Beer Me! — Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens — Escondido, California, United States

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Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens

1999 Citracado Parkway
Escondido CA 92029
Telephone: +1 760-471-4999
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:00am-midnight, Friday-Saturday 11:00am-2:00am, Sunday 10:00am-11:00pm. Tour passes are issued two hours prior to the start of the tour.
Brewer: Mitch Steele, Steve Wagner

[Contact] [Map] [Update]

Notes

Visited: April 14, 2004

Opened: 1996

Annual Production: 148,000 bbl

Contributors: Diane Crawford, Matt Misfeldt

Are you worthy? Thanks to Stone's Greg Koch for some of the bottles!

Stone moved from their original San Marcos location to their new and improved Escondido digs in 2006.

Updated: November 11, 2012

News

2012-11-09: Stone Brewing Co. CEO Greg Koch Discusses New Pasadena Store (Los Angeles Magazine)
2012-05-27: Stone Brewing’s Koch on Europe, Iowa, challenges and succession (BeerPulse)
2011-12-19: Stone releases collaboration beer for Hurricane Irene victims (Beverage Industry)
2011-05-18: ‘Arrogant’ Brewer Announces $26.6 Million Expansion (Brewbound)
2010-11-19: Greg Koch: “Aussies, don’t buy Stone. Please” (Australian Brews News)
2010-11-11: Vertical Epic: Thanks, TABC, For Keeping A Coveted Beer Out Of Texas (Houston Press)
2010-10-11: Stone's tap takeover (Washington Post)
2010-09-29: Beer and politics: Stone's two campaigns (and one non-campaign) (Sign On San Diego)
2010-05-05: Request for Proposal: Brewery in Europe (Stone Brewing)
2009-12-21: Stone opening a new brewery in Europe? (Stone Brewing)
2009-09-05: Fast-Growing Stone Brewing Adds a Distribution Warehouse (San Diego Business Journal)
2009-09-02: Stone Brewing Company’s 13th Anniversary (Los Angeles Magazine)
2009-08-19: Stone Brewing reports heady growth, hiring plans (North County Times-Californian)

Beer List

10th Anniversary IPA

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

10.00% abv.
11th Anniversary Ale / Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

American-Style Black Ale

8.70% abv.
Awards:
- Bronze Medal, 2011 Stockholm Beer Festival
- Bronze Medal, 2010 Great American Beer Festival
- Gold Medal, 2010 US Open Beer Championship
- Date: April 1, 2010 (#8188)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: from the brewery
  
  Score: 17½ points
  
  Appearance (3)
  Black. Dense head.
  
  Aroma (3½)
  Huge spicy hops!
  
  Mouthfeel (9)
  Big and thick and chewy. Black and bitter.
  
  Overall Impression (2)
  That sums it up pretty well: black and bitter. Thanks to KJ Harnack for the bottle!

12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Chocolate/Cocoa Flavored Beer

9.20% abv.

Date: October 11, 2008 (#7458)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Completely black. Moderate brown head.

Aroma (3)
Sweetly black, with a tar-like phenolic.

Mouthfeel (8)
Massive body, fairly fizzy. Incredibly malty and intensely black. Sweet and burnt. Mild alcohol. Lingering black finish.

Overall Impression (2)
Maybe it'll age.

13th Anniversary Ale

Imperial or Double Red Ale

9.00% abv.

Date: November 20, 2009 (#8020)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Deep red. Thick dense head.

Aroma (3)
Intensely earthy and spicy and smoky.

Mouthfeel (9)
Huge, malty, spicy. Big resiny hop flavor and bitterness. Peat smoke?

Overall Impression (2)
It's a good beer. The bottle says "do not cellar", but I don't know...

14th Anniversary Emperial IPA

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA

American-Style Black Ale

2004 Symposium Ale

Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale

7.50% abv.

Date: May 8, 2004 (#5386)

Package: bottled

Place: Craft Brewers Conference, Milwaukee WI

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression
Golden, very slight haze, big thick head. Oddly smoky aroma, with bananas and malt. Medium smooth body. Really malty. Lots of banana, fruity esters. Lots of alcohol. Lots of spicy, herbal hops. Could benefit from a couple years in the cellar, but who can wait that long?

4th Anniversary IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

Date: October 5, 2000 (#3579)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression
Golden, thick head. Citrusy-orange aroma. Light body, big citrus hop flavor, mildly bitter.

5th Anniversary IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

Date: September 29, 2001 (#3904)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Bright golden, good head. BIG fresh spicy hop aroma. Medium body, big herbal spicy bitter hops all the way through. Smooth clean almost creamy finish.

