Here is a little recap of what went on in the Stone World during 2004. You can see that what started in 1996 at a pace of "little by little" has now become a staggering tempo of "leaps and bounds." Yes, the Stone Manifest Destiny is coming along quite nicely and each and every one of you is part of it...Cheers!

The year started off with the addition of two new 150Bbl fermenters that went on line in January and helped us catch up dramatically...for at least a little while! The Stone Specialty Glasses (Stone Levitation Ale, Stone IPA, Double Bastard Ale, and Arrogant Bastard Ale) first hit public viewing after the first of the year. Since then the Stone Specialty Glasses have been proudly grasped in many a hand and held many a Stone brew. As usual, Stone Brewing wasn't a stranger to being in the news. In 2004 we garnered press from Alaska to New York, from Texas to Wisconsin, and just about everywhere in between! To top it off, Ratebeer.com once again named Stone the Best Brewery in North America and #3 in the world!

The second month of the year saw the release of the highly anticipated Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine. A beautiful beer to cellar, we know many of you reading this are hoarding some in your collections! With the public's increasing thirst for knowledge and Stone beer, Stone CEO Greg Koch & Head Brewer Lee Chase conducted a "Beer Education Class" at Henry's Pub in downtown San Diego. This successful endeavor taught people everything from the difference between ales and lagers, to the history of beer in America and generally gave people a better understanding for the world of craft beer.

In March we drew the names for Stone’s Vertical Epic Liquid Lottery and made 25 people feel very special. From the thousands that entered, those 25 lucky people were allowed to buy a growler of Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale…lucky indeed! Each year Stone participates in dozens and dozens of beer festivals, charity events, and industry gatherings, but March was one of our busiest months in a long time. Stone Brewing participated in events in six different states: Colorado, Washington, Hawaii, Indiana, New York, and California! A few of the highlights were the Kona Brewer's Festival in Hawaii, Gravity Head 2004 in Indiana, and the NY City Real Beer Festival in New York. The Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos got a new board member in March…Stone President & Brewmaster, Steve Wagner was elected to the Board of Directors. With his expertise raising two fine boys (and dealing with some adults that act like children), he’ll be sure to add some Worthy insight! Occasionally several members of Team Stone gather for an enviable task…tasting the Stone Special Releases! Throughout 2004 we reviewed beers such as Stone Imperial Russian Stout, Stone 02.02.02 Vertical Epic Ale and the ’03 & ’04 versions to give you an accurate account on how they are aging. Then the results were posted on the website to let all Stone fans that are cellaring the beers know how they are holding up over time...without actually delving into their stash.

What would April be without a little "Fools" from Stone? Once again we had an increase in our Email Newsletter signups prior to the 1st and we didn't disappoint with the "release" of Stone Justification Ale (I can imagine the flavor just writing this)! However, for the carb-crazy people we tricked, we made up for it by releasing a "real" beer a few days later. Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale came out and the third installment of the Vertical series was gone...did you get some? In April, America's Finest City, Stone Brewing and the San Diego beer community were proud to host the Craft Brewers Conference for the first time. The convention was also the site for the first-ever "Specialty Beer Wholesaler's Conference" led by our own GK. Furthermore, to commemorate the annual event, brewers Peter Zien (AleSmith), Tomme Arthur (Pizza Port), and Lee Chase (Stone) brewed the "Association of Brewers 2004 Symposium Ale" at the Stone Brewing Co.

The emergence of spring saw a completion of the 1st Annual Vertical Epic Challenge. This contest asked homebrewers across America to brew the closest "clone" to one of the Stone Vertical Epic Ales. Participants used the recipes provided on the Stone website and two talented winners were selected. Nick Campbell of Napa, CA for his splendid version of the Stone 02.02.02 Vertical Epic Ale, and Tom Nolan from Lewisville, NC won for his tasty interpretation of the Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale. New York is a big state and therefore an appropriate place for our big beers. In May we began venturing into Upstate NY and people in such cities as Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Buffalo were said to have been brought to tears after tasting our beers for the first time!

The early part of summer had us celebrating several mileStones. The 2004 Stone Imperial Russian Stout came out and with it a new Stone Specialty Glass. One of the "World's Best Beers" finally had a glass exquisite enough to hold it. In downtown San Diego, fans of the San Diego Padres had something else to cheer about: Stone Pale Ale was available at Petco Park! We also made some heads turn in June when some of the Stone crew ended up on the cover of the Celebrator Beer News for the annual “Swimsuit Edition.” We figured if we couldn't make it to the beach, why not make our own? Never a group to hold back, the creativity put into the photo was equal to our amazing beers, and certainly left our friends in the brewing industry wondering “what will that crazy Stone crew do next?”! Lastly, Stone fans everywhere also had something to cheer about...we announced the location of the new Stone Brewery that will be built in Escondido, CA. In case you didn't know, in Stone-ese, a rough translation of June means "Ruination Nation month." Bitter befrienders and hop-loving-likers-of-lupine-lusciousness descended on Stone to sample Stone Ruination IPA from the tasting bar every Friday and Saturday.

