Arrogant Bastard Ale

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Escondido, California USA

Rerate 05/08/03: Tried this on draught at Barley's Smokehouse. This is just one of those beers that is so unique and difficult to categorize that it is always a pleasure to drink. Pours a deep dark reddish brown with a thin and foamy beige head. Thin lacing. Aroma is alternatingly floral, fruity (citrus mostly), and malty. Medium-bodied and tart, with flavors of citrus, caramel, malt and pine. Complex yet easy to drink, with a nice strong and bitter finish. I have grown to appreciate this beer after having it so many times. 02/21/02 (3.7):I have to admit I didn't like this one on the fist taste, but at ounce 5 or so it started to taste really good. Not sure if this is a beer you want to spend the whole night drinking though, as it is expensive and hard to keep up with. Perfect color and different from the norm, which always scores points with me.

Hoppy, caramel aroma, also treacle and spice(nutmeg?) Ruby, with a small toffee head. Fine hoppy bitter almond flavour, and a bold malty aftertaste. Full bodied, dry and bitter. A Wonderful Offering! Thanks Radek and a special Thank You to Carolyne (Radek's Sister-In-Law.)

Big bottle drunk form a trappist glass. Served at a comfortable drinking temperature. Nice, lasting off-white head over a mahogany coloured body, with only a slight haze. Aroma of dry malts and dark fruits. Complex taste profile that starts malty and develops into a blend of berries and pine hoppiness. Bitter ending with hints of yeast. In-depth palate and soft natural carbonated. An hour of joy at Bar & Cigar in Oslo (28.04.2009).

This is brew is one of those types that i don’t get to try very often due to always trying new beers, but evey now and again i get another sample and it always truely amazes me. Just a powerful brew with a thick sweetness up front that would be totally unacceptable alone, but is leveled out by a big hop finish. Great caramel malt taste upfront, with a sweet stick to you palate thickness.

Though I’m not a fan of heavily hopped beers like this, I’ll try to be objective and put myself in the shoes of someone who likes a heavily hopped, aggressive ale. The bottle was nice and the label was amusing. Otherwise, it is not my thing.

Bottle at Olympen, Oslo. Beautiful, hazy ruby red copper with a lacing, yellowish head. Fruity hop aroma with apples and lime in the lead. Bitter hop flavours, some toffee to balance. Green apples, grapefruit and grass. Well-carbonated, full body. Deserving the attitude.

Verre de dégustation, provenant d’un fût, dégusté au Atlantic City Beer Festival 2007 (Atlantic City, NJ). Arôme: Odeur de caramel et d’houblons fruités. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée brunâtre. Présence d’un mince col beige avec une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel et de tabac. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de caramel en arrière goût. (Rating #904)

Draft at Cooper’s. This is a real sum of its parts near-sessionable beer--it’s considerably better than looking at the individual elements on their own merits might suggest. It starts off promisingly enough, dense and mahogany brown with a thick moussy tan head. Looks kinda beasty. Nose is virtually nothing at all, though; a little sweet malt, maybe caramelish. How they hide the hops in the aromatics is beyond me even as I sit and type this. The body’s full and the carb is there; the flavors are reasonably strong so the attack en toto is assertive enough. The mid-palate doesn’t seem to carry much oomph, really; there’s raisin and caramel and maybe a little light toast. The finish, though, is an awesome blast of rich resiny hop that just ties it all together. Every drink is satisfying, if not huge or complex. A little too heavy for sessioning, though they hide the booze well--but other than that you can drink this just about anytime.