Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale

Time to venture into Stone's Vertical series with 10.10.10. I'm sure you're thinking, "Why the hell is somebody just now reviewing this beer and without a true vertical?" You know, that's a great question. Why did I buy this? I picked this up at Jungle Jim's just outside of Cincy during a huge shopping spree and I'm pretty sure I temporarily lost my mind in all of my madness. I swear that I'm the world's worst impulse shopper when it comes to beer.

This is supposedly quite a bit different from the rest in the series because of the addition of chamomile flowers, triticale, and Belgian amber candi sugar. How different is it? Well, I'm not quite sure because I don't have any experience with the rest of the Verticals. I'll just take Stone's word for it. "Fermented with the legendary Ardennes strain of Belgian yeast, 10.10.10 is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale brewed with pale malt and triticale (a cross of wheat and rye), hopped with German Perle hops, and steeped with chamomile during the whirlpool stage. In secondary fermentation, we added a juice blend of Muscat, Gewurztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc grape varieties." It comes in a 22oz bottle and has an ABV of 9.5%.

Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale

Presentation: 22oz bomber poured into a tulip.

Appearance: It has a light orange color with a one inch head that quickly dissipated. There was also absolutely no lacing.

Aroma: I immediately noticed citrus and Belgian yeast, which had a phenolic quality with a minor band-aid aroma. There's lemon, orange, and grape with some nice clove and spice to complete the bouquet.

Taste: The taste of this was completely unexpected. The white grapes are definitely the biggest player here. Up front there is tons of white grape with a bit of lemon and yeast. As the beer sits on your tongue the spiciness of the alcohol comes out. Overall, this definitely has a white wine quality to it.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium body with only moderate carbonation, which is likely due to this being a two year old brew. There is also a minor syrupy quality to it too.

Overall: This was certainly surprising. I enjoyed this much more than most people seem to have. Past reviews have basically described this beer as underwhelming, but I thought Stone nailed the style. The only problem I see with this brew is the mouthfeel. The syrupy feel was definitely a distraction. However, the Belgian yeast and the incorporation of white grapes was wonderful.

4.5/5

-Jeff