Stone Vertical Epic Event at Flying Saucer

Image courtesy of Fermentedly Challenged
UPDATE 1/4/12: With Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12 finally getting Missouri label approval, Flying Saucer will be holding the Vertical Epic event on Wednesday, January 9th. Details are still the same as listed below in the original post, and it looks like the full vertical will cost $30. I've attached the flyer at the bottom of the post.
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UPDATE: Flying Saucer announced yesterday on Twitter that they unfortunately have to postpone this event due to some liquor law/label approval issues. They did confirm they still plan to have the event in the future. They also noted that they still plan to tap the Vertical Epic 11.11.11 tomorrow. Stay tuned for more details on the big event.
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Next week, Stone Brewing's decade-long beer saga comes to a close as Vertical Epic Ale 12.12.12 is released to the public. These beers, which have been released in a repeating numeric fashion each year (i.e. 08.08.08, 09.09.09, 10.10.10) since 2002, are unique each year but brewed to age well. Because ultimately, Stone's idea behind Vertical Epic is to round off the series with...well...an epic vertical.


While you likely won't get to try ALL of the Vertical Epic Ales next week (unless you are incredibly patient or making a trip out to Stone Epic Festival in Escondido, CA), Flying Saucer is holding an event that will allow you to experience a number of the vintages and potentially try your own mini Vertical Epic vertical (okay, my head is starting to hurt).

They will be offering the 2006-2012 vintages of Vertical Epic Ale for purchase in two forms:

1) At 4pm, tickets will go on sale to purchase a full vertical of every vintage. There are only 48 of these available, and is the ONLY way to try all 7 of the vintages that are available.

2) Individual glasses of each vintage will be available for sale starting at 5pm with the exception of 2006 and 2010. These two vintages are being poured from bottles rather than draft, and because the Saucer received such a small amount, they will only be available to those purchasing the full vertical flight.

If you haven't had the chance to try any of the Vertical Epic Ales, or just one or two, here's a rundown of what you can expect from each vintage, courtesy of the Stone Brewing bottle labels/homebrew recipes:

06.06.06 - Belgian Dark Ale

07.07.07 - Saison/Tripel-inspired beer brewed with ginger, cardamom, grapefruit peel, lemon peel and orange peel

08.08.08 - Dry-hopped Belgian Golden Ale

09.09.09 - Belgian Porter brewed with tangerine peel and vanilla beans, aged on French oak chips

10.10.10 - Belgian Golden Ale brewed with Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc grapes and chamomile

11.11.11 - Belgian-style Amber Ale brewed with Anaheim Chilies and Cinnamon

12.12.12 - Belgian Dark Ale brewed with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, orange peel and rose hips

I haven't received word on pricing for the full verticals yet, but once I get this information I'll be sure to update this post. In the meantime, I'll be plotting how to smuggle home some of that 09.09.09, because it sounds fantastic.

Good luck to all those vying for full vertical tickets, hope to see some of you at the Flying Saucer next Wednesday!


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