Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

Bomber bottle poured into a snifter. The aroma isn’t as powerful as I would have expected given it’s assertive flavor. Some notes of orange, christmas spice, brown sugar. This barleywine has the right balance of hops and malt. The flavor is malty, with notes of candied fruit and some cinnamon hidden in there. The aftertaste finishes with hops in a flowery flourish. The alcohol is very well hidden, I wouldn’t have guessed this beer to be as high in alcohol as it is. The palate is very nice. Silky, gentle, and creamy. I might buy a few of these to cellar. Fans of barleywine should seek this out. This would also be a good intro barleywine for beginners.

Bottle. Aroma caramel, dried dark fruits, honey, some flower hops. Murky orange amber hue with a small off-white head that mostly diminished. Flavor is sweet and finishes bitter. Palate is full bodied and oily flat. Very nice full bodied and sticky sweet. Still very young but should mellow quite nicely with age.

bomber into wine glass for lack of a snifter. Pours a thick dark amber color with a good off-white head. Aromas of dough booze and hops. The flavor was boozy with strangely muted flavors. Medium to heavy bodied on the palate - soft carbonation. Overall: hot and worthy of age. Showed some serious promise though.

650 ml, early 2008 release. Clear orange-copper with a small, but enduring head that leaves a slight soapy lace behind. Aromas of resin, orange, earthy molasses and honeycomb. Flavor starts with orange and molasses, turns more to resin-citrus and shows flavors of oak, peppery evergreen, alcohol, cherries, berries and citrus-honeycomb. Medium-heavy body is smooth with a nice balance between thin and syrupy, and is warming and dryish. Quality and complexity are evident already, but a bit harsh with hops at this stage; probably should cellar a year or two.

Bottle. Pours a rich amber color with a thin off-white head. Aroma is hoppy with caramel, fruit, light pine, and some citrus. Flavor is caramel malt, fruitness, warm alcohol and a hint of toffee with a medium bitter finish

Bottle. 2008 vintage. Pours a cloudy orange with a thin head that dissipates fairly quickly. Aroma of caramel malts and sharp alcohol. The flavor is caramel/toffee malts, with a sharp hop bitterness and alcohol bite. This beer does not have the complexity of malt flavors that is present in most other good barley wines. Good, but not great.

Yet another strong barleywine that features heavily in the alcohol department, and rather lightly in overall taste and complexity. I really don’t know how to judge these beers; they are simply not my type. It just gets to a point where if you want to drink something with that much alcohol, get a good bottle of red wine instead. These high alcohol levels are the domain of wine, not beer.

22oz bottle, Limited Early 2008 Release Pours like motor oil, pleasing, sweet aroma that i rich and complex hops. Minimal head. A little spice, some alcohol kick and a slight hoppy finish. Excellent and that’s without cellering... I need to put one away for next year.