7th Anniversary IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

7.70% abv.

Date: January 2, 2004 (#5179)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Bright amber. High carbonation. Thick head. Huge fruity-spicy hop aroma. Big chewy body. Fiercely hoppy with a big biscuity malt base. Really nice balance for such an assertive beer...it's even a better tasting beer than their Ruination IPA.

9th Anniversary IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

7.50% abv.

Date: October 12, 2005 (#5784)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Deep golden. Hazy. Big thick white head.

Aroma (4)
Incredibly fruity, even from two feet away. Really spicy and grassy hops.

Mouthfeel (10)
Big body, real smooth. Intensely hoppy and pretty bitter. Huge fresh spicy hop flavor with a fair bit of citrus. Good sturdy malt base.

Overall Impression (3)

Arrogant Bastard Ale

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

7.20% abv.

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
Silver Medal, 2003 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
Silver Medal, 2002 Los Angeles County Fair Competition

Date: January 11, 2011 (#8420)

Package: bottled

Place: Place unknown

Score: 19½ points

Appearance (3)
Deep red. Big thick head.

Aroma (3½)
Spicy, earthy, piney. Dark caramel.

Mouthfeel (10)
Big and malty. Huge piney hop flavor, big bitterness. Mildly resiny. Lots of darkish caramel malt.

Overall Impression (3)
Rich, flavorful, reasonably complex beer. Thanks to Avery for the bottle!
Date: October 5, 2000 (#3581)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression
Deep amber, thick head. Huge spicy hop aroma. Medium-light body, very bitter. The bottled version was more intense and more complex.
Date: December 31, 1999 (#3368)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
~~Beautiful~~Arrogant deep ruby red, low carbonation, big head. ~~Big~~Arrogant citrus hop aroma. ~~Spicy, fruity~~Arrogant bitterness, medium-big body, huge caramel flavor. Very ~~nice~~arrogant eternal bitter hoppy finish. Plenty of ~~alcohol~~arrogance packed into a three-liter bottle! Thanks to Chuck Farnham for sending this ~~rare~~arrogant treat.

Bashah 2009 Highland Park and Black Raspberry Reserve

Specialty Beer

Bashah 2009 Imperial and Tayberry Reserve

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

10.00% abv.

Awards:

Silver Medal, 2005 Great American Beer Festival

Date: December 22, 2006 (#6224)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Deep bright red. Massive head.

Aroma (4)
Intense caramel. Smoky. Woody. "Rustic" hops.

Mouthfeel (10)
Huge body. Hugely smooth. Hugely malty. Massive hop flavor and bitterness.

Overall Impression (3)
Real tasty, complex. HUGE beer. I am not worthy. "2004 Release".
Date: February 2, 2003 (#4673)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Bright brown, thick head. Intensely spicy aroma, lots of dark caramel, earthy. Big body. Phenomenally spicy…WASABI! Lots of caramel malt underneath, but it's nearly completely subdued by the assault of spicy hop flavor and bitterness. Absurdly hoppy, yet still in balance. Wow. Thanks to Byron Burrier for the bottle!

Enjoy By 09.21.12 IPA

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

9.40% abv.

Imperial Russian Stout 2001

Imperial Stout

9.47% abv.

Date: September 29, 2001 (#3906)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
BLACK. Dense brown head. Roasty, estery aroma. Thick, fairly bitter, mildly fruity, pretty black flavor. Nice balance all around. Drying alcoholic finish.

Imperial Russian Stout 2002

Imperial Stout

9.47% abv.

Date: September 22, 2002 (#4442)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Black, thick brown head. Spicy hop aroma with some roast. Thick, INTENSE milk chocolate flavor. Mild hop flavor, not a lot of alcohol character.

Imperial Russian Stout 2003

Imperial Stout

9.40% abv.

Date: April 14, 2004 (#5318)

Package: draught

Place: O'Brien's Pub & Micro Brew, San Diego CA

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Very very black. Moderate brown head. INTENSE chocolate aroma, and lots of coconut. HUGE thick body. IMMENSE chocolate flavor. LOTS of alcohol. GIGANTIC beer. SO good it hurts.
Date: December 22, 2003 (#5163)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Dead black. Moderate head. Huge chocolate-anise aroma, alcoholic, and very smoky! Thick. Smooth. Chewy. Malty. Black. Alcoholic. Spicy. Warming. Sweet. Bitter. Etc.

Imperial Russian Stout 2004

Imperial Stout

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2004 Los Angeles County Fair Competition

Imperial Russian Stout 2006

Imperial Stout

10.80% abv.

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2006 North American Beer Awards

Imperial Russian Stout 2007

Imperial Stout

10.80% abv.

