Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

Vintage 2004 22 oz. bottle pours an amber color with a white head that quickly fades to a sheen. Has a strong alcohol smell with breads, caramels, and a whiff of floral hops. The smell of this brew alone is intoxicating. Full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel. Strong, bittersweet taste of sweet plums and caramels folowed by a bitter hop and warming, raw alcohol finish. A great west coast Barleywine that should only get better with time.Sept 2004 VINTAGE 2007 tasted May ’07: Copper with a lasting head. Spicy malty alcohol aroma. Huge malt driven taste with spicys hops and a bittersweet alcohol tang to finish. tastes about the same to me as the fresh ’04 did.

2004. On tap. Pours an orange/brown with dense head. Taste starts sweet then quickly goes woody and hoppy. Mellow, bitter finish. Sticky. I’d like to try it again in a few years.

Deep rich honey with a bit of orange color. Not much of a head, white in color. The flavor has strong notes of peach, and the alcohol tinges the mouth, but at the same time the bodyis smooth, and the end dry. This reminds me of the Newport Storms yearly bottles excpet less fruity. Not bad for the style, drinkable for a strong beer.

Start by saying I like the style...2007... Clear persimmon orange hue wtih diminishing light tan head, no lacing, smells hoppy + sweel + strong alcohol and tangerine, citrus tanerine tang flavor but a little more dry,classic stone almost over hoppy, nice and bold, lots of barly, is this wine? Good for stone always gets a grade between B to A!!! Plus its great, last 4 ratings are from PA.

2006 bottle. orange/amber color with off white head. Malty/milky /hoppy aroma. light sweet dark fruit also.The taste was the same with syrupy smooth mouthful. Caramel/hop finish.

I hate this style but this was a very good representation. Aroma of strong malt, Vick’s Vapo-Rub and alcohol. Pour was a murky light brown with no head. Taste was very thick and hot. Mostly strong caramel malt with a little hops aftertaste. Good as far as this style goes but way too big and way too much.

2007 bottle - golden-amber color with a small off-white head. Aroma is strong and sweet with dark fruits, citrusy hops, and burnt sugar. Flavor is big and syrupy - lots of sweet malts, fruit, sticky citra-pine hops and alcohol. Stings the tongue nicely, but its way too hot at this stage in the game. Still a Nice BW - Stone delivers quality big brews as always.

Good barley wine, highly hopped which adds to the character. However I felt the alchohol was not as well hidden as say, the bigfoot barley wine.