Beginning with the first release in 02.02.02, our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series is an eleven-year endeavor with each new edition released one year, one month, and one day after the previous years, culminating in a truly Epic Vertical tasting on 12.12.12.

The eighth installment in our Belgian-inspired Vertical Epic Ale series, Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale, is a Belgian porter brewed with dark candi sugar, chocolate malt, tangerine peel, vanilla beans, and aged on French oak.

The last few Stone Vertical Epic Ales have been golden in color, but this year’s ale is a dark Belgian Porter, and instead of using American hops like we did last year, we’re using two German hop varieties: Perle and Magnum.

Each Stone Vertical Epic Ale is brewed with unique ingredients that set it apart from previous editions. For example, we used coriander, alligator pepper, and dark roasted wheat in Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale, and we used kaffir lime leaf and un-malted wheat in Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale. Also, in Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale, we included ginger, cardamom, grapefruit peel, orange peel, and a blend of Glacier and Crystal hops.