For more than a decade, Stone Brewing Company has been giving the world an annual gift. On Feb. 2, 2002, they released the first beer in a series — Vertical Epic 2. Every year since, they’ve released a new Epic, but exactly one year, one month, and one day later. The Vertical Epic is now number 11, and unfortunately that’s the end of the series. To commemorate, we’ll be reviewing the Vertical Epic 12, released Dec. 12, 2012. The craft-beer industry is built on the bedrock of novelties and puns, so the Vertical Epic 12 is sure to be a beer of epic proportions. It’s a beer so good it can give you vertigo. Or at least that’s what we’ve heard.
The Vertical Epic is a dark Belgian-style brew with a tan and creamy head that gives the beer the appearance of a nice latte. The beer itself is so dark it appears almost black. The visual aspects of this beer make it look delicious, and it smells just as tempting. The cinnamon, orange peel and other spices make themselves more than evident.
We drank the beer at a slightly chilled temperature, which allowed us to get a better sense of the spices it’s brewed with. It was produced in December and we definitely taste holiday flavors in the Vertical Epic. Up front, we felt a hint of carbonation while tasting a rush of spices with heavy notes of cinnamon. The middle taste of the beer is where we really felt the smoothness of this Abbey-like ale and noticed its full body. Finally, the beer leaves with a starchy alcoholic taste. We both appreciated the final notes of alcohol, but we’ve heard some people don’t enjoy it as much and describe it as too “metallic.”
The Stone Vertical Epic 12 is a little bit like drinking a work of art. The head never fully dissipates, meaning that this beer always looks really, really pretty. It’s so pretty, you almost don’t want to drink it. It’s worth just staring at this beer for a while. Find a bottle at Kroger, where it should still be sold, and take the time to enjoy it. This brew is a great conclusion to Stone’s epic journey, and we’re glad we got to tag along.
Jared Henderson and Patty Arnold are seniors studying philosophy
and biological science, respectively, at Ohio University and columnists for The Post. What beer should be on their radar? Email them at jh350409@ohiou.edu and pa803908@ohiou.edu.