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2007 Australian International Beer Awards

Imperial Russian Stout 2008

Imperial Stout

10.80% abv.

Imperial Russian Stout 2009

Imperial Stout

10.50% abv.

Date: October 10, 2009 (#7955)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Black. Huge head.

Aroma (3)
Smoky alcohol.

Mouthfeel (9)
Huge and chewy. Lots of roast malt. A little warming.

Overall Impression (2)
Surprisingly subtle beer.

Imperial Russian Stout 2010

Imperial Stout

10.50% abv.

Awards:

Bronze Medal, 2010 US Open Beer Championship

IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

6.90% abv.

Awards:

Bronze Medal, 2007 Australian International Beer Awards
Bronze Medal, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
Bronze Medal, 2002 North American Beer Awards

Date: February 15, 2006 (#5839)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Thick head.

Aroma (3)
Floral, spicy, earthy hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium-big body, creamy. Huge floral hop flavor, pretty bitter, but pretty sweet, too. Remarkably clean finish, considering.

Overall Impression (2½)

Japanese Green Tea IPA

Specialty Beer

9.20% abv.

Levitation Ale

Classic English-Style Pale Ale

4.40% abv.

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2011 European Beer Star
Bronze Medal, 2004 Los Angeles County Fair Competition

Date: April 14, 2004 (#5319)

Package: draught

Place: O'Brien's Pub & Micro Brew, San Diego CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
BRIGHT red. Big thick head. Sweet, spicy, fruity hop aroma. Big body. Malty, spicy hops, and diacetyl.

Oaked Arrogant Bastard

Wood- and Barrel-aged Beer

7.20% abv.

Date: July 11, 2008 (#7171)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Bright red. Thick head.

Aroma (4)
Smoky, malty.

Mouthfeel (10)
Big and chewy. Really malty and fairly smoky. Big resiny bitterness shows up late.

Overall Impression (3)
Very tasty beer!

Old Guardian Barley Wine 2003

Barley Wine-Style Ale

9.91% abv.

Awards:

Second Place, 2003 Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival

Date: April 14, 2004 (#5327)

Package: draught

Place: San Diego Brewing, San Diego CA

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression
Bright red. Moderate head. Huge candy-sweet aroma. Massively huge big body. Absolutely huge. Phenomenally malty. Sweet and strong. Some bitterness in the middle before it spins your head around.

Old Guardian Barley Wine 2005

Barley Wine-Style Ale

Date: March 4, 2005 (#5587)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Bright copper color. Nice thick dense head.

Aroma (4)
Smoky, intensely malty.

Mouthfeel (10)
Huge. Creamy. Malty. Alcoholic. Bitter. Fruity.

Overall Impression (3)
The more adjectives you think of, the better you'll describe this beer.

Old Guardian Barley Wine 2006

Barley Wine-Style Ale

Old Guardian Barley Wine 2007

Barley Wine-Style Ale

11.26% abv.

Awards:

Second Place, 2007 San Diego County Fair

Date: July 1, 2007 (#6566)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Bright red-amber. Low carbonation. Thick head.

Aroma (3)
Intensely malty. Dark fruit and spicy alcohol.

Mouthfeel (9)
Huge. A bit fizzy. Massively malty. Nicely bitter. Quite warming.

Overall Impression (3)
Tasty and complex, even though it's still quite young.

Old Guardian Barley Wine 2008

Barley Wine-Style Ale

11.26% abv.

Date: July 11, 2008 (#7172)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Amber. Hazy. Thick head.

Aroma (3)
Spicy, with dark fruit and alcohol.

Mouthfeel (9)
Huge beer. Incredibly malty and really spicy and very warming.

Overall Impression (2)
Nicely complex, but it does need some age.

Pale Ale

American-Style (Extra Special) Strong Bitter

5.40% abv.

Awards:

Bronze Medal, 2006 Great American Beer Festival
Gold Medal, 2003 Los Angeles County Fair Competition

Date: April 14, 2004 (#5314)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression
Deep amber. Big thick head. Mild fruity hop aroma. Medium creamy body. Sweet caramel malt and lots of fruity citrusy hops.
Date: September 29, 2001 (#3903)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression
Bright amber, low carbonation, moderate head. Caramel malt aroma, big fruity hops. Medium body, fairly bitter, big caramel malt flavor. Slightly metallic up front.
Date: October 5, 2000 (#3580)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Amber, moderate carbonation and head. Clean aroma. Medium-light body, mildly malty, very mildly hoppy.

Quingenti Millilitre Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Wood- and Barrel-aged Beer

Ruination IPA

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

7.70% abv.

