Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

Bottle, purchased at the brewery nearly one year ago in January 2009. Beautiful hazy dark orange-amber pour with a huge sponge-toffee head. Very malty aroma, caramel and breadcrusts, with fruity accents and low resin notes. Heavy, chewy malty palate, densely flavoured with treacle, breadcrusts, cooked peaches, and low piney accents in the very bitter finish. Warming finish, but no fusels or harshness. Beautiful.

Beer pours a reddish brown. Aroma is mostly malt, some piney hop, and some alcohol. Flavor is mostly some toffee malt flavor, followed by some hop, and then some alcohol. A very well balanced Barley Wine. This is a beer that I could not have more than one bomber of, as it sits pretty heavy. This is a very alcoholic brew. Good job Stone.

On Tap @ O’Brien’s. 2004 vintage. Clear orange color with chunks of creamy tan head floating along the viscous barrier between air and elixir. Sweet malt and dark fruit aroma punctuated by some hop nose. Full Barleywine malt and fruitiness with thick smooth peanut butter mouthfeel. The hops have really evened out. Delicious. The 2005 I sampled next, here at O’Brien’s, had no head. The aroma was very light. The flavors are similar to the ’04 but a bit brighter. There was malt, molasses, a hint of toffee and a full dark fruitiness flavor. Wow, good stuff.

Double dry-hopped version, draught @ Abraxas. Nice hazy orange-red. Great earthy hop aroma, and the hops come through nice and bright but body is too thick, sweet and syrupy for me.

This is not nearly as tasty as previous years and what is up with the font on the bottle, I am squinting here trying to read this. Crystal clear golden amber appearance, with a fastly fading head, leaving a residual bubbly foam. Sugary sweet, lightly hoppy aroma, lots of caramel corn and candi/brown sugars in the aroma and flavor. Nicely balanced, but this is still a really young tasting barleywine, that needs to age a year or so. Slightly astringent with a bitter aftertaste.

Winter 04 release. Orange/copper, tiny white head. Big grapefruit and plum aroma. Nicley bitter grapefruit flavor up front, with notes of smoke and pine. finally a resiny, thick finish. Big aftertaste. As good as it now, I wonder how some age will treat it.

In a barleywine tasting, I was surprised at how mild this seemed--beers both before and after it were much more vivid. Malty, not the hop boom I thought California would give us: caramel, molasses, thick, smooth, low carbonation profile. Interesting and rewarding on its own merits.

Draught: Slight hop aroma. Poured amber in color with a medium, creamy, off-white head. Very good lacing. Clear. Flavor was medium sweet and medium bitter. Tastes of hops, malts, caramel, and sugar. A little alcohol flavor as well. Medium body. Average carbonation. Dryish bitter finish. Well balanced. Overall, I prefer a hoppier barley wine.