Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

5/31/07, 22oz, 2006 vintage, cellar aged 16months. pours hazy dull light amber with white head. nose has startings of oxidation - tar, tobacco, slight vegetable, and other notes of pear, plum, cookie, and brown sugar. flavor has aged notes of tobacco, cotton candy, dried dark fruits and orange, wow this beast has mellowed a lot, not nearly as hot, syrupy, and aggressive as fresh, hops have faded on the nose but still packs in some bitterness. abv is very well hidden at this point. mouthfeel is full and palate is long. aging nicely! 4.0

11/28/07, 22oz bottle 2006 vintage (released 2/06), aged for 22 months. pours into a Stone Old Guardian snifter a hazy light amber with creamy off white head. nose has hints of tobacco, apricot, port wine, cotton candy, and caramel. flavor have a nice touch of aged malts tobacco, tar, and caramelized. some red fruits and plums too. it could use some more drying out. it is not hot at all and the alcohol hardly warms. the hops are still noticed in the flavor contributing some bitterness and juicy grapefruit notes. I’m not sure this beer will actually get better, just more oxidized if that is what is preferred. I’m thinking it peaks around 2-3 years. it has subtle oxidized notes now and rest of the beer is softer more refined from aging. this was once one hot undrinkable puppy when it was fresh. I’ll crack another one in 3 months..4.0

2/10/08, 2008 vintage, 22oz bottle. released just weeks ago so this is my fresh sample rating. pours dense glowing golden-dark red with creamy white head. aroma is mainly a hoppy one, citrus, peach hop notes with cotton candy and alcohol coming through. flavor pretty much the same, fresh this is a hoppy barleywine but the hop notes aren’t complex or interesting. the malt hasn’t found its own way as its only sweet with cotton candy and some sweet alcohol. the finish is unclean as the alcohol seems gritty. a creamy mouth feel. this puppy really needs a few years age on it because its not even a fun hoppy american barleywine fresh, its hoppy yes but dull. with 2 years the malt gets much more interesting. 7/4/7/4/14=3.6.

3/16/08, 2006 vintage bottle, cellar aged 26 months. cotton candy with subtle tobacco notes. pretty much this in the flavor too, could use some more time to dry out a bit as this is a tad too sugary. still has some juicy fruity hop notes but bitterness is pretty much gone. alcohol is well hidden. i’ll try it again in a few months. 3.8.

On draft: Clear burnt orange color with on off white tan head, this year's OG has a definite hop presence in the nose and flavor with the malt taking over. I found this to be extremely drinkable. The problem I'm having is that this is far more like a Strong Ale than a barleywine. It lacks the overall maltiness of a barleywine, imo. I thought it tasted great, but was more in the genre of AB & DB that stone offers

Rerate; original ratings below. Bottle was of the 2006 vintage. Murky, lightish, orange brown color with a small off white head. Aroma of chewy caramel with some fruit, alcohol and spice?. Surprised and how much alcohol was in the taste. Flavor was dominated by caramel malt, with some toffee and sweet. Hops have mellowed a bit. Didn’t find the palate creamy like last time. Liked it about as much time, although it does lack the complexity of some of the "elite" versions of the style. Rating remained a 3.9. (Poured a brown auburn. Big malt aroma; bready; caramel; raisin. Taste was malty; pit fruit/raisin; Sweet. Used to hate this style when I first started drinking. But really enjoyed this one. Creamy mouth feel. Another good one from Stone. On a second tasting had more burning of the throat than i remembered (2007).)

Sampled from bottle at the River’s Bend Barleywine/Old Ale Tasting on 1/18/2007...

2006 Vintage (bottle): Hazy amber color. Ivory crown. Weak caramel and citrus hop aroma with some alcohol. Citrus and resin hop flavor and bitterness atop a toasted caramel malt base. Lingering bitterness throughout the finish and then some! Alcohol is mostly undetectable for the high content. Always a great beer!

I love the Engligh-style Barley Wines, but I also really enjoy a nice American-style Barley Wine like Stone Old Guardian from time to time. The English ones tend to be super sweet, malty, and heavy whereas the American ones are a bit lighter and much more hoppy. Both types are great, but if I had to pick between the two then I’d lean toward the English ones. Either way, Stone Old Guardian definitely holds its own and is to be respected. It was one of my other favorites of the evening...

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Sampled on draught at "The Most Arrogant Bar (Pub) in America 2006-2007" event at Boston’s Bistro & Pub (Dayton, Ohio) on 2/22/2007...

2006 Vintage (draught): Clear copper color with a creamy off-white head. Floral hope flavors along with some pine and grass. Mild alcohol. Dry finish. Not very malty or sweet. Maybe a bit ozidized?

2007 Vintage (draught): Amber color (pretty clear) with a frothy white head. Sweet, fruity, and malty in both aroma and flavor. Not overly hoppy or bitter. The alcohol is very well hidden. Much better than the 2006 Old Guardian (draught).

Golden, reddish. Moderate head. Raisins and honey notes. Very sweet malty finish. Alcohol is totally absent. Quite special, but not paticulary well balanced.

Bottle of the 2009 vintage on 02/20/2009. A cloudy amber color with a foamy off-white head. Peach, apple and grapefruit aroma with a fresh hop finish. Unlike many barley wines the aroma does not give into the high abv. Smooth caramel, dry, and bitter, with a nice long finish with a touch of sweetness. This one is young but very enjoyable.

0.65 l bottle at Stockholm Beer Festival 2008. Hazy orange amber color. Thick sweet malt and tropical fruit hop aroma with orange, berries and grassy hops. Bittersweet berryish flavor with loads of orangey and mangoish hops as well as huge toffeish malt backbone. Very rich, full and warming, the flavors are even too concentrated. Needs some age I guess.

Gorgeous hazy peachy appearance, with a slimmish layer of foam on top. Exhilirating nose...yeasty and citric at first, toasty and potent, from the top of it...wide open citric fruit character, not what I’d expected...serious smell, leaking in the alcoholic content, slowly, tingling with further fruitiness, begging me to finally taste... mmmm...this is a new kind of yumminess, one I don’t remember from other versions...citric sweetness, a delicious oxymoron, is chief among the flavor contributions..peach and apricot, mix with honey and spice, while the booze facts stands tall above it all, as well. Very happy, humming, brilliant brew, this is...lands gladly on the palate, too, though it makes no considerable impact. Sits there comfortably, imparting juicy, jubilant flavor ...very interesting, and not what I expected, less like a typical American barleywine, and more like some English old ales, or even like certain Belgian brews, certainly in an exclusive class...this is a tangy thing, a powerfully flavored ale, confident and kind,it delivers it’s goodness, assured in it’s mission, it drops this delicacy and moves on, like all good soldiers should...