Days of the Beer, August 8

Lots of things have happened on August 8; none of them seem to scream out "pick me for the beer"; or have an interesting beer related event.

So as a cop-out, the Beer for today is Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale. Today is the release date for the beer. It has been shipped from the brewery, and some people on the internet have claimed to have already found it in some stores. Stone beers are not available in Illinois or Missouri, but Indiana has them; so I'll probably be making a border run shortly. The beer is described as this:

The inspiration for this year's edition comes from a trip to Belgium taken by Stone Brewmaster Steve Wagner and Head Brewer Mitch Steele in early 2008. There they discovered a special edition of a renowned Belgian golden triple that had been extra hopped up with American hops. Back in Escondido, we opened the bottle and found that it was good. Very good, in fact. Being the hop lovers that we are, we found the whole experience deliciously inspiring. Our Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale is a variation on this theme. We proudly present you with this very dry pale golden beer which sports a thick, creamy white foam, is spicy, estery and fruity (from the yeast), and possesses a crisp bitterness - oh yes, and is very, very generously hopped. It's fair to say that this is a beer that was inspired by a Belgian beer that was in turn inspired by the well-hopped West Coast style beers - which are, of course, the very kind of brews that we are famous for! Interesting how the world turns sometimes. And delicious too.

This one is the seventh in the line. They will be going up to 12.12.12. I need to go buy a couple one to try and one or two to sit next to my 06 and 07.

In case you are wondering about August 8 events;

1988, at Wrigley Field, the cubs took on the Philadelphia Phillies in a game that was rained out after three and a half innings... oh and they turned the lights on.

1990, Iraq occupies Kuwait, the event that started the Gulf War.

Today, the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China begin.

So go out and find you an 8-8-8 and enjoy the hoppiness. If you do try one, take notes on the beer. Remember, it is designed to be drank for the next 5 years, the hops should mellow out over that time and it should be a substantially different beer by 2012.