Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

Bottle as gift, 2008 vtg. Yup a big bottle barley wine. Quite sweet. and malty. surprising low hopped for a US Barley wine. Good beer, but kinda hoped for more.

22oz bottle: pours a deep amber color with a small white head. aroma is malty and sweet. flavor is slighty sweet with decent amout of malt and a slight amout of hop bite in there also. well made beer but not a huge stand out.

Bomber. Pours deep abmer w off white head. Smells of malts and hops. Taste is sweet malts, carmel and hops. My first BW.

22 oz. bottle - pours dark amber with slight haze and a little head just around the edges; malty aromas w/ sweet hops and some stale fruit; flavors come off stale as well with some spice and fruit mixed with the big hops; texture is thin with some alcohol burn; IMO, not a very drinkable BW at this point; not exactly harsh or anything like that, just not my type of BW as it was missing the sugary flavors that i love; i love stone, so was sort of disappointed with this one

Pours a dark brown, much like an IPA, small bubbles, cloudy, nice hop flavor, warming aftertaste, tastes like an IPA but not as strong, the alcohol is well hidden.

bomber (’07 vintage)... a cloudy amber brown, caramelish pour with a sustaining fluffy tan head....aroma of biscuity caramel malt that took precedence over the hops that have faded from the year that has passed....flavors had a nice balance of sweet malts (dark fruit and caramel) and some bitterness coming from the hops.....not a bad barleywine. i’d like to try a fresh bottle to compare.

Excellent - it is like an explosion in your mouth. Just as hoppy as Ruination - in fact it tastes like the same hop profile. Doesn’t taste that malty - but that’s a good thing as the piney flavor of Stone’s hoppin’ style dominates. Has a rich, almost creamy flavor that tastes better as the beer warms. Pours amber with a nice white head that recedes. Excellent stuff!

Wow. Wow. Wow. The best looking pour ever. solid amber with a huge powerful head that lasts. Smells of sweet malt and alcohol. Tastes of much the same but with a big hop. Long lingering finish that is both bitter and sweet. Love it.