Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

’07 vintage, pours clear ruddy brown with a foamy tan head that lingers. Nose is sweet and malty, with dried fruit and caramel accents, along with noticeable sugars. Flavor is a bit subtle, with caramel malt and sugars, along with dried fruit. Finish is a hoppy bitterness and the mouthfeel is a bit viscous. Nice brew.

Big heavy malt beast. Sickly sweet with a sharp pronounced hop presence. Thick and rich pronounced sugarcane and fig/plum sweetness - nothing to note that has not already been said. I did find there to be too much alcohol and sappy-thick sweetness. Could get you messed up in a hurry. Seems indistinguishable from many others of this style.

Tried this on tap and from a bottle. There is a big, pillowy head on this clear amber brew. Light lacing. The aroma is nice - floral, plus a hint of citrus and yeast. I could just sit and sniff this for a while. Cool notes on the bottle, with Greg reporting from the Great American Beer Festival. It starts out rich and sweet, a honey malt flavor, followed by pithlike hops kicking in for a dry, grassy finish. Some alcohol warmth too (11.26%!), and a tingly aftertaste. The palate is impressed, but more so than the taste buds. The flavor has some rough edges - but this is still very good.

A very interesting brew. Didnt even know they made it. Pours light brown with a short head. Mouthfeel is super smooth with a thick barley base. Flavor is a little weaker than i would have liked but still very nice.

I love the guys at Stone, but this one goes the same way most Barleywines go for me... they look and smell better than they taste. Great copper color and malty notes with just a touch of hops. But this one was overdone - especially on the hop smack. Can you say balance in a beer? Greg missed it on this one. There are many other better styles, especially from Stone.

beautiful copper color, small off white head. wonderful malt hop flavor, good palate. only downside is the slight metallic hop aftertaste.

Poured from tap a hazy orange with a white on top, tan on bottom foam head that lasts quite a while. Low carbonation however. The aroma comes off as apricot with a little bready note to it. The flavor is of apricot with a malty bread sweetness and a short bitter aftertaste. Warms to a more yeastier bread flavor with a little grass and astringency. Overall a nice mellow BW that is easy to drink.

Aroma is a floral hop scent with some sweet malt back tones. Color is a hazy orange with light carbonation and a tight head. Taste is rich and hoppy. Starting with a full/medium body it goes down smooth with a gentle fizzy feel. Finish is sweet with a touch of malt and a bold hop flavor that builds to a citric taste. After taste rolls out of the citrus with a nice bitterness that fads and leaves you with a warm alcohol feel. This is a very good brew, its just a bit hoppier then I feel a Barley Wine should be, I think its more like a double or imperial IPA. This is not the first time I have had a hoppy Barley Wine and I really hope more breweries go back to brewing rich, sweet, malty ones and save the hops for good Pale Ales.