I had the Stone 13th Anniversary Ale on Friday night. My personal opinion is out on it. I need to drink another to determine whether it's worthy enough to join my Stone special release pantheon along with Tenth Anniversary and Vertical Epics 08.08.08 and 03.03.03, or if it's just another solid Stone beer. Thirteenth is big, malty, and hoppy. Stone's blog says Thirteen is Stone's hoppiest beer ever, and I'm not going to argue against that claim. It hit all the right elements for an imperial red ale. The alcohol is 9.5%, and was prominent throughout the bottle, and more imposing than I was expecting. Despite the malt, hops and aggressive nature of Thirteenth, too me, something was missing. Maybe its balance was off, with the hops overwhelming the signature malt of a red ale, or maybe it was too boozy. I am not sure, which is why I need another. I will say that when I finished the bomber, I was sad to see it empty and was ready for some more.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Stone 13th - I'm Not Sure
I had the Stone 13th Anniversary Ale on Friday night. My personal opinion is out on it. I need to drink another to determine whether it's worthy enough to join my Stone special release pantheon along with Tenth Anniversary and Vertical Epics 08.08.08 and 03.03.03, or if it's just another solid Stone beer. Thirteenth is big, malty, and hoppy. Stone's blog says Thirteen is Stone's hoppiest beer ever, and I'm not going to argue against that claim. It hit all the right elements for an imperial red ale. The alcohol is 9.5%, and was prominent throughout the bottle, and more imposing than I was expecting. Despite the malt, hops and aggressive nature of Thirteenth, too me, something was missing. Maybe its balance was off, with the hops overwhelming the signature malt of a red ale, or maybe it was too boozy. I am not sure, which is why I need another. I will say that when I finished the bomber, I was sad to see it empty and was ready for some more.
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4 comments:
Nat,
What's up bud. I'll be visiting San Diego in a few weeks. Can you recommend any bars in San Diego to try some great craft beer?
Dave
Dave, sure I can make some recommendations. In North County Stone World Bistro is unbelievable. It's like going to Beer Disneyland, so bring a lot of cash and plan to spend an afternoon / evening there. Also in North County (northern San Diego County) there are two Pizza Ports, one in Solana Beach and one in Carlsbad. Lost Abbey is a few miles from Stone but only open Friday and Saturday afternoon. In San Diego proper, there are Hamilton's, Downtown Johnny Brown's, Toronado, and The Blind Lady. The food at Toronado and The Blind Lady is great, albeit limited. In an island by itself about fifteen minutes north of downtown San Diego, is O'Briens the Grand Poohba of San Diego beer bars. I am not sure how long you are staying and what else you have planned (Tornado, Downtown Johnny Brown's and Hamilton's are five minute car drive from the SD Zoo although not all in the same direction) but I think you'd need at least two days to two and a half to hit all the beer bars. If you plan to hit brewerys, make sure to check websites, because many are open to the public with limited hours, mainly on the weekends. Keep me posted.
Thanks man! I have all the hours for the breweries I plan to hit. Should be fun. I'm going to stop by a couple of those bars for sure. Stone is a definite too.
Hey, I'm with you on this one. I found it underwhelming and not up to the usual Stone standard. That happens sometimes with those guys. I shared it with 3 other people, though, so maybe I need to quaff my own bottle.....
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