A nice find at the unusually well-stocked grocery near the Airbnb. Very nice! I think my recollection of a sweet, creamy stout that was kind of one-note is here balanced really well with quite a roasty and dry finish. Not overly boozy, although you can tell it's there.

I thought this was tasty but there was something odd about the flavor that I never quite came to terms with. Wish I could remember more.

Liked this. Light but with character: floral, citrus, spice. Would buy again.

It's very bourbon barrel aged. Hard for me to drink. But I appreciate my friend for trying. :^)

Umami smell, almost shoyu. Sharp molasses and cereal flavor. Pecan presence is nice but you have to search for it. Finishes relatively cleanly which is nice considering how thick it seems.

This was very good. Balanced with notes of apricot and citrus.

Grassy pilsner with a fairly aggressive hop profile. High and dry bitter finish. Think of Firestone Walker's Pivo but turned to 11.

Started out nice, roasty, thick, creamy, but not sweet. Built up in that bitter, burnt Stone way though. This variant did highlight its hop content. Seems to be a thing with their stouts.

Smells nice, like a complex saison. That first sip, though, it's like an herb salad that kind of overpowers every other flavor that might be involved. Just a little too weird to get over.

As is usual with this beer, it was a bit much. Bit of caramel-soy and thick-sweet. What makes this beer solid though is its smooth, nutty, toffee finish.

I like the joke in the name, but I don't much like this beer. It's a pithy, boozy IPA like you'd expect from Stone, but the peach (it doesn't really read as peach) gives this kind of a straight-through insipid sweetness that takes this to a new level of displeasure.

Solid but I expect better from Stone IPAs, so this is only decent.

All the things I don't like in IPAs, together at last in one beer.

Dark, semi bitter chocolate. Not bad.

Woah. What is this... so good. Like I’ve been punched in the face with a bitter fistfull of jasmine flowers and... I like it. Again!

Pours very dark. Lots of astringent chocolate and a lot of roast. A lot like a CDA in that there's a fruity hop spiciness that kind of fights the normal dark ale flavors, but with additional spices added. Some dried-fig/molasses and a ginsengy root flavor.

It's good for an IPA.

It's an IPA. Whatever.

Just a sip! I can't really do alcohol right now, but.

Smells wheaty, with strong notes of citrus and coriander, The flavor is like a Belgian blonde, with some spicy grain notes, banana esters and coriander, but much less sweet. Almost cracker-like. There's still citrus, but it's more backgrounded than in the smell by the dryness of the flavor. Lots of bitterness on the head.

The chocolate is nonexistent and the coffee is subtle - you can tell it's there but it mostly just fades into and enhances the alpha bitterness. Over time it gets a little more earthy and generally less enjoyable, a sentiment shared by most of us sharing the bottle.

Weird, and gross. The smell right off is not right, like caramelized anchovies. Fish sauce, maybe? This carries over into the taste, except added to floral, spicy hops. Not a good look. Not at all.

Waaaaay too much alpha, although not an unusual amount for a Stone beer. It's just that after the pleasant surprises of the previous two IPAs, this one took me back to a place where I remembered that I generally don't like the style.

Standard sweetish stout scent . Strong, sweet, barrel aged, with the cherry character you'd expect. But actually, this is pretty good .

Standard sweetish stout scent . Strong, sweet, barrel aged, with the cherry character you'd expect. But actually, this is pretty good .

Much better than previous years - smooth, sweet finish, mellow with hints of coconut and butterscotch. Almost perfectly balanced, and not over-roasted or over-woody at all.

A stone IPA with a subtle sweet coffee undertone that makes its way upward through the finish. The two flavor phases are weirdly disconnected; both halves are nice on their own, though. A bit more bitter on then end than I would prefer, but this is Stone.

I'm not the biggest fan of these Double Bastard-based beers, but this one was really delicious. The maple is buttery and rich, mixing with the bourbon to give a kind of butter toffee flavor. There's still that very strong syrupy hop backbone that reminds you it's a Bastard, but here it's balanced very well by the other flavors. Huge surprise!

