So, the great state of Michigan is encountering a problem right now. No, not insurmountable job losses. No, not a devastating foreclosure crisis. No, not white flight. Nor even brain drain. We are, in fact, still lacking Stone’s Vertical Epic ’09. In light of that, I’ve decided to review one of my two favorite beers to debut this summer, Stone’s 13th anniversary ale.

Stone is reknowned for their big beers and their cocky demeanor, and this beer certainly lives up to both. It’s got the booze (9.5%), some serious hop flavor, and rhe word, “triskaidekaphobia.” It’s got a beautiful deep copper color and a supple creamy head to the pour. It’s got an abundance of hops in the nose with a surprisingly sweet malt scent immediately after the pour. After sitting a few moments, the scent of the alcohol becomes quite dominant, while understated early.

As for the taste, and that’s why we’re here, it’s all hops and caramel. Bountiful bittering hops, fantastic flavoring, and wonderful caramel sweetness. There’s also some really great alcohol flavor. Its subtle, but the taste of alcohol complements the hops so well. This is certainly one of the top two beers of the summer along with hop stoopid. Now if anybody from stone brewing reads this, please contact us about sending us new beers.

This beer was fantastic. It deserves to be up there with lenny at a 9 out of 10.