Stone Brewing Company

Stone Brewing Co.
Type Independent
Industry Alcoholic beverage
Founded 1996
Headquarters Escondido, California
United States
Products Beer
Production output 115,000 US barrels/year (2010)
Owner(s) Steve Wagner and Greg Koch

Stone Brewing Co. is a craft brewery headquartered in Escondido, California. Founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California,[1] it is the largest brewery in Southern California.[2] As of 2010, it was the 14th largest craft brewery and 23rd largest overall brewery in the United States.[3]

Contents

Characteristics

Stone Brewing is known for its aggressive Arrogant Bastard Ale, although the brewery considers Stone Pale Ale and Stone IPA to be its flagship beers.[4] Most of their beers are characteristic of west-coast craft brews; that is to say, most beers have a traditionally 'hoppy' flavor. Stone beers are bottled in 22 ounce bottles, 12 oz six packs, and occasionally 3 liter bottles.[5]

The beers available in six-packs are the Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, Stone IPA, Stone Levitation Ale, Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Stone Ruination IPA. Stone uses 22 ounce bottles to feature their "bigger character" beers and Stone Special Releases.[5] Compared to most brewers, many Stone brews feature alcohol percentages that are well above average. The alcohol-by-volume content of Stone brews ranges from 4.4% to well over 11%.[6]

Brewery

In 2006, Stone relocated from its original brewery in San Marcos to a new, custom-designed facility in Escondido. The new brewery currently has a capacity of 250,000 US beer barrels per year, and also includes an on-site bottling line. The site is also home to a restaurant, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, a 300+ seat restaurant which features a large outdoor patio and 1-acre (4,000 m2) of gardens. The restaurant serves a rotating menu of food—concentrating on organic, free-range and local ingredients—and beer from Stone, local San Diego and regional California craft brewers, and other specialty breweries in the United States and abroad. The brewery also houses a Stone Company Store where Stone merchandise can be purchased in addition to one and two litre growlers which can be filled with Stone's seven year-round beers and special releases.[7]

In June 2008, Stone Brewing became more eco-friendly when they covered the roof of the brewery with solar panels, cutting their energy costs nearly in half. The 1,561 roof-mounted solar modules will offset more than 538,000 pounds (244,000 kg) of carbon emissions over its lifetime, which is equivalent to planting 204 acres (0.83 km2) of trees.[8]

In 2011, Stone announced plans for major expansion, which will include a new restaurant and brewery in Point Loma, expansion of its Escondido brewery to 500,000 barrel per year capacity, a 18.7 acre organic farm to supply produce to its current and future restaurants, and a shop in the South Park neighborhood which will sell its beer in bottles, kegs and growlers.[2]

Beers

Year-round beers

Special releases

Stone Anniversary Ale series

Stone releases an Anniversary Ale every summer, each one using a different recipe and bottle design.

Stone Vertical Epic Ale series

Since 2002, Stone has been releasing a series of eleven beers under the Stone Vertical Epic Ale header. Each one uses a different recipe and is designed, when the release is complete, to complement its partners in a tasting of all eleven, one after the other (a "vertical tasting"). Each is released one year, one month, and one day apart, beginning with the first on February 2, 2002 (02.02.02 in a common date format on the Gregorian calendar); thus, the second was released on March 3, 2003 (03.03.03), the fourth on April 4, 2004, and so on. The last in the series will be the Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale.[10]

Collaborations

In 2011, Stone collaborated with Green Flash Brewing Company of Vista and the Carlsbad location of Pizza Port restaurant to brew and release Green Flash / Pizza Port Carlsbad / Stone Highway 78 Scotch Ale, named for California State Highway 78 that links Escondido and the other two cities.[16]

Awards

On August 6, 2009, Stone Levitation Ale was declared the third place winner of the annual competition for American cask-conditioned beers at the Bieres Sans Frontieres bar at the Great British Beer Festival, an event held every year by CAMRA at Earl's Court, London.[17]

Stone Brewing is consistently rated as one of the best brewers in the US and world by the two largest beer enthusiast websites, RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com.[18][19] Stone Brewing has been voted by the readers of Beer Advocate as the #1 Best Brewery all time ever, two years in a row.[19][20]

Popular culture

In the television show Weeds, one of the main characters, Andy Botwin, is occasionally seen drinking Stone IPA.[21] In season 6, when the family is supposed to be in Seattle, a Stone Brewery advertisement is seen behind them at a bus stop.

Arrogant Bastard is also seen in the film Cabin Fever.

References

  1. ^ "The Press Room". Stone Brewing Company. http://www.stonebrew.com/press/facts.asp. Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b Rowe, Peter (May 18, 2011). "Stone announces new Point Loma brewery restaurant, expansion". Sign On San Diego. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/may/18/stone-announces-new-point-loma-brewery-restaurant-/. Retrieved 2011-05-18. 
  3. ^ "Brewers Association Releases 2010 Top 50 Breweries Lists". Brewers Association. April 13, 2011. http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/media/press-releases/show?title=brewers-association-releases-2010-top-50-breweries-lists. Retrieved 2011-05-18. 
  4. ^ "Stone Pale Ale". Stone Brewing Company. http://www.stonebrew.com/pale/. Retrieved July 26, 2008. 
  5. ^ a b "Getting Beer At The Stone Company Store". Stone Brewing Company. http://www.stonebrew.com/visit/beer.asp. Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
  6. ^ "Beers Overview". Stone Brewing Company. http://www.stonebrew.com/beers/. Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
  7. ^ Fikes, Bradley J. (March 5, 2006). "Stone Brewing Co. grows in Escondido". North County Times. http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_abd07f96-d6aa-5469-b743-2eaa958a6b92.html. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Stone Brewing Co. Harnesses the Power of the Sun with a Solar Electric System Installed by Borrego Solar Systems, Inc., Financed by Bank of America" (Press release). Bank of America. July 1, 2008. http://mediaroom.bankofamerica.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=234503&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1397266. Retrieved April 22, 2011. 
  9. ^ Orr, Patrick (February 5, 2010). "Orr: Black IPAs are a full-blown trend". Idaho Statesman. http://www.idahostatesman.com/entertainment/story/1068184.html. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
  10. ^ Alstrom, Jason Todd (July 27, 2007). "Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale". dig Boston. http://digboston.com/taste/2007/07/90/. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 
  11. ^ StoneBrew.com: 07.07.07 recipe
  12. ^ StoneBrew.com: 08.08.08
  13. ^ StoneBrew.com: 09.09.09 recipe
  14. ^ StoneBrew.com: 10.10.10 recipe
  15. ^ StoneBrew.com: 11.11.11 recipe
  16. ^ Stone Brewing Company. "Stone Brewing Co. releases new collaboration beer: Green Flash / Pizza Port Carlsbad / Stone Highway 78 Scotch Ale". http://www.stonebrew.com/news/110209pr/index.html. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 
  17. ^ "Bières Sans Frontières Champion Draught American Beers". Great British Beer Festival. http://gbbf.camra.org.uk/bsfjudging. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 
  18. ^ "Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens". RateBeer. http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/state/city/stone-brewing-world-bistro-and-gardens/7319.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  19. ^ a b Kitsock, Greg (June 20, 2007). "A Bitter Divide". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061900354.html. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 
  20. ^ "Stone Brewing Co.". BeerAdvocate. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 
  21. ^ "Weeds - Season 5, Episode 10 - Perro Insano". Showtime. August 10, 2009. http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/home.sho. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 

External links