Smells of chocolate, and the flavor follows pretty much in turn. Creaminess from the oats, but the stout itself is over-roasted and too bitter in balance to make for a great beer.

Nice opening flavor, very much in the vein of better Enjoy By releases. Pretty soon though an overpowering bitterness, like raw tangerine peel, takes over. That pithiness accentuates the resin and high alcohol of the beer. It got hard to enjoy.

Maybe the Jubel killed my palate, but the herbal overtones to this beer were distinctly reminiscent of Korean beef broth with chopped spring onions in it. Does that sound good to you? For a beer? I thought so.

Tastes significantly better than I remember from back in December. Less perfumey, still somewhat light on body and dry, but much more balanced.

Rich coffe with the caramel taste of bourbon ageing. I liked it!

This one tasted like it had lemondrop hops in it, with a lot of the lemon pledge quality and oily, tongue-coating hop that was in this year's Chasing Freshies. I've liked this beer in the past, but not this release.

A little on the weird side but still somehow smooth.

A dry saison with the same roast-tart yeast tang as the other beers on the night. Very nice acid from the blood orange sits on top of the saison funk to create a nice little beer.

A typical, caramel forward Scotch ale, stronger than usual (11%!) and tempered a bit by a roasty-tangy yeast finish. This seems to be a common factor with all of these Liberty Station brews. I did like this.

Roasty, medium bodied stout with the typical Irish stout tartness blending into berry fruit tartness to finish. It's a subtle effect, and the difference is in how the finish lingers. That is; the fruit was recognizable fruity, but didn't say "raspberry" very clearly to me. Overall, this was pretty okay, but suffered after the Storm Brain.

Went with a quartet of Liberty Station-brewed beers. This was a light-bodied stout with medium roast. Definite bourbon but toned down from the normal blunt approach a lot of dabblers take; that is, there was a very good balance here despite a lack of complexity in the flavors. A very promising start to the flight.

Good barrel aged stout. Roasted, caramel, oak, molasses flavors. Has some kind a of weird bitter funkiness to it

Stone's 20th Anniversary encore release of this seven-year old beer. Sweet & spicy Belgian ale. Undertones of subtle plum and brown sugar. Probably could use some mellowing, but pretty tasty.

Huh that's a strange one. Too bitter but it does have an interesting carrot cake underlying flavor.

You know I had to try this one. This beer opens sharp and alcoholic, with some forward yeast bitterness, which is the most Belgian part of this beer. The finish is actually very nice, with mellow, sweet cake-like notes, but that start. Not happy.

Complex scent of floral and hops. Bitter and brackish taste.

Scent of a light IPA Taste is more or less the same. I guess it's fine?

Starts out like a drink, then it dries, until your tongue is an extension of the Sahara. Like a very dry IPA that sneaks up on you. Interesting .

Nice chocolate and malt flavor

Pecan pie and bourbon, but all the flavors are... well, pointy. Certainly I've had beers with these flavors that are more integrated, smooth, and enjoyable in their complexity. I've liked those beers much better than this one. Odd that I said similar things about the 1.0 release but rated it much higher - I guess it's not them, it's me.

Smooth easy drinking. Fruity in the nose with a hint of bitter hops. Lovely beer to enjoy fresh.

All resin all the time. I think this reacted badly to the oregano in the Greek fries I'd been eating. This was just hops turned up to eleven. I know people who would love this, bathe in it. Just not me.

About what I'd expect for a wit from Stone. Lots of white pepper and yeast and a prickly hop finish. These aren't bad flavors at all, but it is a little one-note and overwhelming.

A light, excellently balanced bourbon stout, with just a touch of cherry-like twang from the bourbon barrel, I imagine. It would be easy to drink a lot of this and be very happy.

2015's odd-year imperial stout release. Nothing subtle about this one, as expected from Stone. A rich, thick stout with tons of sweet cardamom, cinnamon and other spice to start. The finish is very roasty, building up in bitterness over time. I did wish it was a little less intense.

