Stone Brewing Co.

COMING SOON: Stone Lukcy Basartd Ale

No grammar peeps.  That’s not misspelled.  That’s the name.  It makes perfect sense if you know Stone Brewing (Escondido, CA)  and their labels.  It’s been a while since we’ve seen a truly new Stone beer.  I’m not saying that like Continue Reading →

Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 Arrives!

The latest edition in Stone Brewing’ s Vertical Epic series has arrived.  Each year through 12.12.12, Stone is releasing a different beer, meant to be kept until sometime after 12.12.12.  Here’s this year’s description-

From the Label:
As with any good Continue Reading →

Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 Details

Courtesy of my friends at GABF, I have some more details about this year’s Vertical Epic from Stone Brewing.

From the Label:
As with any good epic, herein lies the promise of larger-than-life experiences, heroics and twists & turns as Continue Reading →

Victory/Dogfish/Stone Collaboration “Saison du BUFF” Arrives!

I’ve been wondering which edition of this beer would reach Atlanta first.  This beer is a collaboration between Victory, Stone, and Dogfish Head Brewing .  Each brewery collaborated on this beer at Stone in California, and took the recipe home to brew and label under their own packaging.  This Victory Brewing edition has arrived first.  Still working on verifying if the Dogfish and Stone editions will hit the city.   Read more for the whole story.

Style: Saison

6% ABV

Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 Announced

Stone Brewing (Escondido, CA) has been releasing “Vertical Epics” since 02.02.02.  Each year the beer is slightly different, but with one goal – to be consumed sometime after 12.12.12, when the last beer in this series is released.  Here’s a Continue Reading →

Stone 14th Anniversary Arrives!

Stone Brewing’s 14th Anniversary Ale has hit the shelves! Early than expected I might add.  “Emperial IPA” is on the shelves, and is an English IPA.  Here is some back story –

Mitch and Steve took a trip to England back Continue Reading →

COMING SOON: Stone 14th Anniversary

Details about Stone Brewing’s (Escondido, CA) 14th Anniversary are starting to surface.  In a video blog posted to Stone’s website, Steve Wagner and Mitch Steele describe their upcoming release “Emperial IPA.”

Mitch and Steve took a trip to England back in Continue Reading →

Posted in Coming Soon, Stone Brewing Co.

COMING SOON: Stone Lukcy Basartd Ale

No grammar peeps.  That’s not misspelled.  That’s the name.  It makes perfect sense if you know Stone Brewing (Escondido, CA)  and their labels.  It’s been a while since we’ve seen a truly new Stone beer.  I’m not saying that like a bad thing, there is very little (if anything) from the brewery that I didn’t like.  2010 marks the 13th year of Stone’s “Arrogant Bastard” an American strong ale.  You should have seen Oaked Arrogant Bastard and Double Bastard by now too. (If not, store. NOW. You have homework to do.)

To mark the occasion, Stone is releasing “Lukcy Basartd Ale” to celebrate 13 years of arrogance. All the “bastards” will come together in in what the brewery grammatically butchers as a “cuvee de Bastard.”  Lukcy Basartd will blend Arrogant Bastard, Oaked Arrogant Bastard, and Double Bastard into one bold beer.  I can only imagine this will be Stone’s boldest most arrogant Bastard yet.

Style: American Strong Ale (blended)

Availability: 22oz Bombers. Draft.  All markets where Stone is sold.

Arrival: November 2010

8.5% ABV

Stone created a website for this beer.  http://arrogantbastard.com/13th/


by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 Arrives!

The latest edition in Stone Brewing’ s Vertical Epic series has arrived.  Each year through 12.12.12, Stone is releasing a different beer, meant to be kept until sometime after 12.12.12.  Here’s this year’s description-

From the Label:
As with any good epic, herein lies the promise of larger-than-life experiences, heroics and twists & turns as the adventure unfolds.  This bottle-conditioned” ale is chapter nine, and is specifically designed to be aged until sometime after December 12th, 2012.  Provided you can wait that long.  At that time, enjoy it in a “vertical” tasting along with its ten Stone Vertical Epic Ale brethren.  Each one unique to its year of release.  Each with its own “twist & turn” in the plot line.  Each one released one year, one month and one day from the previous year’s edition.

