Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

Amber color with a thin head. Dominating hops aroma with sugar. Strong flavors of hops, maybe some malt too. Bitter finish. The hops are too strong for this barley wine to be very good, it’s too unbalanced. The beer is probably too young.

Bottled. Aroma of apple and raisin. Hazy, orange coloured with an off-white, thin head. Taste is sweet, grainy with raisin malts, sugar, some caramel and a lot of hops. Straight forward and okay.

Bomber 2006. Aroma is a boatload of fine malt, some courageous hops backing this up, clear garnet, pours a small tan head, a little lace. Flavour is a hefty malt start, hops bitterness is present, treacle, caramel, toffee, butterscotch, with some woody, nuttiness as well. Full bodied, complex, bitter, warming, the alcohol is interwoven with all the other tastes and textures to create one of the best tasting beers I’ve had the pleasure of drinking in a very long while. Marvellous! Thank You so much HogTownHarry!!

Not quite as good as last year’s version but I liked it well enough. Pours golden orange with a thick off-white head. Nice lacing through the entire glass. The aroma is big on malt, along with some hops, butter and alcohol. Rich-bodied and smooth despite the bitter hops and borderline harsh alcohol. There are also malt and grapefuit flavors in the mix. Despite being a little rough this is a good Barley Wine.

Marked as "Limited early 2008 release". Long description on the back of the bottle. Pours like syrup. Aroma is hoppy and barely wine fruity with some alcohol. Off-white head that goes away after a little bit. Really good lacing. Murky pink-orange body. Exceptionally hoppy and strong barely wine (11.26%). Probably a bit too hoppy (certainly for the style, and probably too hoppy for me). Syrupy mouthfeel with light, pleasant carbonation. Very nice alcohol presence.

Bottle. Slightly hazy, amber colour, off-white head. Dusty cellar nose, some fruit. Raisins, dry dusty flavours, some nuts, well-hopped. Slick and full-bodied. Night cap beer deluxe.

Bouteille de 22 oz partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez Glouglouburp. Arôme: Odeur d’houblons avec une pointe de caramel foncé. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée voilée. Présence d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel et d’houblons avec une pointe de raisins. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement fruité. (Rating #2499)

2004: Rusty orange in color. Thick and syrupy, with a "gritty" richness. Bread dough rawness and yeasty sweetness in the malts. Not a lot of wafty hop aromas; mostly just a deep-rooted hop bitterness. Some tingly alcohol notes, but mostly subdued. Definitely good now, but may complexify (just invented that word) much more in a year or two. "Limited Winter 2005 Release": Deep amber; decent head; very sticky lace. Creamy and smooth, but lightish; still nice texture. Caramel and fruity alcohol. Delicate flowers; really nice alcohol aromas. Great balance of sweetness/bitterness/alcohol. Tasty shizzle. "Limited Early 2006 Release": Very nice. Perhaps a little better than I remember it. Very rich and toasty malts have a really nice flavor of sweetness (rock candy, toffee, caramelized brown sugar). Earthy-piney hops and warming alcohol.