A heated competition between bars started in July, as the 2nd Annual "Most Arrogant Bar in America" competition got under way. At the end of the two-week period, and after the pints were tallied, Stone announced a new winner: Naja's Place in Redondo Beach, CA. They narrowly beat out O'Brien's Pub in San Diego and last year's winner Brews Cafe of Granville, Ohio to grab the title by the slimmest of margins. Stone helped rid the world of tasteless beer shirts, in July, with our annual Fizzy Yellow Beer T-shirt Amnesty Month. With a modest "amnesty fee," a sense of pride and self-respect was returned to many a patron who received a brand new Arrogant Bastard Ale T-shirt for turning in a shirt that was more suitable for washing a dog.

The month of months for Stone has got to be August...and this one was no different! The Stone 8th Anniversary Ale brought back memories to 1999 with a nod to Lee's Mild (a limited 3.8% mild ale), but there was nothing "mild" about this 7.8% roasty-toasty monster. To acknowledge our "Eight Years and Brewing Strong," we also released a selection of Stone bottle crowns with a variety of images on the top and a plethora of sayings and quotes on the undersides. Stone's hair-brained fundraiser was back this year as we introduced Stone's "Make Your ‘Do Blue Week" and invited the public to help raise money for some very Worthy charities. This coincided with a little party we throw each year...the Stone Anniversary Celebration & Invitational Beer Festival! The 8th edition, with over 4000 people, 25 breweries, and an eclectic selection of food, surpassed even our expectations (which is saying a lot). Needless to say, there will be some major changes for the 2005 event that will guarantee good times for all!

After the dust settled from the Stone 8th Anniversary Celebration and Make Your ‘Do Blue Week, Stone was proud to announce that our fundraising efforts exceeded all expectations! We raised over $39,000 for the Surfrider Foundation, the San Marcos Boys & Girls Club, and the Palomar Family YMCA. Furthering our philanthropy was the total we raised for the cobalt coiffures which was more than $33,000 (kudos to President & Brewmaster Steve Wagner for raising the most money…over $3,000!) --- Lock s of Love, American Cancer Society, and the San Diego Children's Hospital couldn't have been happier! As Stone's popularity grew in 2004, so did the demand for our amazing beers. By the middle of September we were already brewing 24 hours a day and the only way to make more Stone brews was to add more hours. After unsuccessful attempts to buy hours on eBay, we further increased to brewing 7 days a week...and we haven't looked back since!

One of the new, hip things in the beer industry for 2004 was the increase in "Beer Dinners" that featured incredible pairings of beer and food. Stone participated in many such epicurean events this year from New York to Colorado to California. Each culinary occurrence offered a unique experience into the world of craft beer and great food...with people realizing the possibilities are endless! One such event was at The Center For Performing Arts in Escondido, CA led by our own President & Brewmaster Steve Wagner. T o keep up with the ever-growing demand for Stone beer, we had to add a few Team members here at Stone in 2004. We have now grown to over 80 members of Team Stone with each and every person having one thing in common: the dedication and passion for great beer! Not only did our Team grow, our fleet of trucks did too. So in case you haven't seen them, be on the lookout for the new Stone Pale Ale and Stone IPA trucks...they're the ones with the cool graphics and even cooler drivers!

As the months waned and temperatures fell, Stone fans knew something was right around the corner: Double Bastard Ale! The sinister sibling of The Arrogance came out November 1st...along with another close relative. The first OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale greeted fans in 3Litre bottles and the palates of many were changed forever. With the success of the previous Beer Education Class, CEO Greg Koch and Brewmaster Steve Wagner felt it was once again time to educate the public & some palates. This time they partnered with Executive Chef Trey Fosher at George’s At The Cove and created an amazing afternoon of edification centered around phenomenal food and great, craft beer. The Bastard does indeed have a big heart and in November we decided to lend a hand to the less fortunate and became a drop-off point for the 2004 North County Food Drive. Our fans proved that once again they are willing to go above and beyond what we ask and the "red barrel" has been overflowing ever since. November also saw Greg Koch, our amiable (unless you ask him to compromise!) CEO, profiled on San Diego Channel 4's "Forefront" program. GK shed some light into the busy world of Stone --- not that our brewers would have noticed. They were busy in November brewing the 100th batch of Arrogant Bastard Ale...this year! We celebrated in style with some Arrogant Bastard brownies from Amore Cheesecake in San Diego.

2004 wrapped up as the whole Stone crew shared with the world our annual Holiday photo (damn we're a good lookin' bunch!) and finished with another first. At the San Diego Strong Ale Festival, we released the first ever, true wood-aged Stone beer: Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Bastard Ale! If you had some you know how good it was and if you missed out, well...it was good! So what a year it was...we grew...we expanded...we grew some more. We made LOTS of beer and LOTS of friends. We made plans. We raised money as well as eyebrows. We set records. We did what WE wanted and on our terms. And you know what? We're going to do all that again in 2005...and a lot more. Are you ready? We are.

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