Stone Vertical Epic 11-11-11

I stopped in to Al’s of Hampden to hang out with some friends and I ordered a glass of Stone Vertical Epic 11-11-11. The beer pours a dark amber color with a foamy white head. Th aroma consists of spicy pepper, cinnamon, chocolate, and caramel. The taste is smooth with light chocolate flavor on the front end. There is plenty of caramel that takes over the mouth before a good spicy pepper accent that doesn't kill the beer, or the tongue, kicks in to play. A bit of dry cinnamon comes in to play, but never takes a foot hold. The finish has some creaminess to it, and the beer goes down rather smooth. The alcohol content is 9.4% ABV. This version of the Vertical Epic is one of the better chili pepper infused beers out there, as it wasn’t too spicy to kill the palate, and it wasn’t too faint to ignore. I think Stone did a great job with it.