Summary[]
Stone Brewing is known for the aggressive Arrogant Bastard Ale, although the brewery considers Stone Pale Ale to be its flagship beer.[1] Most of their beers are characteristic of west-coast craft brews; that is to say, most beers have a traditionally 'hoppy' flavor. Stone beers are bottled in 22 ounce bottles, 12oz six packs, and occasionally 3 liter bottles.
Stone Brewing is consistently rated as one of the best brewers in the US, and world, by the two largest beer enthusiast websites, RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com.
Beers[]
Arrogant Bastard Ale[]
Arrogant Bastard Ale is an American strong ale. It is marketed by warning potential consumers that they are "not worthy" of such a sophisticated beer, suggesting most people cannot appreciate a beer of such quality and depth. It is a popular beer among craft beer aficionados.
Local designer/illustrator Thomas K. Matthews created the original gargoyle in 1996. He also drew the Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone Ruination IPA and Stone Levitation Ale gargoyles, as well as barley and hops motifs.
A variety aged with oak chips is available as OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale, and has been produced in limited release 3 liter bottles with a lock, three times: November 2004, 2005 and 2006. The 2006 limited release saw the addition of six-packs of 12 ounce bottles. In August 2007, OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale 12oz six-packs became a year round release. It has also been produced on draft from time to time under no set schedule since its first release in November 2004.
Double Bastard Ale is a more intense version of Stone's American strong ale, Arrogant Bastard, with an ABV of about 10%. It is a special release item and goes on sale every November in 22 ounce and 3 liter bottles.
India Pale Ales[]
Stone produces several highly hopped examples of India Pale Ales.
Stone Ruination IPA is a very highly hopped Double India Pale Ale. The bottle bears prodigious warnings of the high levels of bitterness (rated at over 100 IBUs) as well as its ruinous effect on the palate. Despite being touted as a supremely bitter beer, Stone Ruination IPA has a great depth of character for those who are attuned to hop flavors.
Stone IPA is a fruity, hoppy IPA featuring Columbus, Chinook and Centennial hops.[2]
Annual[]
Stone Vertical Epic Ale series[]
Since 2002, Stone has been releasing a series of eleven beers under the Stone Vertical Epic Ale header. Each one uses a different recipe and is designed, when the release is complete, to complement its partners in a tasting of all eleven, one after the other (a "vertical tasting"). Each is released one year, one month, and one day apart, beginning with the first on February 2, 2002 (02.02.02 in a common date format on the Gregorian calendar); thus, the second was released on March 3, 2003 (03.03.03), the fourth on April 4, 2004, and so on. The last in the series will be the Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale.
Stone Levitation Ale[]
Winner of the Gold Medal, American Style Amber/Red Ale, at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival.
Availability[]
Can be found throughout most of the United States.
Packaging[]
The beers available in six-packs are the Stone Pale Ale, Stone IPA, Stone Levitation Ale, Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Stone Ruination IPA. Stone uses 22oz bottles to feature their "bigger character" beers and Stone Special Releases. Compared to most brewers, many Stone brews feature alcohol percentages that are well above average. The alcohol by volume content of Stone brews ranges from 4.4% to well over 11%.
Branding[]
Stone's logo involves a Gargoyle. This theme is carried through to most of their beer bottles and glassware.
Stone's website occasionally features April Fools jokes featuring fake products, such as low carb beer, which are out of character for their beers.
History[]
In 2006, Stone relocated from its original brewery in San Marcos to a new, custom-designed facility in Escondido. The new brewery currently has a capacity of 70,000 barrels per year, with capacity expandable up to 250,000 barrels, and also includes an on-site bottling line. The site is also home to a restaurant, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, a 300+ seat restaurant which features interesting architecture, a large outdoor patio and one acre of gardens. The restaurant serves a rotating menu of food — concentrating on organic, free-range and local ingredients — and beer from Stone, local San Diego and regional California craft brewers, and other specialty breweries in the United States and abroad. The brewery also houses a "Stone Company Store" where Stone merchandise can be purchased in addition to 2 liter and 1 liter growlers which can be filled with Stone's 7 year-round beers and special releases.
On June 2008, Stone Brewing became more eco-friendly when they covered the roof of the brewery with solar panels, nearly cutting their energy costs in half. The 1,561 roof-mounted solar modules will offset more than 538,000 pounds of carbon emissions over its lifetime, which is equivalent to planting 204 acres of trees.
References[]
- ↑ "Stone Pale Ale". Stone Brewing Company. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
- ↑ "Stone IPA". Stone Brewing Company. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
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