Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

The beer is BIG... extremely complex and hoppy. Very close to a Barley Wine in flavor. Possibly the best name and bottle on the planet..

Hops, bam! Malt, bam! Hops, Malt, Hops, Malt, (alcohol), Hops, Malt....This is one seriously cool beer. I couldn’t tell which I tasted more or which assaulted me more, the hops or the malt. I liken this to the Thomas Hearns vs. Marvin Hagler boxing match from back in the 80s, while not a lengthy fight, it was a 3-round war which led to a a knockout. I can’t call this a fine beer or a good beer. Its an attitude. Thanks to legion242 for sending this my way.

clear red-amber colour with a fine creamy, slightly brown-tainted head, nice lacing, strong hop presence with aroma of cream, apricot and flowers, full-bodied with a very creamy mouthfeel, robust bitterness, the finish is dry, malty and very bitter, filling the mouth with tons of hops - very pleasant and not too extreme

Excellent beer for hop-heads. It was hard to taste this impartially given the amount of hype there is about it, so perhaps someday I should re-rate blindly somehow. In any case, no amount of hype can make crap taste good, so my taste buds weren’t lying when I took my first sip and I started grinning. This was awesome! Inital hop flavor (and aroma) exceeding that of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, but less than Two Hearted Ale. Following the hop blast comes subtle maltiness (caramel?) that you have to ’look for’ a bit - it might be easily missed behind all the hops. Finishes nice and dry, and for the next half hour your burps will taste fantastic!

A nicely hopped, well - balanced English Strong Ale. Beware after drinking 2 or more bottles !!!

Dark ruby brown with a fairly thick head. Interesting aroma of cinnamon apples, allspice, orange pulp, ginger, and a big hop note that wasn’t quite as brash as expected. Spritzy texture, which is welcome considering gravity. Lots of caramel malt depth and cider-like sweetness, drawing out nicely in a long, bittering finish. Unbalanced or not, this beer hits all of the right taste buds...I’m a big fan, and I wish it wasn’t so hard for me to get. Thanks Dogbrick.

I know I’m late to the party but, give me a break I’m just starting out in my serious craft journey. Poured from a awesome looking bomber. That insulted me several times while reading the back story. I loved it. It’s a deep red brown color with a wee bit of head. I was expecting more head but, I’m not that concerned about. The aroma is faint but,there. I really had to get my nose in this one. It smells of citrus and hops. The taste was wonderful. There’s the initial bite of the citrus hops and nice caramel smoothness that makes this very drinkable. The mouth feel is pleasant with a decent heartyness moderate carbonation. Overall this is a winner in my book. I’m not a hop head by any means but, if this the gateway to bigger and stronger hop flavors. The door has been kicked wide open my friends.

Poured a cloudy dark orange red with a beautiful thick off white head that lingers for quite some time before fading to a slightly chunky covering. Lacing is nice. Not too thin, but not chunky either. Nice appearance! Smell is all over the place. Sweet malts, raisin and date, pine, citrus, orange, and woody. Taste is amazing! Sweet roasted malt, pine, oaky, hints of lemon and orange peel. Raisin and date again. I’m really digging this combination of flavors. Mouthfeel is great. Carbonation leaves a bit of a flavor masking sting. That’s the only reason i deducted a half point here. Drinkability is good for this big of a beer. I could drink this all night. But it’s probably not the best of ideas. =P