Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

Pours a brownish orange color with a small off-white head. Aroma is sweet, very hoppy and fruity. Flavor is peach, light alcohol and slight butterscotch. Medium to full body, smooth texture. Nice dry finish.

(22 oz. bottle (2007) via trade with <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=3 target=blank>shigadeyo, thanks Craig!, cellared for 11 mos. after trade) Pours hazy dark amber with perhaps a slight rusty-red tint. Thin off-white head. Aroma of toffee, vanilla and pine. Mouthfeel smooth, almost soft, with some stickiness. Light, fine, droopy lacing, somewhat sloppy. Syrupy film coats inside of snifter. Flavor was fairly big but not overly complex. Toffee and caramel overlain by pine and grapefruit rind. Medium strong bitter bite carries from fore through finish. Fairly hot but not overwhelming. As beer warmed the flavor seemed to kind of flatten out to just caramel candy sweetness, pine and alcohol rather than developing any more complexity. Still a good barleywine if slightly simple and a little harsh.

22 oz bomber from BottleTrek.com. Pours dark copper, with a thin head, big airy carbonation. Aroma and flavor is somewhat complex. Fruity, raisins, with an oak bourbon finish. The malts quckly balance out the hoppiness. You can feel the alcohol burn, however, it is subtle for being over 11%. Nice sipping beer.

Pours a cloudy amber with a thick tan head and solid lacing. Nose is sweet and carries citrus, malt and bread. Taste is of spices (cardamom and paprika), citrus and a large hit of alcohol at the end, which is somewhat jarring. Mouthfeel is very nice - silky. Aftertaste has got a good hoppy bitterness, but the alcohol burns through.

Pours in orange/amber with a creamy off white head which leaves nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is moderately sweet, toffee, vinuous fruits (plum/raisin) with some citrus from the hops. Moderate alcohol considering 11% ABV. Flavor is complex with and mirrors aroma. Hops are prominent but do not overwhelm. Very smooth finish. Medium light mouthfeel. An excellent Barley Wine.

re-rate: Had rated this higher. I like the beer, but I think it is too heavy with the hops and light on the malty candy flavors for the style. I prefer a thicker, more contemplative barley wine. This is a style I like a lot. I drink mostly wine, but this is why I like beer. The aroma is "noble." I don’t know what that means, but it’s the best way I can say to describe it. It’s a profound beer. The heavy maltiness is matched by hoppiness. There are no gimmicks. It’s not a game of how much hops can you put in--the more the better. This beer is perfectly balanced. It’s a bit more heavy than complex, but that’s a criticism of the style, not the beer.

Sweet juice-like aromas of pear and banana dominate. Lavender and cinnamon notes. Produces a laquer-like burn on the nose. Pastry dough malt aroma, hint of hops. Flavor of carmel apple up front, some sour hops in mid, toasted malts. Finishes slighlty bitter, but fruity, like sour apples. Groggy alchohol flavors, like cherry coke + whisky. Acidic palate,major alchohol burn. Vibrant hops-induced dryness that I didn’t expect in a B-wine.

Poured a murky brown caramel color with a white head. Aroma of caramel, hops, and alcohol. Flavor is very malty, not much hops to be seen which is surprising from Stone but still very good.