The mix is a little bit surprising at first, but I kind of liked it. The IPA hops and resin flavors are mild and do not overpower the tea flavors. The green tea add a touch of sweetness that pleasantly compliment the beer. It also adds a touch of bitterness that's refreshingly different from the usual hops bitterness.

A very interesting IPA with clear hop resin and bitterness that somehow doesn't overpower the green tea. That shows up as a grassy, matcha latte-like sweetness that both mellows the hops but also adds a bitterness of its own. That tea fragrance is super-present in the smell as well. It doesn't exactly go down easy but it was definitely worth trying.

Powerful brew with Smokey notes at the start and a pleasant sweet finish.

Very sweet after the Wookey, with just a hint of that smoke flavor. It doesn't quite ever melt into a unified experience, but it wasn't bad.

Interesting combination. The belgian yeast did provide a tang and sourness typical of belgian beers. As an IPA it's a little bit light on hop flavors which nicelly allows the belgian flavors to shine.

It's been too long for me to have a clear description here, but I remember a kind of strange chemical lemon quality to the hop flavor that never became pleasant, and built up in bitterness over time. Not a fan.

Quickly becoming my new favorite. They've improved on arrogant bastard somehow!

Still solid, still skirting the risky edge of too-much-dankness for me.

Yup. Still very nice, even after wrecking my palate.

This may be the first Bastard family beer that I actually enjoyed. Noticeable sweet, bourbon character blends with the almost-frothy hoppiness of Arrogant Bastard in a way that actually manages to smooth the edges of both. Still intense, but drinkable and maybe even enjoyable.

A bit more of a chemical tinge than I remembered.

Not as sweet as other milk stouts, but with a really nice lactose-like creamy texture that coats the tongue nicely. The coffee is not especially prominent, but overall ... I could drink a lot of this.

Clean, thin-textured and somewhat dry, with a chocolate-tinged bright coffee aroma that avoids being thick or sweet, which is a common pitfall in this category. Lots of cinnamon on the nose, less so in flavor, and no detectable chili at all, to my taste.

A simply stunning beer. Not overly fruity nor overly bitter. Very drinkable.

Lght, slightly fruity scent. A light, refreshing kolsch, with an almost subliminal undercurrent of blueberry fruit, that builds as you work your way through the glass.

A light-bodied dry saison, with an unmistakable wildness that shows up in just-enough amounts of tart and funky. Slightly watery middle which fades into a clean, buttery, toasty-wood finish. Pretzel-like, I think, would work as a description.

Leads with a nice hoppiness, although resinous. Darker malts lend a caramel flavor on the palate.

The barrel character here is more wine-like than bourbon, but maybe that's an artifact of mixing with the Belgian flavors in the base beer. Reminded me of Black Raven's La Petite Mort, but a bit more muted. Still, it was very good. I had to knock it down a peg after having Lompoc's Forbidden Fruit, though.

At first, this drinks like a classic saison, but the herbs, while understated, do start poking out in uncomfortable ways. In particular there's a savory turn with the thyme right before the end, and a soapy bitterness afterwards which I assume comes from the parsley. I assume the rosemary faded into the hops and I couldn't detect sage at all. I thought I was going to like it, but in the end I couldn't finish.

Aged two years, made remarkably mellow.

Quite malty for a stone - not as in-your-face bitter. Melon flavors, strawberry, hints of citrus, certainly a different hop flavor profile from normal. Definite resin and pine. Dry finish. The hop flavor profile is unique, as promised!

On cask, sweet booze & pithy bitterness are accentuated. It does mellow out as it continues to warm, with the light carbonation smoothing things out considerably. I don't know if it was flatness or extra hops, but I do think regular carbonation made for a better-balanced beer.

Absolutely delicious caramel & malt centric Scotch ale. Clear as a bell - no wet hay here. Lemon verbena & tart cherries are overtones rather than overt, and add a freshness that really helps its drinkability. Yum!

Viscous and sweet on the palate. Coffee, roasted malts, hints of black currant as listed. Slightly bitter finish.