This ninth edition of our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series takes two interesting left turns.  A Belgian-style golden triple is the starting point of this beer, but the first left turn is nearly immediate with the addition of dried chamomile flowers, tritcale and Belgian amber candi sugar.  The second, and rather unusual left turn takes us half an hour up the road from Stone to Temecula courtesy of  the addition of just pressed Muscat, Gewurztraminer, and Savignon Blanc grapes from our friends at South Coast Winery.  As the Stone Vertical Epic Ale series has moved through the calendar, we found that the brewing schedule for a 10.10.10 release coincided nicely with the grape harvest, neatly providing an interesting twist in the epic tale.

Availability: 22oz Bombers. 1 time release.
9.5% ABV

Looking for this? 10/8  In stock at Hop City, Green’s Beverages.

Tappings: The Porter Beer Bar, 12 noon 10/10/10

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 Details

Courtesy of my friends at GABF, I have some more details about this year’s Vertical Epic from Stone Brewing.

From the Label:
As with any good epic, herein lies the promise of larger-than-life experiences, heroics and twists & turns as the adventure unfolds.  This bottle-conditioned” ale is chapter nine, and is specifically designed to be aged until sometime after December 12th, 2012.  Provided you can wait that long.  At that time, enjoy it in a “vertical” tasting along with its ten Stone Vertical Epic Ale brethren.  Each one unique to its year of release.  Each with its own “twist & turn” in the plot line.  Each one released one year, one month and one day from the previous year’s edition.

This ninth edition of our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series takes two interesting left turns.  A Belgian-style golden triple is the starting point of this beer, but the first left turn is nearly immediate with the addition of dried chamomile flowers, tritcale and Belgian amber candi sugar.  The second, and rather unusual left turn takes us half an hour up the road from Stone to Temecula courtesy of  the addition of just pressed Muscat, Gewurztraminer, and Savignon Blanc grapes from our friends at South Coast Winery.  As the Stone Vertical Epic Ale series has moved through the calendar, we found that the brewing schedule for a 10.10.10 release coincided nicely with the grape harvest, neatly providing an interesting twist in the epic tale.

Availability: 22oz Bombers. 1 time release.
Release Date: 10/10/10
9.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Dogfish Head, New Releases, Stone Brewing Co., Victory Brewing Company

Victory/Dogfish/Stone Collaboration “Saison du BUFF” Arrives!

I’ve been wondering which edition of this beer would reach Atlanta first.  This beer is a collaboration between Victory, Stone, and Dogfish Head Brewing.  Each brewery collaborated on this beer at Stone in California, and took the recipe home to brew and label under their own packaging.  This Victory Brewing edition has arrived first.  Still working on verifying if the Dogfish and Stone editions make it south.

Here’s Dogfish Head’s take on the story:

This beer is collaboration between Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA), and Victory Brewing Company (Downington, PA).

The idea for this beer germinated way back in 2003 when the three guys (Sam from Dogfish, Greg from Stone and Bill from Victory) formed the BUFF alliance (Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor) – a noble endeavor with the goal to highlight the passion and camaraderie of the American craft brew movement.

So, BUFF didn’t really do anything (beyond talk a lot of talk) until 2010 when the three brewers finally got together to jointly brew at beer at the Stone Brewery. Saison du BUFF will first be brewed at Stone and then replicated at each of the other two breweries – same recipe, same ingredients, three different breweries throughout 2010.

Are they different? The same beer is brewed at different breweries.  As you will see in the video below, Sam calls this beer iterative.  A dialog if you will.  There will be some variations however subtle to this beer.  Worth trying all.

Style: Saison

Brewed with parley, sage, rosemary, & thyme.

6% ABV

Availability: Each brewery uses the same recipe, bottled under their own artwork.  Very limited.

