This is a beer in a series of beers that Stone as put out called the Vertical Epic series. Now, I haven’t had all of them, but I hear the ’07 wasn’t very good. The ’08 was amazing, however.

This year’s edition is almost a smoked porter, but made with a belgian yeast, and tangerine zest.

While you can’t find it in Michigan right now (maybe not at all this year), Brian’s buddy Drew brought some up from a trip to Ohio, and the three of us tried it last month.

Its kind of Belgian in the nose, like the XMas ale Brian and I brewed a few years back. There’s also a little bit of an estery sweetness in the flavor, but that’s especially apparent in the nose. Again, like a beer Brian and I made before – Ugly Ale (an ale made with Ugli Fruit).

Its mega-dark in color, which is weird when paired with the aroma; a beer so heavy w Chocolate malt, but with a belgian yeast nose? Certainly odd. There is definately a fruity character that’s unusual in a dark beer, and you can taste the tangerine peel, even seeing a little orange tint in the head.

It goes straight down for such a heavy beer. Nice and smooth. You get both the sweet and the bitter in this ale. Is it perfect? No. Is it good? Yeah. Worth trying? Definately.

6/10