New Beers for Tuesday Sept. 11th

Another day, another pile of new beer.


Stone 11th Anniversary: Once again, Stone delivers a palate-bending experience with their special release brew. This years' anniversary ale can perhaps best be described as an India Dark Ale. This is a relatively new "style" and the only examples I've had were Phillips' Black Toque and the Rogue Black Brutal, but I like the trend and hope to see more of these in the future.

Stone 11th seeks to bridge the gap between light and dark by loading up with hops and applying a liberal dose of de-husked black malt (to provide color without imparting too much roasty/burnt flavors) and in the end it seems to capture the essence of both without either overpowering the other. Several people on Ratebeer have gone so far as to label it as a "chocolate IPA", and I can understand why. Like all Stone special release beers, there's never supply enough to meet demand, so if you enjoy it be sure to snatch up as much as you can before it's gone.

We also got a few new Belgian beers in today, most of which are either new to me or have been MIA for so long that I can't trust my mental tasting notes. I'll post our thoughts as we consume them, otherwise feel free to check out ratebeer.com or beeradvocate.com for more information.

Vapuer en Folie:

Saison de Pipaix:

Glazen Toren Saison d'Erpe:

Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique:

Glazen Toren Ondenike:

P.S. I haven't forgotten the tasting notes from last week, but I've been fighting allergies for the last few days and I figured I'd wait to drink the new guys until I could fully appreciate them.