Looking for this? 9/9  –In stock at Tower Wine & Spirits, Green’s Beverages, Hop City.

Below – Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) speaks about Saison du Buff

All 3 Bottles Below

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Coming Soon, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 Announced

Stone Brewing (Escondido, CA) has been releasing “Vertical Epics” since 02.02.02.  Each year the beer is slightly different, but with one goal – to be consumed sometime after 12.12.12, when the last beer in this series is released.  Here’s a review of the previous years –

02.02.02 – Witbier, 7.5% ABV
03.03.03 – Belgian Strong Dark, 8.5%
04.04.04 – Belgian Strong Pale Ale, 8.5%
05.05.05 – Belgian Strong Dark Ale, 8.5%
6.06.06 – Belgian Strong Dark Ale, 8.66%
7.07.07 – Belgian Strong Pale Ale, 8.4%
8.08.08 -Belgian IPA, 8.6%
09.09.09 – Belgian Strong Dark, 8.6%

This year – 10.10.10 will be a strong Belgian-style Golden Ale with Chamomile flowers and white wine grapes.

Arrival: Early October 2010

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone 14th Anniversary Arrives!

Stone Brewing’s 14th Anniversary Ale has hit the shelves! Early than expected I might add.  “Emperial IPA” is on the shelves, and is an English IPA.  Here is some back story –

Mitch and Steve took a trip to England back in February to research a book they are co-authoring on IPA’s.  (Hopefully by now you know they got their start in England.)  The trip gave the duo the idea to produce an English influenced IPA.  This English IPA will use all British malts and hops.  14th Annversary will actually use only 1 malt — white malt aka extra pale malt.  It is floor malted in England (process of converting barley to malt.  Sprouted barley is kiln dryed through perforated wood floors.  Not a common practice in the US.)  White malt was very popular in the 1800′s in Burton, a big English IPA town.  It’s not readily available in the states, it will be shipped over in 2200 lb sacks to California.

Three English hop varieties will be used — East Kent Golding, Target, & Boadicea.  Boadicea is a relatively new strain of hop.  The water Stone uses comes from the Colorado River.  It’s way too soft to make an English IPA so Mitch and Steve will be using brewing salts to “Burtonize” or harden the water.  This helped clarify Burton’s IPA’s and help them hold up longer over long shipping routes.

Hops – East Kent Golding, Target, Boadicea.

Malts – White Malt (Extra Pale Malt)

Availability – 22oz Bottles, and draft. One time anniversary brew.

7/1 – Arrived at Hop City & Green’s

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Stone Brewing Co.

COMING SOON: Stone 14th Anniversary

Details about Stone Brewing’s (Escondido, CA) 14th Anniversary are starting to surface.  In a video blog posted to Stone’s website, Steve Wagner and Mitch Steele describe their upcoming release “Emperial IPA.”

Mitch and Steve took a trip to England back in February to research a book they are co-authoring on IPA’s.  (Hopefully by now you know they got their start in England.)  The trip gave the duo the idea to produce an English influenced IPA.  This English IPA will use all British malts and hops.  14th Annversary will actually use only 1 malt – white malt aka extra pale malt.  It is floor malted in England (process of converting barley to malt.  Sprouted barley is kiln dryed through perforated wood floors.  Not a common practice in the US.)  White malt was very popular in the 1800’s in Burton, a big English IPA town.  It’s not readily available in the states, it will be shipped over in 2200 lb sacks to California.

Three English hop varieties will be used – East Kent Golding, Target, & Boadicea.  Boadicea is a relatively new strain of hop.  The water Stone uses comes from the Colorado River.  It’s way too soft to make an English IPA so Mitch and Steve will be using brewing salts to “Burtonize” or harden the water.  This helped clarify Burton’s IPA’s and help them hold up longer over long shipping routes.

Emperial IPA will find it’s way on shelves in August 2010.  22oz Bottles, and draft. One time anniversary brew.

More to follow closer to launch!!!

by Reid Ramsay