Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

Dark amber pour with a light tan head. Aroma of oak covers most of the aroma you notice in Arrogant Bastard(ABA). You do get notes of sweetness and some hops in the background. Creamy mouthfeel, but the oak mellows out the beer. Some bitterness at the end, but less then ABA. ABA is a very tasty beer, but I prefer the oaked version. Nice lacing on the glass.

Bomber, Magnum, and Draft. Pours an amber body with an off white head. Chewy hoppiness with a nice pine and grass hop character. Moderate malt and fruity etoh warming with a subtle oak character. Some coffee roast as well. Dam good.

Tap at Pap. Shocked at how much I liked this. Aroma is very standard - dry malts and very light roast. Color is a thick gray charcoal brown with a thick tan head. Flavor has barely the zing of regular AB, but the roasted oakiness make sthe whole thing taste like a lightly smoked porter: burn, coffee, toffee, caramel malt. Finish is kind of abrupt and hoppy. Really something.

After trying several different regular Arrogant Bastards, I’ve sort of concluded that it may be a bit of a temperamental beer... that when really fresh, it’s really hoppy/bitter... but near or past its printed date, it can be flat or just "off". The Oaked bottle I got is great just like the best Bastards, but with a smoother front end and a more lasting finish (where the oak is noticeable to me). Nice one.

Pours a brown color with a tan head. Aroma of oak and some malts. Flavor is pretty bitter with some some malty hints in there too. Not as good as regular Arrogant.

Sample @ Bock&Rock.Aroma was oaky goodness with a little hoppiness.Amber color with a good white head.Flavor was was good and mellow malt and must and oak with hints of licorice.Was really good and one of the better at the tasting.

This oaked-version of the Bastard isn’t nearly as good as the original. I agree with a few of the other reviewers that the hops seem to have taken a backseat in this offering. The beer pours a very dark amber color with a little mahogany thrown in. The head is tan and leaves a very generous amount of lacing around the glass. The nose is fairly sweet, with notes of caramel malt, honey, yeast, a little licrorice and some flowery hops. The flavors are quite deep and complex, with notes of pine, grass, caramel, alcohol, earth and some hops toward the end of the body. The finish is where I detect most of the hops, with a bitter and dry tone, with some notes of pine and grapefruit. Unfortunately, this oaked-version falls way short of the original.

Nice beer not quite as good as the original in my opinion. I believe they went mellow on the hops and malt in order to better showcase the oak. All in all a good beer but I would prefer to drink the Original.