Awards:

Bronze Medal, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
Bronze Medal, 2006 World Beer Cup

Date: December 22, 2003 (#5160)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
"100+ IBU". Bright golden. Lots of carbonation. Thick dense head. Huge fresh spicy hop aroma. Medium-big body, moderately fizzy. Big blast of really bitter spicy hops right from the start. Real nice malty base, but overall this beer has more hops than a sack full of toads.

Saison du Buff

Herb and Spice Beer

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2010 US Open Beer Championship

San Diego Session Ale

American-Style (Extra Special) Strong Bitter

Sawyer's Triple

Belgian-Style Tripel

7.60% abv.

Date: April 1, 2010 (#8187)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Golden. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Fresh malt. Mild banana. Mild alcohol.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium-big body. Lots of sweet malt. Medium-big hop flavor and bitterness. Fairly fruity. A bit of bitterness in the sweet fruity finish.

Overall Impression (2½)
Thanks to KJ Harnack for the bottle!

Smoked Porter

Smoke-Flavored Beer

5.90% abv.

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
Bronze Medal, 2003 Los Angeles County Fair Competition

Date: April 14, 2004 (#5315)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression
Dark brown. Thick head. Very mild peat smoke aroma. Medium body. Lots of dark caramel and just a hint of roasty smokiness. Good clean beer.
Date: September 29, 2001 (#3905)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression
Deep dark ruby red, thick head. Mild smoke aroma, fruity. Medium body, mildly smoky, dry and roasty, big hop bitterness. Personally, I'd prefer more smoke character, but it's a fine well-balanced beer as it is.
Date: October 5, 2000 (#3578)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Red-nearly-black, thick head. Smells faintly roasty. Medium body, mild roastiness, very faint smoke at the end.

Smoked Porter with Chipotle

Herb and Spice Beer

Awards:

Silver Medal, 2010 Great American Beer Festival

The Alchemist/Ninkasi/Stone More Brown than Black IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

Vertical Epic 02.02.02

Specialty Beer

Vertical Epic 03.03.03

Specialty Beer

Vertical Epic 04.04.04

Specialty Beer

8.50% abv.

Date: April 16, 2004 (#5349)

Package: bottled

Place: Liars' Club Bar and Grill, Mission Beach CA

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Golden, hazy. No head. Smells like Belgian bananas. Light-medium body. INTENSELY Belgian character; tastes a lot stronger than 8½%. Big lime flavor as it warms.

Vertical Epic 05.05.05

Herb and Spice Beer

8.50% abv.

Date: July 4, 2005 (#5721)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Brown-black opaque. Low tan head.

Aroma (3)
Chocolate, ginger, malty.

Mouthfeel (8)
Huge. INTENSE ginger spiciness. Chocolatey, malty, and fairly bitter.

Overall Impression (2½)
There's another bottle in the cellar that'll come out when the time is right.

Vertical Epic 06.06.06

Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale

Date: July 31, 2006 (#6037)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 17½ points

Appearance (3)
Dark brown, nearly black. Thick short-lived head.

Aroma (3)
Gingerbread! Maybe some molasses, but lots of gingerbread.

Mouthfeel (9)
Big body, really fizzy. Lots of dark caramel malt. Toasty, roasty, and gingerbread. Really malty and spicy and warming.

Overall Impression (2½)
One down the neck, and two down the cellar.

Vertical Epic 07.07.07

Other Belgian-Style Ale

8.40% abv.

Date: July 7, 2007 (#6573)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Yeasty, caramel. Lots of "peel" aromas.

Mouthfeel (8)
Big body. Low carbonation. Really malty, fairly sweet. Spicy. Fairly bitter. Fairly yeasty. Warming, spicy alcohol.

Overall Impression (2)
Three more bottles are going to the cellar to join their earlier compatriots. "Ale brewed with spices: ginger, cardamom, grapefruit peel, lemon peel, orange peel". Bottle-conditioned.

Vertical Epic 08.08.08

Belgian-Style Tripel

8.60% abv.

Date: October 22, 2008 (#7493)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Yellow. Dense head.

Aroma (3½)
Floral. Lemon zest. Fresh cut grass.

Mouthfeel (8)
Big, chewy, malty beer. Lots of fruity esters and lots of alcohol. Some grassy bitterness at the end, banana peel.

Overall Impression (2½)
Complex and warming. Two more bottles are going to the cellar.

Vertical Epic 09.09.09

Herb and Spice Beer

Vertical Epic 10.10.10

Specialty Beer

9.00% abv.

Vertical Epic 11.11.11

Herb and Spice Beer

9.40% abv.