Open Letter To Stone Brewing

Dear Greg Koch, and the rest of the brewing deities at Stone Brewing

I write today to humble myself and say "I am not worthy". I gave up on the fizzy yellow stuff as true beer a while back now. As I stepped away from the fizzy yellow beers, which will go unnamed as to not make them sad, I got into complexity, hop character, head & lacing, color, malt, and everything that goes into making a good beer taste delicious. Back in 2002 or 2003, I had my first Arrogant Bastard. It was a revelation to me, like nothing I had ever tried before. I bought an Arrogant Bastard, a Double Bastard, and (as best as I can remember) a Stone Smoked Porter. It was the beginning of, what I had no idea would become, an addiction.

After trying these beers, I tried more. I'm pretty sure I've now tasted just about everything you guys have put out since, save a couple of Anniversary Beers that I've missed. I have three of the seven Vertical Epics aging, and have tried four of them. Yeah sucks, right? I accidentally popped open my only '03 and drank it. Regardless, and digressing.

Stone Brewing. I would be humbled, and honored to taste anything you could get my way. I'd even go so far as to host tasting parties surrounding your beers. I know, it looks as though I'm trying to cop free beer. I guess maybe I am? Bottom line is I love your beers, I know many people who love your beers, and I would love to share your beers with friends and have the opportunity to review some of the ones that I am not able to get in my area.

Further, I have a great deal of interest in cloning your beers, and would love if, when I do, I could send some your way, and share the tasting notes right here on this blog. My first ever true clone was a partial clone of Arrogant Bastard, and it's what had me striving to brew a better beer. Now, I'll drop a disclaimer here. I am still working on recipes and still getting my all-grain brewing skills down-pat, but I assure you, I would love to get it down and get some in your hands to taste.

If you are interested, at all, in working on something with me, please feel free to CONTACT ME by clicking that link. You know the on that looks like this: "CONTACT ME".

Thanks in advance for your consideration,

Don
http://cyclingphun.blogspot.com

PS!: This is an aside to Stone and Stone fans! Check back tomorrow for a special Tasting Note on the Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic Ale. You won't want to miss this post if you are a fan of good beer, and especially Stone Brewing.

PPS: I swear I'll get back to more regular cycling lately. Things have just been crazy, and I haven't been getting in many rides. I PROMISE... more cycling to come!