“For well over a decade now, you’ve been able to set your calendar by Stone & Wood’s Stone Beer, both the brew day on which the fire-heated volcanic rocks are lowered into the beer as part of the brewing process and the festival that heralds its arrival a few weeks later. It’s also a beer that comes in two parts these days: the widespread release of each year’s Stone Beer and a far more limited release of the portion of previous year’s beer that’s spent an age in oak before being packaged into vessels with a medieval feel that you have to believe would prove handy companions on the battlefield if you dropped your flail.”

Glassware: English pint.

Appearance: Pitch black and capped off by a short light brown head which gradually peels off. A beautiful cascading lace drapes down the glass as we imbibe.

Aroma: Wow this is notably different from the original ’23 vintage Stone Beer. Displaying a somewhat Rum-like sweetness. We can’t be sure as it also hints at Port/fortified wine as well. Rich Porter notes meet the alluring sweetness and oak to produce a very fine aroma though.

Flavour: Apparently this is 11.9%! The booze is extremely well hidden. Upfront it’s a fusion of toasty oak, lightly charred malt, dark chocolate and Port. Starting to get some green Whiskey notes now. Might as well throw another potential spirit in the mix. It hits a really rich crescendo midway…molasses and warming booze then soften into a caramelised, oaky and mildly roasted finish that goes for days.

Mouthfeel: Dense and chewy. Coats the whole palate nicely. Medium-full body, low-ish Co2 and the 11.9% ABV is well behaved.

Overall: We liked it. The sweetness from the barrels gets a little overwhelming by the finish but primarily it was a tasty and well-structured beer.