Double Bastard Ale

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

Clear red pour with a big head that leaves a nice lacing behind as it settles. Complex aroma with a sweet malty smell with some pear notes and caramel. Taste explodes with alcohol and carbonation, really coats the mouth

Deep mahogony pour with a small off white head that dissipates quickly leaving no lacing and little head retention. Quite a bit going on in the aroma. The first thing I noticed was a sweet, sugary malt smell with a heavy dose of dark fruit. Definitely a smell of alcohol in this one to burn the nostrils. I didn’t get a whole lot of hops in this smell. Definitely dominated by the initial malty sweetness with heavy caramel and brown sugar yumminess. I got a bit more of the hops in the taste and it was balanced very well given the ABV. Syrupy but prickly, this definitely coats your mouth but has enough carbonation to tickle the tongue a bit. This one is certainly an assault on the senses. I couldn’t imagine having more than one of these in a sitting. Complex but also in-your-face, this is definitely a unique Stone brew.

copper body, with a good off-white head. aroma of caramely malt and citrusy hops. sweet and malty taste, a bit too sweet for me, so i knock o point or two off. medium bodied, with an oily palate. overall, an intersteing, but not particularly great attempt. much too high an abv price to pay for the experience.

22oz bottle, poured red/brown with very little head. Aroma of hops, citrus, and caramel malt, and slightly oaky. Taste is similar to a barley wine, smooth, slightly sweet, and hoppy. Very good!

22 oz. bottle. Aroma is excellent, with a strong oak/smoky aroma and a hint of alcohol. Appearance is dark red-brown, with a small head. Alcohol is apparent at first, but diminishes after the first couple sips. Malts balance with hops quite nicely. Leaves an aftertaste not completely unlike a decent bourbon. Very nice job here.

A- Pours a deep blackish crimson with light bubbles escaping to the top reminding me of a guiness pour. A small but thick head reins over the top of this monster. S- Smells oaty, earty, very similar to oaked AB. A little lighter than I would have liked. T- The taste is sharp with huge alcohol notes interspersed with sweet malt, coffee, mixed dark fruit. M- Thick with ample carbonation. D- This is definitely a sipper but for how much it lets the alcohol through, I am surprised I am able to drink so much.

Another winner from Stone. Pours a ruby red with a tan head that dissipates to a thin layer of bubbles. Aroma is caramel malt, with, of course, boatloads of hops. Flavor is a bit like Oaked AB, but I think there is a heavier malt flavor to this one. Hops are obviously American flavors... grapefruit, some pine. I’m not sure what I like better, Stone beers, or the insults they print on the bottle.

I have to admit that after having the Arrogant Bastard, which I didn’t really care for, I wasn’t sure that I would like the Double Bastard, as I have never considered myself a real hop-head. Well, many thanks to Matt at the beer store for talking me into trying this gem. This poured a gorgeous garnet color into a chalice. Great, creamy and sticky lace which lasted forever. Huge aromas of hops and malts. Incredible hop flavor balanced by incredible malt flavor. And the ABV was so well hidden that I couldn’t even taste it! This went down easier than probably any beer I’ve head A truly great beer. Don’t pass this by. You’ll love it even if you, like me, aren’t a hophead!