Extremely smooth but don't let that deceive you. This IPA is packed with 5 pounds of hops per barrel. And you can tell. Recommended.

Truly an ode to hops. Tons of citrus and tropical fruit flavors with pine and resin. Enough malt to make the bitterness drinkable but none that affects the flavor.

Had a sweet-ish character that I didn't remember from before. Somewhat more Pliny-like, I think. Still quite good.

Weird smell. Weird tastes as well, some dark fruit and something I couldn't place but didn't like.. Finish was almost Belgian candi sugar but again some other funkiness.

Smells like olive loaf, ends sweet. Extrapolate the rest.

Huge ripe tropical fruit smell. On the palate, again extremely fresh tropical fruit flavors leading to some resin and malty sweetness. Not bitter. Finish is actually a bit sweet. Every release of this is a bit different, make sure to try them!

Strong fruit and yeast smell. Fruitness on the palate, balanced by some bitterness behind, leading to yeast funk and a clean finish ( a bit bitter).

Not much to the smell. Resin/citrus hops in a fully bodied beer. Finish is bitter with a strong grapefruit flavor.

Bottle seems a bit old, date is scratched off so can't confirm. Not very hoppy, a bit present (potentially this one's just old. Some roastiness/light chocolate flavors on the palate and a slightly bitter finish. I think I've had too many world-class beers by now to be "wowed" by this.

Citrus flavors lead, a bit of resin, with a slight roastiness (if a bit burnt) on the finish. A bit of bitterness at the end but just a tad to remind you this isn't some run of the mill black ale. Quite honestly, I've never had a beer that starts with hops and finishes with roastiness and it truly is sublime. I don't want to drink 6 of them, but it's a great beer to sip on and ponder.

The berries complemented the hops to give the hop's fruitiness a slight berry leaning. Not bitter.

The smell's tangy, like a Kölsch, but otherwise tastes like your average dark Euro lager. That is to say, it's light and very drinkable, with good roasty notes and a slightly lactic finish.

Nothing special. Rye flavor with a bit of roastiness of the finish, could have used a bit more malts in general to give it more oomph.

I usually don't like smoked beer, but in this case it wasn't overdone and it fit well into the flavor.

Tastes like smoke, all right. Smoke-got-in-my-eyes-and-now-they're-burning smoke.

Lovely overt wine flavor, much like Black Raven's Pour les Oiseaux, and shares many similarities with that beer as well. The bitter, floral peppery character of the base beer makes for a nice finish, and maybe just a touch of wild funk right at the end.

I was hesitant to buy this after my experience with crime. This stuff is AMAZING though. Perhaps the best aftertaste of any beer, a slight spice from the capsaicin seems to elongate a wonderful aftertaste of smoked malt. In the mouth a standard enough porter, but that lingering aftertaste is something else! Not a session beer, worth savoring

Short and sweet sour start, sharp tart middle, and dry finish. Aromatic middle of cherry with some faint sweetness.

Doesn't have the fruitiness/yeastiness of a great saison.

Fresh. Dank. After a series of heavy beers this was quite nice. I don't know how I would have liked it on its own, but who really cares?

A dry IPA. Hard, bitter, not the hop juice sort. I fear it is not to my taste

Smells of grains. Taste is a big hit of bitterness with some understated hoppy notes. The piney taste of the hops grows as I reach the bottom of the glass.

This ranks with Stone Enjoy By, Ballast Point Sculpin, and Pliny (elder) as my favorite IPAs. Heavier mouthfeel than Enjoy By which is pure clean hop flavor, the malts give a solid backbone to a ton of great hop flavor. Hops are a balance between citrus and bitter resinous hops.

As with the first time, excellent beer. Great fresh hop flavors. Piney/resiny hops , not super citrusy.

A light IPA, a really good intro the class of beer without being overpowering. Well balanced. I don't like light beers particularly but I'd certainly recommend it to others that were getting into the craft beers. In fact, I'd probably recommend it before any others to newcomers

The most enjoyable Stone IPA for me yet. Hoppy, but not syrupy, with a dry middle moving pleasantly to a nice cereal malt finish. A bit bitter, but not like a wall of it. Surprisingly nice.

