Stone Brewing Co. Total Tap Tower Takeover Tour at ALEWIFE

I was so looking forward to this event when i heard of it about three weeks earlier. Imagine 40 taps of ultra-rare, exclusive, collaboration brews ready for you to enjoy for as long as they last that night...Wow! Greg Koch of the before mentioned Stone Brewing Co., was on hand also to celebrate in his handywork.

I got there roughly 10 minutes after the doors opened to VIP's and the line was already fairly long, but not a big deal...got to talk to a few guys while in line about what we were looking forward to trying first. For me it was the Vertical Epic Ales, specifically the 07.07.07 aged in red wine barrels, some of the Double Dry Hopped brews also.


Once in I found a place near the middle of this gorgeous new gastropub/bar, to camp out and mingle with some of the people I already knew, as well as maybe meet some new friends. I got the 07.07.07 that I talked about and believe me it was true to it's name "Epic". A nice nose that completely speaks of a red wine grape through and through...a light dryness and a lingering tartness flow throughout the 4oz. sample. This was the first taste tonight and made a re-diculous impression of how the night would flow.

While tasting the first beer Mr. Greg Koch came over and started talking about beer and what-not. He was a really down to earth and friendly guy that was completely approachable. He gave me and a couple of new friends some suggestions on what he would try from the list. I gladly went with his ideas of the collaborations, bourbon aged, and the verticals throughout the remainder of the evening.

All in all it was a very satisfying night, with some great people, sharing great beers from an original in the Craft Beer industry. I am so glad I was able to be at this once in a lifetime event, and I hope there would be similar events in the future.


I had a total of 11 of these rare brews while I was there and enjoyed all of them...Specifically the Vertical 07.07.07 Red-Wine, DDH IPA, DDH Ruination, 9th Anniversary Ale and the Smoked Porter with Chipotle were the stand outs for me, although having the chance to try any of these was a treat.

Here are the beers I tried:

1. 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale aged in Red Wine Barrels
2. Imperial Russian Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels(2008)
3. 9th Anniversary Ale
4. DDH 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA(Double Dry)
5. Old Guardian Barley Wine aged in Bourbon Barrels(2006)
6. Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers
7. Imperial Russin Stout 10th Anniversary GKOs Mad Man Mix
8. 21st Amendment/Firestone Walker/Stone El Camino (Un)Real  Black Ale
9. Ballast Point/Kelsey McNair/Stone San Diego County Session Ale
10. DDH Stone IPA
11. DDH Ruination IPA