This year's Vertical Epic Ale now in stores

Earlier this week, news of Stone’s 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale hitting store shelves began to surface. I’m such a newcomer to the craft beer scene that at the time of last year’s release (07.07.07 for those having trouble seeing the pattern) I was unaware of the Stone Brewing Co altogether. As I’d like to build up a nice cellar full of beer (I hear people occasionally like to write about that sort of thing), and also have an odd affinity for limited release items, I made sure to head to Premiere tonight to pick up a bottle.

Actually, I was hoping for two bottles: one to drink relatively soon and one to have after their 12.12.12 release (as I’ll be keeping up with them from now on). I was mildly worried that they may not have still been around, as Stone does a good job of fear mongering on their FAQ:

Typically, Stone Vertical Epic Ale sells out within days—and in most cases hours (or less)—at each retail location that gets an allocation. As far as we know, there are not any retailers that still have previous years’ releases in stock.

Imagine my surprise, then, when not only was there a decent rack of the 08s, but also a few bottles of its older brother sitting next to it! Two of those as well, please.

I don’t know how long the 07s will last, but it seems as though this year’s batch is in good supply for the time being. If you’re not close to the Premiere on Delaware (or, say, live in another state altogether) you can see which stores Stone has shipped cases to.

(After taking the picture, I noticed that both bottles of the 08 seem to be underfills; huh)