Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

Not too much different than the orginal Arrogant Bastard. It’s a nice addition, but the oak is a little more subtle than I had expected.

Pours amber brown with a medium sized toffee/tan head. Aroma is a mixture of caramel, toffee, citrusy hops and oak. Flavor is caramel, dark fruits, lots of citrusy hops, and vanilla from the oak as well as a velvety woodiness. Good stuff.

Mahogany pour with a big tan head. Aroma is smoky, hops, a little spice. Flavor is not as hoppy as the regular bastard, a little sweet and the wood come through a little. Very drinkable.

From a 12 oz bottle into a snifter. I have yet to try regular Bastard so this is a sort of blind tasting. Pours with 3 fingers of thick head. Small amounts of lacing around the glass but for some reason, not in rings. Smell isn’t that strong; mainly sweet and slightly smokey. Taste is mainly bitter and not in a normal hoppy sort of way. It’s just biting and not that good. I do taste oak, vanilla and smoke along with the bitterness. The heavy carbonation combined with the richness of this beer makes it a treat to drink with very rich mouthfeel. However, the taste was really off and for the price, I wouldn’t buy this one again.

Murky reddish mahogany with a fairly thick tan head. Aroma is rich and hoppy with a smoky overtone. Flavor is syrupy, malty, nutty, smoky-definitely some contribution from the oak chips. Noticeably strong but well integrated hop character. Rough and chewy texture. Comes across as a strong Belgian.

I tried this at Bishops the other weekend and yesterday I had the opportunity to try it again. It poured a dark hazy mahogony liquid with a big foam that left allot of lacing. It had a smell of grassy hops and oak. It had a taste of grassy hops, grapefruit, citrus, hay, oak and wood. It had a high bitterness and a nice feel in my mouth. Felt very well balanced. A very nice beer!

Mahogany with a thin white head. Aroma is oaky and citrusy. Vanilla and sweet malt are noticable in the flavor. The oak definitely comes through throughout, but primarily is noticable on the dry hoppy finish. I didn’t feel like the oak overly dominated, though. A really great brew.

Courtesy of my friend, kchophead, from BA. Pours a very reddish brown (read: more red than brown) with a moderate white head. Aroma and flavor dominated by the oak, as if it were aged in raw white oak barrels without char. kchophead and I spent a few minutes trying to remember what style this was, wandering through Belgian Strong, Wild Ale, and a number of others before deciding that it’s a pretty distinct brew. And wouldn’t ya know, it’s "American Strong Ale" which just confirms that we were right!