Hoppiness that gives way to plain bitterness later on.

Bitter from start to finish. Wife says "not a beer to introduce a beer newb too." Pretty good bitterness but a bit one dimensional.

The sum is so much worse than the parts. I'd love to try just the bourbon-aged Lukcy Basartd by itself, rather than force it through the high, dry heat of the ghost chilies. Every time I put the glass to my lips to take a sip, I had to fight the urge to change my mind.

I remember liking the 07.04.13 more than this. Still really fresh and floral, but it skirts the line of being too dank and crosses it by the fourth sip or so. Soon after that I felt a little gross just smelling it.

Assertive hopped smell with some malt. Cereal body with some hints of melon, fairly strong lingering bitterness and a little drying puckering effect.

Smeells like oak aged maple syrup. Tastes like weird sour cereal ale.

Really smooth, and weirdly awful.

A weird, musty smell, which absolutely does not reflect the flavor of the beer. Flavorwise, vanilla dominates, combining with subtle smoke and strong hop presence to taste a bit like a burnt barrel. A tiny bit unpleasant, but I liked it better than the regular smoked porter.

Smells like vanilla Coke. Pretty good smoked malt with decent bitter at the end but the vanilla end feels artificial in nature even though it's labeled as whole pod.

Big Wood Festival. Tastes more wine barreled than bourbon, with a fresh, fruity grape overtone on to of a tasty Belgian beer base. Delicious.

Nice attack but very bitter finish.

Pine-sweet smell. Acidic front-edge, body disappears with trace remnants of bitterness to remind you of it.

Stone's normal huge IPA character, but mixed with a strange bubblegummy candy quality and ... something? Cucumber rind, or maybe bell pepper? It was different, for sure, but I'm not sure that made it good.

In commemoration of T minus 12:12:12:12 to Xbox One launch! Dark and chocolatey, with a nice dose of molasses, cinnamon and Belgian spice. Totally appropriate for December.

You can taste everything on the label in this beer, faint floral perfume and a smooth honey finish on top of a maybe-too-strong imperial porter. The alcohol cuts through the subtlety of the other flavors. But overall, a really intriguing beer.

Slight pruney taste and honey on the finish. Good body that's not too strong or thick.

Loved this beer. I love IPAs and the flavors you get in a hoppy beer with good bitterness, and this is great for that. The hops show a great depth and range of flavor and Stone balances it with just the right about of malt to hold of a bad bitter aftertaste instead leaving you with that great fresh hop flavor.

Characteristic spicy hop aroma & flavor of Stone dark beers, although more balanced than their smoked porter -- I think the Belgian yeast is what does it. Smoke is subtle and nicely done. Still, it was work to appreciate this beer.

Smokey tart smell. Thin body, sour edge to the taste.

Lingering bitterness. Good body.

This one had, basically, all the features of IPAs that I don't like wrapped into one beer. Huge resin, pithy, lingering bitter finish and not much in between. I couldn't finish the glass.

Served very cold so smell is muted, though the hops are there. Body is thin and I'm getting a metallic sort of effect on the teeth. The bitters that remain are of the roasty nature. There is a coconut after taste but need to search for it.

Smell of brighter hops. Tastes like a cereal IPA, mild bitter finish, somewhat champagne like. Cereal tastes different than other IPAs which is good.

I wanted the aromatic and feint-fruity coconut mids, and the coconut finishing sheen plus milder hops finish. This IPA's assertive lingering bitterness along with its less present coconut smoothness didn't pair as well as I had hoped initially but it develops over the course of the bottle.

Smells and starts out like a typical strong IPA, lots of resin & grapefruit & pineapple. Coconut and pithy bitterness come in and linger together until the finish. Rather than smoothing out the bitterness, it seems to accentuate it, and adds an unusual and queasy character to the flavor.

Smells like a good IPA should start with. Coconut smooths out beginning of taste. Peppery finish with coconut.

Uric...

A golden Belgium strong ale I would recommend to all.