Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

This is simply one superb ale. Pours a beautiful burgundy-amber color under a durable, wispy off-white head. Aroma is initially dominated by the sweet malt profile. Lots of roasted malts, caramel and wheat toast notes are up front supported by a background of citrus-pine needle hop aromas. Mouthfeel is just perfect; smooth, chewy and round. Flavors in turn are definitely all about the hops here, but the sweetness of the malts balance things out very nicely. Starts out with somewhat semi-sweet dark wheat bread, smokey, fig flavor, but quickly transcends into a big, crisp and bitter hoppy long finish. It reminded me a lot of Bigfoot without the big alcohol kick and with a touch more malt. Man, I hope Stone comes to FL someday soon!!

One of my favorite beers. Dark pour with decent head, an almost caramelish flavor. Recommended to anyone, but you probably won’t like it.

Finally got to try this. A very good beer with an intenseful flavor. Pours a really nice dark appearance. So glad that I finally got to drink this beer after wanting to for a long time.

A big, buff beer for men who like their beers to have a lot of character. The text on the bottle is a riot, and it makes you feel tough just to be drinking the beer. Don’t drink this beer to cold, or the flavors are too raw and unmelded. Served coolish, the main flavor is a burnt caramel malt streaked with strong, course hops. Is it just me, or have they toned done the hops in favor of malt complexity? If I had to pick 10 American beers as favorites, this would be in the mix.

Just the bottle could kick my ass! Pair that with unbeliveable complexity and 7.2%, and you have one hell of a tough brew.

A veritable cornucopia of flavors and aromas. Exquisite roasted and caramel malt flavor and aroma perfectly balanced by the intense hop flavors and aromas. Medium to heavy body topped by a long-lasting creamy head. Possibly the richest ale I’ve tasted in my limited sampling.

Finally got to try this one. Strong hops (duh), that to me were nicely balanced with the malts. Definitely worth getting another bottle or two.

An excellent strong ale. Hoppy and bitter, yet smooth. Gets better as the beer warms. Tastes like a dark IPA. Drink in a goblet at about 58°. It tastes like it just came out of the tap.