that the bottle was darker; nice tan head, but dissipats quickly.
Smell -4.5/5.0 - Coffee tones, alcohol, malt, sour scent
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - Sour, sharp malt taste, robust, acidic
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Really potent in your mouth, but smooths out and leave a sour aftertaste
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - Very unique beer that I would enjoy having again

In Mother Russia, beer flows through their veins like blood and vodka.

Happy October 15th! For those who didn't catch the tax bug, today is the final day of filing a 2008 tax return timely. So, I brought my celebratory beer to the office and sat at my desk to enjoy it with all of the returns out the door. I was going to try and get the Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous bomber, but couldn't find it at Quarters and got the Stone Imperial Russian Stout instead.

This beer pours thick and dark, almost like an oil spill. The bottle even compares this beer to "Siberian crude." The mocha-tinted head foamed up nice too, then settled after a little bit. When I poured it, I could get a hint of the scent, which is a really REALLY strong alcohol smell with some coffee thrown in for good measure. This is a fitting "Russian" beer... The flavor has nice roasted malt flavor, some molasses, some alcohol bite to it. I'm sure there are other flavors in there too, but it's kinda murky with this beer and hard to detect specific tastes. Extremely smooth though, with just a hint of sour aftertaste. I would definitely have this one again...but only one at a time because this sucker has a 10.5% ABV.

Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - A thick black oily brew with a nice colored head
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - Strong malty aroma, that I could pick up about 2 feet away.
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - Nice roasted malt flavor, some molasses, some alcohol bite; extremely smooth though
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - Very smooth beer with a good mouth feel and little aftertaste
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - Surely, but only one at a time! This is a great example of an intense stout that was really well made.

Are there enough 9s in the name for ya?

The nines are very enticing - almost hypnotic. Like the Stone Gargoyle Dude is getting into your head and ordering you to buy Stone beer...do it! Anyway, the Vertical Epic series of beers are released annually according to dates when all of the numbers are the same (i.e. 09/09/09, 08/08/08, etc...). Each beer is a different Belgian take on a beer style. There have been some Belgian Witbiers, Pale Ales, IPAs, stouts, etc... The 9/9/09 Vertical Epic is a Belgian style Porter...not two types of beer I would ever think about fusing together.

At first glance, the brew looks pitch black with a big tan head. Good retention on the head, which was nice. The complex aroma had elements of spice, orange and vanilla. So, definitely a suprise on the scent side. The flavor hits it out of the park. You get the spicy, robust kick that is combined with orange, coffee, tanginess and a hint of bitterness. It tastes like a flavorful porter had a love child with a good spicy Belgian beer. Expect an extremely smooth taste that goes down easy and leaves the aftertaste of the variety of flavors for a bit.

Would definitely pick this one up again, presuming I could find it.
This was a remarkably tasty beer - I've had it twice. Once at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale, where I got it on draft. 2nd time was in one of the bombers that I purchased. While the draft was superior, you can expect that in whatever form you get the Vertical Epic, it's good.

Oh, a note - Stone recommends that you cellar this beer until 12/12/12. Fat chance in my house. If you can hold off enjoying this beer for another 3 years, you're a better person than I.

Appearance - 5.0 - big tan head; dark; good retention
Smell - 4.0 - spicy; orange, vanilla
Taste - 5.0 - a unique blend of spicy, fruit, orange, hint of bitterness, definitely a belgian beer but stout like a porter. Weird combo but excellent
Feel - 5.0 - very smooth; goes down easy
Drinkability - 5.0 hells yea - good

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

I never really had many Stone Brewing beers before I started my little hobby here. I had always seen the bottles with that bastardly little demon/gargoyle holding a beer. I had been warned that the beer had a kick, which was evident when I had the Arrogant Bastard Pale Ale at Murphy's in Prescott. Imagine my surprise when I was presented a bottle of the Stone Cali-Belgique IPA by a great guy, Mr. Trimmer. As expected, this was a fine, fine brew.

Like the Arrogant Bastard Pale Ale, this is a bold, hoppy beer. The color is perfect - a nice gold that is characteristic for an IPA. The beer provides that crisp, bitter hop taste, but it's definitely not overwhelming. Tina is not a fan of IPA and she thought this beer was tasty, so that's a good sign (at least in my book!) What is unique about this beer is the use of Belgium yeast, which infuses a unique flavor in the beer. While the Cali-Belgique IPA is in all aspects an IPA, that yeast changes the flavor ever-so-slightly to have it stand out as not just another IPA.

Just FYI if you go look for this beer, you'll probably notice that the bottle says either "Cali-Belgique" or "Cali-Belgie". Apparently, the Belgiums speak either French or Dutch and depending on where the yeast was harvested it from, depends on what "Belgium" translates to. So, 1/2 of the bottles will say Belgique and the other half say "Belgie". Same beer, different translation.

If you are a fan of IPAs, you'll want to try this beer. If you like Stone Brewing beers, you'll want to try this beer. If you like beer - TRY THIS BEER!

Beer Fridge on the Road - Murphy's

The second stop in lovely Prescott was Murphy's, just about a block from the town square. This place looks and feels "old-school". There is a lot of great, dark wood and in the bar area, there are these tall booths, that really enhances the friendly, neighborhood bar feel.

I've been to Murphy's a few times before and noticed the number of plaques on the wall of esteemed members of the Professional Beer Drinker Club. The idea is simple - pay $15, get a shirt and glass, drink 60 beers and get your name on the plaque. The beer list is actually numbered and each time you have a different beer, you get your card punched on whatever number that beer is. Obviously, this offered a challenge, which I must accept.

The first beer I tried was Murphy's own Prescott Red (one of the three beers that they have on tap, the rest are bottled). This was an extremely smooth brew, offering little hoppy taste or bitterness. It was very refreshing with just a hint of aftertaste (and that's it...). The Prescott Red was a fine beer, but lacking any complexity or signature flavor. I was quite surprised about this, and a little disappointed as I like beers with something to remember them by.

The follow up to the Prescott Red was on the opposite end of the spectrum - the Arrogant Bastard Pale Ale. The name is very much a reflection of the beer itself - it's one tough SOB. There is a definite kick to the beer, with a hefty 7.20% ABV. You get the hop taste, but it's not overpowering or as strong as you would find a traditional IPA. The beer is going to stick with you for a little bit, as you can keep tasting it in the back of your throat. Read the bottle itself, if you could use a laugh.

I also tried the Murphy's Mile High Lager, but after two beer stops, I wasn't really thinking about taking notes. It was good though, so will need to come back for a more indepth "interview" with the brew.

So, three down, 57 to go! Next time - Four Peaks Brewing Company in Scottsdale!