Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

My rating no. 2000 is for a great beer from a great brewery poured to me by a great person, Greg Koch of Stone, at a Stone tasting session last sunday at Nørrebro Bryghus (home of North Bridge Extreme!).

2005 version (11,26%).
A hazy orange golden beer with a fine tan head. Very full and somewhat sticky aroma of malt and caramel with bitter hoppy notes. Powerful and well balanced with a bit of alcohol present. Dominating caramel flavor with a lot of malt and hop. Bittersweet with notes of nut and spices. Extreme and very nice! Now on to the next 1000.....

’04 first tap at Blind Tiger. Poured a deep orange with little head. Aroma is assertive though kind of overwhelmingly soy sauce and steamy rice... not necessarily bad but it dominated and I couldn’t find much else. Pretty creamy in the mouth, with some decent hopping and caramel malts.

Hazy mohogany color with a thin fully diminishing white head. Caramel and dark malt aroma. Very sweet caramel flavor with some molassas undertones

Flowery and perfumy aroma. The flavor is a bit earthy, candyish malt aspect and maybe a touch of peppermint flavor. The finish is dry and has a long alcohol warmth. Nicely balanced.

Bottle shared with Hogtown Harry, Jerc, GregClow, and Blankboy, Harry’s bottle. I’ve been looking forward to trying this one, even if it is a young 2006 version! Deep orange, small white head. Lots of alcohol in sweet aroma. Full mouthfeel - nice first impression. Very easy to drink - surprisingly. Wonderfully balanced alcohol and malt. Nice hops in middle and end. Lots of sweet bread notes. I really enjoyed drinking it, but as a barleywine, it was simple and straightforward - likely to age quite nicely. Thanks for sharing Harry!

[1986-20090201] 1pt6floz bottle. Grainy mild fruity plum rum alcohol aroma. Dark brown amber body with a quick foamy off-white head. Dry wood thick plum fruit flavour with toasted Cheerios and a sweet long aftertaste. Full body. Tasty, but didn’t knock my socks off. (8/3/7/3/15) 3.6
(Vintage 2007; c/o DuctTape, w/ others)

[2297B-20090626] 1pt6floz bottle. Orange hops aroma has lots of heavy yeast fruit. Hazy, dark orange amber body with a long-lasting foamy light yellow head and nice lacing. Yeasty orange hops flavour is just packed full of fresh hops. Full body. Tasty, boozy. (8/5/9/4/17) 4.3
(From Premier Gourmet, Buffalo, NY; Vintage 2008; w/ garthicus, jerc)

Bottle: Excellent aroma of caramel, banana bread, cookie dough, alcohol, and slight hops. Pours a transparent reddish-orange with a white head that diminishes quickly. Pretty much tastes like it smells with more hops in the finish. Real nice caramel and banana bread flavors up front. Alcohol is covered up very well. Moderate hop finish that balances very well with the initial maltiness. This is a very good barley wine. If letting it sit depresses the hop finish, then drink it now because it has a very nice balance to it.

Appearance: Pours a dark, obscured, rich amber body with a thin, beige head. Smell: A far lighter aroma when compared with earlier vintages (’02, ’03). Faint, far off caramel malts and fruit and well, that’s about it. The 2005 rebounds in fruitiness, smelling of strawberry-scented cotton candy. Taste: Vague caramel maltiness with a medium sweetness. Far less fruitiness present than the 2002 and 2003. The hops aren’t nearly as citrusy, but they do have a ramped up wooden quality to them. Medium-plus bitterness throughout. Finishes bittersweet with a touch of heat at the very end. The 2005 delivers the forgotten fruits of the 2004 and has a fuller residual sweetness within. Also, as we progress through the vertical, things are getting hotter and more bitter. The 2006 is rather similar to the 2005, but without that wild strawberry character. Sadly, the 2007 dials down the various components again. Plus, being younger it’s all heat and hops -- might be where the 2004 was at one point. Mouthfeel: Full-bodied. Medium-low carbonation. Drinkability: Enjoyed as part of a vertical spanning the vintages between 2002 and 2007. The 2004 really was the letdown of the group, displaying a weak aroma, a far less punchy malt character, even a dead hop profile. It certainly was no 2003! The 2005 has some interesting complexities, but the 2006 and 2007 become a bit more vanilla.