Fresh and Vintage tracks combine for the perfect liquid playlist.

Even before the science of beer was fully understood, those seeking to present the finest iteration of an ale had their wys of ensuring flavors and textures that were a cut above. In Britain, pub owners kept ‘stock ales’ on hand, beers that had been left to mature in vats or oak barrels. During this aging period, the beers would mellow and occasionally, develop a twinge of tartness. These publicans were unaware of the oxidative or microbilolicigal reasons for such changes, but found that blending some of their stock ales with fresh beers – which dented to be overly bitter and smoky – made ideal quaffs for their patrons. For this beer, we have taken a page from this tale of British pub life and blended a stock ale aged more than three months in oak foudres (large wooden fermentation vessels more commonly used by vintners) with a fresh version of that beer to create perfect harmony spanning end to end on the taste specctrum

Malt Varieties
Pale 2-Row, English Pale, Mild Ale, Briess & Amber

Hop Varieties
Apollo, UK Target & Williamette

Aged in
Oak Foudres

==Introduction==

Obtained this one at my local beer shop and this one is sold in many of the craft beer shops that sell Stone beers. This one will see national distribution. This beer used to be available on tap only and it was something Stone finally decided to release. Good for them as they have so many beers that never see the public tastes buds. So let’s take a sip of this and we rewind the tape as we go along. Cheers!

Aromas:
Rich butterscotch, caramel, biscuit bread, orange zest, waffle cone, toasted bread, black tea hints, earthy hops, grapefruit hints, pecan pie notes, brown sugar and hints of hazelnut.

Flavors:
Rich biscuit bread, caramel, rye bread, toffee, honey, grassy, piney, grassy, grapefruit, and earthy hops, butterscotch, citrus, orange, oak, waffle cone, toasted bread, black tea, almond butter, marzipan, hazelnut, pecan pie hints and marshmallow.

Aftertaste:
Lot of biscuit bread, citrus, caramel, pecan pie, hazelnut, oak, toffee, grapefruit and earthy notes. No alcohol in the taste, creamy, crisp and moderate mouthfeel, easy to moderate to drinkability and golden brown body.

Overall:
A very good beer almost reminding me of a pub ale with some added complexity. At a moderate drinkability, there is much that can be said as it is complex but palatte subtle enough to not overwhelm the palatte. Taking its time as coats the mouth with different types of complexities all at once. Something that is worth a try and might be a step up for light drinkers.

Anime Corner:
T-elos and Kos-Mos from Xenosaga were used in this pairing as I wanted to do a twin pairing but also match up the colors of the beer. The older and darker barrel-aged side which is represented by T-elos and the lighter alcohol and brand new Kos-mos. They pretty much compliment each other that they represent this beer as a unit of the blends. The mix. The colors also represent some of the flavors as well.