Double Bastard Ale

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

Savannah, Georgia - Habersham Beverage Warehouse - 22 oz bomber. Pours a medium to dark copper with a thick sticky off-white head that produces nice lace that clings to the glass for the entire time. Resiny aroma with some nice mountainy Scotch pine accents and a wee bit of alcohol. Succulent flavor with some sticky grapefruity hoppiness, some nectarines, pomegranates - you name the fruit it is in there. Nice malty backbone with some maple syrup notes, molasses, brown sugar. Sticky rich thick mouthfeel. Excellent - best beer I have had in a long time.

22 oz bomber poured into a pint glass. Two-finger head that stayed strong and left nice sticky lacing. Caramel and citrus were strongest on the nose, which also held a background of dark fruits and malts. Wonderfully balanced caramel malt sweetness and slightly citrusy hops bitterness on the palate. Complexity seemed to increase as the beer warmed, and additional flavors of spices, ripe fruit, and carmelized sugars came through. Medium to full mouthfeel, good carbonation, and a pleasant aftertaste. Alcohol is warming, not overpowering. Excellent beer.

Bottle. Pours with a white head, rather small. Body is a dark amber color with excellent lacing. Aromas of hops, mainly citrus, roasted grains and malts, and some casket-like port or wine. Flavor smacks you in the face with a bold initial taste followed by a very nice bitter aftertase. Texture of sticky and carbonation almost perfect. Well worth the wait each year.

On tap at ’Ginger Man’ in NYC. Dark ruby red, tiny wispy pancake colour head. Deathly still. Aroma: Alcohol, some allspice, hops and then alcohol again! Flavour: HUGE, just huge, alcohol, some distinct hops, very very bitter finish, long brandy in the finish too. A lot of alcohol. Woah.

(22oz bottle) Deep amber w/ off white, mostly diminishing head. Aroma of toasty malt and fruit cocktail (a la Del Monte), specifically pineapple and peach. Seriously resinous and syrupy - not for the faint of palate - w/ plenty of bitterness and alcohol burn. Malt is distinguishable w/ caramel being prominent throughout. Lingering bitterness and syrupy stickiness. Good stuff.

Reddish body, tan head. Has some sweetness to it. Pine, spices, hops. Smells clean. Maybe a bit more malt than the average strong ale..

This is a brown-colored ale with a hint of red and a small head. Good lacing. The flavor and body are both full. The high IBUs are countered with some solid malts.

This tasted nothing like Arrogant Bastard, which is a dark and smooth and sexy beer. This was just a typical barleywine style ale. Too sweet and medicinal for me.