This week, the penultimate beer in Stone Brewing’s Vertical Epic Ale tasting series lands on shelves of liquor stores throughout the country. If you aren’t familiar with the decade-in-the-making promotion, the SoCal brewery has released a yearly special, bottle-conditioned ale designed to be aged and enjoyed on December 12, 2012 (a.k.a. 12.12.12). Each of the 11 labels is designed to be distinctive, different from the rest.

The vertical tasting begins with 2002’s offering (released on 02.02.02), and is followed by each year’s subsequent brew. 04.04.04 featured un-malted wheat and kaffir lime leaves, 07.07.07 incorporated ginger, cardamom, grapefruit peel, orange peel and 09.09.09 was a Belgian porter with chocolate malt and German hops.

This year is the second-to-last release, and it looks like another creative concoction. 11.11.11 is a Belgian-style amber ale brewed with cinnamon and Anaheim chiles from New Mexico’s Hatch Valley. The chiles add a mild kick, balanced out by banana and toffee notes from the Belgian yeast, and the finish is dry, thanks to Perle and Pacific Jade hops. Each label is released with an accompanying recipe, so homebrewers can try their hand at creating a custom version of the epic tasting.

Do you have any Stone Brewing Epic Ales stocked in your beer cellar? If so, now’s the time to add 2011 to your collection. If not, better late than never!