Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Escondido, California USA

~Pours an orange amber with off white head. ~Woodsy hop aroma that is similar in other Stone brews. Caramel malts also dominate along with alcohol. ~Has a smoked pine flavor, very bitter. Some sweetness. As a hop lover it is very delicious. ~Medium sticky feel. Similar to IPA. Sharp bitter finish. Leaves mouth watering wanting more. ~ This is my kind of barleywine. I enjoy a m ore intesely hop barleywine like this one opposed to super sweet ones. Very good!

Dry Hopped Old Guardian on tap at BoHo (gastropub) in Los Angeles. Not very aromatic, had a faint hint of hops. Golden light color, very crisp fresh hoppy taste with the bite of a barley wine. Very unique for a barley wine because of the intense amount of hops.

This Stone seems to have one of the better mixes of malts and hops. Both are strong, but not the over-the-top flavor of some of Stone’s beers. Good after dinner beer.

Very good in every respect. The only BW I have rated higher is SN’s Bigfoot, which is less sweet. I gave old ruffian same rating. Smooth and balanced.

bottle, 2007 vintage, sampled 3/1/07. Pours a clear, rather light amber color with a thin head of off-white head that clears quick to leave some decent lacing. Aroma features a very heavy booze bite that overpowers much of anything else in the nose. Flavor unfortunately follows the nose, with little character other than lots of alcohol heat. Some smooth semi sweet grainy malt does show up in the background, but any significant hop character is drowned out by the booze. Palate is on the sharp and oily side, as one would expect from all the booze notes. Far from one of the best Barley wines.

65cl Bottle. Poured a nice orange/red color. Looked really inviting in my Gulden Draak glas. Aroma is sweet and malty with plenty of toffee,caramel and fruit. Taste is riped fruit,caramell,sweet malt,toffee and some sugary notes. Pretty well balanced but a bit on the sweet side.

Massively malty with a good amounts of hops too. Not the best barley wine, but it is well made. Lots of alcohol and puts you on your ass pretty quick!

I really like barley wne, but one thing that can let me down with a beer is too much alcohol taste. IMO, it ruins the flavor. This is a good beer that could have been a great beer.