Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

This thing is amazing. It actually tastes more like an Imperial or Double IPA than a BarleyWine. The pour is a golden red with a little of a white head. The nose is powerful; full of pine from the hops and a very sweet malt from the barley. There are hints of caramel, and citrus as well. The flavor is wonderful, sweet malts and then huge hops. I tasted licorice and cognac??? The palate was oily and stuck around awhile. Great one Stone! I need to cellar one of these...

Aroma: very powerful, fruity, grape-like. Fresh, majestic hops, heavy malt, figs, prunes, cinnamon, caramelized sugar. The sweet, deep malty profile is very balanced up the fresh hops, reeking of lemon, grape and leaves. Very, very nice indeed.
Flavour: huge! Sweetness hits you, and a sledgehammer of bitterness, not half a second later. I can taste wild raspberries, banana, licorice-like malt, great juicy hops. Very big-bodied, slightly acrid and noble. The aftertaste is very sweet, but again it is balanced up by the good amount of hops. Pears and cognac can also be sensed in the aftertaste. To be quite honest, the sweetness makes it almost too big. I think I would prefered it a tad bit drier.
Appearance: slightly dim apricot with the style-typical yellowish head. The head diminshes rahter quickly, leaving a thin foam-film that tells of the sweetness and cloys to the glass.
Palate: oily, fluffy, big. Madeira-like. Very nice sparkling quality. Runs off the tongue like oily, sweet satin.

Bomber, 2007 release. Pours a reddish honey color with a very thin white head. Sweet malts are immediately present, along with honey, raspberries, and raisins. A little alcohol in the background, along with some subtle piney and citrus hops; I had imagined they’d be more up front since this is a Stone brew, but I’m sure they’ve mellowed with age. The first sip demonstrates otherwise. Alcohol and astringent hops are present initially, like licking bitter sap off a pinecone...in a good way. Rich mouthfeel, creamy, slightly sticky. As the bitterness fades, balancing sweet dried fruits flood in. I didn’t have one of these; in ’07; if the hop presence has mellowed, this makes me wonder what it was like in ’07. This thing keeps growing on me with every sip, especially as it warms, wish I had another.

Wow, this is incredible. Right from the tap at the Ginger Man in Austin, TX. Had two. Sweet, but not too sweet. Grass notes, a little malty but definitely feel the hops. Incredible barley wine.

Bottle of limited early2009 fro m 3 Sons. Sweet with tobacco and grass notes, better as it warms, nice finish with plenty of hops and malt packed in for a great beer. Fair head and dark amber color.

Limited Early 2009 Release. 1 pt 6 fl oz bottle poured into 16 oz snifter. Sweet, thick ,hoppy aroma reminicent of an imperial/ double IPA. Nose is subtley warm and very malty. The body is huge with very rich malt and hop notes and tons of alcohol. There’s a pleasant amount of sweetness in this barleywine but you’ll get knocked on your butt after a few gulps. Finish is full of malt and alcohol. Less like a barley wine and more like a titanic Imperial IPA. A fantastic beer for deep cold of a Rochester winter and one that will last you all evening. A pleasure to drink and another fine brew from Stone!

Pours hazy amber with a nice aroma of hops and candy. Flavor is dominated by the powerfully sweet malt and bitter and sourness from the hops.

pours out in a cloudy dark sunset oarnge with a tannish off white head that appears to be thin but is holding well. there is nice lacing and the body is cloudy dark oarnge with no to many bubbles rising. smells of a yankee candle citrusy fruity pine sol aroma. very piney and floral. it has awsome mouthfeel to it with notes of roasted malts that give it a toffee taste and kind of wheaty with the unmalted barley used in this this beer. hoppy also ,but not like an ipa or an american strong and does not leave a bitter aftertaste. moderate carbonation and i can sense some of the alcohol in the flavor. finishes kind of dry and has a plesant aftertaste. nice barley wine.