I think that I have a new rule. Instead of trying to have just one beer a night, I’ll try to have just one good beer a night. Not that I’ll really care if the rule gets broken, but I want some insurance, know what I’m saying? After suffering through a bottle of swill last night, I had to have something good, and having sampled some of the 08 Vertical Epic at the Ommegang event last month, I knew I was in for something good.
San Diego’s Stone Brewery makes an enormous amount of very good beer, and likes to make at least one special beer just about every year, with the only rule being that it come out on a certain day, where the day, month, and year all match. Since 02/02/2002, and until 12/12/2012, they will produce a Belgin-inspired beer that can be aged until 2012 and then they should all be consumed together. Absolutely insane. They also publish home brew recipes for this series, which is awesome, and a lot of other good stuff. Check out Stone right away if you haven’t already.
The 08/08/08 Vertical Epic was inspired by Duvel Tripel Hop, a legendary Hopped-Up version of Duvel that the Stone brewers tracked down in Europe and brought back home. A logical choice for Stone, who is known for producing hoppy beers, this strong golden ale with a more prominent hop character is an awesome model, and the 08 Epic beer is a very worthy brew. It pours a great golden yellow color and is brilliantly clear. The smells are big West Coast Hops mixed with Belgian Yeast spice and a kick from the alcohol. The smell is kind of bright and intense like the color when you hold it up to the light. There’s harmony in this beer and it will probably taste awesome in 2012 if you can manage to hold onto it. I will say that when we sampled it on tap in Cooperstown, it seemed fuller and more confident, but that doesn’t pepper my feelings about this bottle — it’s excellent, grab one and drink.
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