Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale

Stone Brewing Company from Escondido, California, has been known to rock our bodies like the Neptunes produced track. None of their beers have ever been less than good and often they have been great. Russian Imperial Stout, Ruination IPA & Double Bastard are among our favorites and last years Vertical Epic Ale (08.08.08) was quite tasty as well. All these reasons justified our purchase of this year's Veritcal Epical Ale, 09.09.09.

09.09.09 is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale weighing in at 8.9% ABV. Initial smell is earthly and quite potent, perfect for a fall evening. It pours dark and as it flows down the feed hole, it is full bodied as you taste some chocolate then some hidden fruit flavor come to light on the sides of the tongue. The finish is lacking considering it is a full bodied brew; this being our only large complaint about the brew.

Stone's 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale is a perfect example of what many American brewing companies are achieving. It is a twist on a classic style, however that twist makes the brew much more interesting and complex. This brew left us a little punch drunk and love Stone-ed. It's sad we had to say bye bye bye to the beer in the glass.

Oz Scale: 8.1
Mike Scale: 8.3

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

The Escondido, California based brewing company, Stone, has yet to let us down. They have produced some of our personal favorites, Russian Imperial Stout & Ruination IPA. So when we saw their new limited release, Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, we had to pick it up. Being sublimely self-righteous ourselves, it seemed fitting that we had to review this beer.

SSRA is an American strong ale weighing in at 8.7 ABV with 90 IBUs. First impressions can be decieving and this brew proves it. It pours an almost black color with a head similar to a chocolate stout and smells like other Stone brews, but tastes nothing like it's brothers and sisters.

This brew has more kick than its Belgian counterparts. However, the earthy tones remind us more of the dirty hippies in California compared to the Arnold Strongs. While this beer is above average, it does nothing for us like the 08.08.08 Epic Ale or even the Double Bastard. In our sublimely self righteous opinion, it does not smoke our taste buds and it's not the arrogant bastard we were looking for.

Oz Scale: 6.8

Mike Scale: 6.9

Founder's Old Curmudgeon

How does one finish a great weekend?... One gets too drunk to even attempt at beer blogging. While this may be the first sign of a problem, we promise to humbly deliver our Sunday beer blog on this Monday. I guess we could say that we gave the Lord a rest. However, on a goodwill mission to a local bar, Oz craftily arranged for an outside opinion for a future review. A*is*n and B**ky (the names have been edited to protect the innocent until we can take away their beverage innocence) have promised to give their American commercial brew opinion on our page. We pretentiously add in advance that their opinion doesn't matter... Just kidding. We value everything a woman has to say. No, we aren't bitter. However, we like our beer that way.

Today, we knew we were in for a challenging beer. Old Curmudgeon... wow, the name even sounds tough. Curmudgeon is another word for a stubborn asshole... hmm... how could we ever relate to this beer? The bottle only warns of a 9.3% ABV and a drinking during pregnancy. Please reference the video below of our first tasting to get an idea of the true power of this beast.

The brew starts strong like a low Db power chord and ends in a tremolo picking blaze. Nick, where are you at when when we need you? Flavors similar to brown sugar, molasses, plum and Noni juice hit the pallet harder than if Mike Tyson fronted a Henry Rollins tribute band. There is a TV Party in my mouth. This is not a gateway beer, it is for full blown drunks, I mean... connoisseurs.

We were challenged and we conquered. We might have lost a battle or two but we won the war of two beers apiece. There were a couple taste bud casualties along the way but in the end, General Lee surrendered. It was not easy to finish all four beers, we could have took the King Edward Van Halen way and whammy ourselves out but we did the Jimi thing and just bent the note until it was right. We scored higher for originality over personal preference on this brew due to the complex uniqueness of the flavor.

Oz Scale: 7.0

Mike Scale: 6.8

Dogfish Head Immort Ale

$14 for a four pack? 11% ABV Dogfish Head? Our we that big of label whores? The answer to all three of these things is "yes." The blind beer tastings only slightly disproved our whorish ways, so here we are again. Tonight's journey brings us to Immort Ale, a strong ale aged in oak barrels and bottle fermented brought to us by one of our favorite breweries, Dogfish Head.

It kicks harder than Christopher Reeve's horse from start to finish. The flavors come in waves as the initial taste sends you in a different direction than the beer ultimately leads to. It is a strong ale; so those who can not take punch need not attempt.

In no way does the hop characteristics take over the flavor. The initial smoke flavor is layered on by a slight sweetness as the beer finally balances between hops and barley. With a strong ale, you do expect a kick in the ass and it delivers that. However, we would prefer a little more hop bitterness to the finish but beggars can't be drunks. Then again, I guess they can be.

Oz Scale: 7.9
Mike Scale: 7.9

Unibroue Trois Pistoles

Oh, Canada: Wild uninhabited forests, snow, moose, Prince Edward Island and a just aboot as beautiful scenery as Alaska. However, Canada does have horrible things: Nickelback, Celine Dion, Eskimos, premises to John Candy movies and shitty breweries. Redemption comes from Unibroue, a microbrew from Chambly, Quebec, that has opened the minds of beer lovers since 1993.

Their complex beers have yet to fail us and Trois Pistoles is no exception. Dark, fruity and complex flavors dangle on your tongue well after the brew has slipped down the throat. The flavor has a Belgian style overtone with the best, sweet properties of good wheat beer. This would be a great jump for someone who adores Hoegaarden and its imitator Blue Moon.

High in alcohol and rich in taste, this four-pack has us seeing stars like a juke box hero. This 9% ABV beverage is well worth the price and I'm sure it will cover our pallet at least once more. This has renewed our faith in Canada (did we ever though?) The only downside to the bottled fermented ale is that we didn't have more.

Oz Scale: 8.7
Mike Scale: 8.4