Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

Dark brown-orange body with a nice finger of silky tan head. Potent malt aroma, lots of aggressive herbal hops, pine, caramel and vanilla oakiness. The body is smooth but bitter malt. The oak seems to smooth it all out with a vanilla creaminess over strong toasted malts, caramel, toffee, butterscotch then a nice hop finish.

12 oz bottle. Small off-white head with a tame nose. Aromas of citrus and pine hops, toasty caramel malt and oak. The oak aged taste comes on the back end, with a medium body, creamy texture and mild carbonation. I didn’t notice a large enough difference between this and the non-Oaked AB to justify the price difference. I think I’ll stick with my regular AB. P.S. I am glad to see Stone is bringing more brews to Texas. I am one of their best customers in Conroe.

Bottle. Pours a hazy auburn with a thin off-white head. Aroma is rich and fruity malts with notes of hops. A spicy hops flavor upfront but a somewhat stale seeming malt body, perhaps a characteristic lended by the oak which never really makes itself present in the mouth. A bit of cloying sweetness and a bitter finish. Medium bodied. Maybe this one didn’t travel to Indy too well as I was not overly impressed.

A beautiful dark brown beer with a persistent creamy head. The best flavor you can ever ask for. The oak adds a smokey rich twist that makes this even better than the original. Well worth the ridiculous price, and on a college budget that is saying a lot. Crisp, hopped, oaked, arrogant. This is quite simply one of the best American beers there is west of Dogfish Head. Somehow, it is better than the original and more drinkable than the double version. Complex, bitter, and worth a try.

One of the many 12oz bottles I purchased. The color is identical to arrogant bastard as is the color and quality of the head. Dark red-orange and almost brown. The smell is hoppy and very nice. I think I smell caramel also. The taste is also slightly similar to regular bastard but smoother. I am not sure if I can taste the oak but this definitely tastes awesome. The mouthfeel might be the best part; very creamy. If you like Arrogant Bastard you should definitely get your hands on this stuff (if you can). Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-16-2007 01:29:02

Pours sexy, smells oaky for sure, tastes magical, with the qualities of regular AB and then some oak that takes the face twisting edge off of regular AB. When it is fresh, it will really impress.

This is a great improvement over the standard Arrogant Bastard as the original has such a sharp taste. The oak chips impart a woody overtone that melds well with the extremely intense hop profile of this beer, creating a broader spectrum of flavor and palate than the original. This is perhaps the best beer of its genre as it possesses strong flavor but is very drinkable. The deadening effect of the wood chips definitely compliments the sharp bitterness imparted by the extreme hopping; it is quite a unique experience.

12 fl oz bottle from BOTW (Rochester), served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. SE05/08.

App.: Clear deep ruby-copper with a decent, rocky, light tan head. Aroma: Lots of gooey caramel, molasses, brown sugar; some bread crust, some grapefruit hops,(not much!), light fruit and a touch of wood. Palate: Medium body, fairly sparse carbonation, reasonably smooth. Flav.: Still lots of the sweet sticky malts, a bit more pine, green, peppery hops, a bit of wood; lightly sweet with good bitterness, more wood on the aftertaste with burnt sugar.

Not sure if the wood adds much for me. Would need a back-to-back tasting.