Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

Bottle shared @ jbrus’s place. Aroma has mango, pineapple, red berries and citrus. Malty flavor with loads of earthy hops. Hints of pineapple and mango. A considerable dry out effect. The balance is lacking a bit.

Fresh bottle from the 2008 batch. Pours a cloudy copper with a medium white head. Aroma of malt, hops, and citrus. Tastes of hops with a nice bitterness and sweetness that balance each other out. This could only get better with some age on it. Another winner from Stone.

Pours a hazy copper with nice cream head. Aroma is light with slight hint of pineapple. Flavor is big on hops and citrus with cherry in the finish. Alcohol is pronounced as you would expect. Nice mouthfeel. I thought this was actually less aggressive than I would expect from Stone...not a bad thing...very well balanced. After about a year in the cellar this one has really mellowed. Aroma is honey and pineapple. Alcohol and hops have both been tamed as the sweeter maltier flavors have really come to the forefront. Still a very nice and well balanced barley wine. I believe the extra time in the cellar improved an already excellent ale.

Pours a dark copper in color, nice thin head with small bubbles. Very sweet, big malty aroma. Tastes of malt and citrus, bitter finish with hops. Nice carbonation, very good mouthfeel. Good barley wine, you need to be ready for this one.

On tap 2008 vintage. Pours a light golden with a great blond head. The aroma is light hops and citrus. The taste was heavy on the citrus and hops, but was also really hot. The bite was significant, but not a negative, given time it will cool perhaps. Overall, what I expect from Stone; quality.

Draft @ The Front Door: Pours a bright copper color with a large creamy sand colored head. Aroma is faint at first, but gathered strength as it warmed. Sweet, yet seemingly packed with lots of citrus hops. Taste reflects the quantity of hops and adds a litle caramel maltiness. As this was the ’08 version, it was still quite hot, but still drinkable and likeable.

Bottle@Home. Aroma of grapes, apples and malts. Orange/amber color, beige head, good lace. Flavor is like chewing hops with oranges, light malty and sweet. Too alcoholic. Overall a bit over the top.

Rust, filtered color, white head. Minimal lacing. A little syrupy, very sweet flavor. Lightly hoppy finish. Overall a decent barleywine at best. A little too sweet.