Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

Bottle, 2007. Lots of sticky grapey malt in the aroma with equally strong hops (peach, grapefruit) and some alcohol. Notes of orange and butterscotch. Clear pale orange-amber both with a tanned creamy head. Sugary alcohol taste with very strong, pronounced bitterness. Principal flavors of butterscotch, caramel, and peach dominated by hop resin and some pine. Viscous, fat malt body. Warming and boozy. The malt factor is really amped up here to try to make the hops bearable, and thankfully, a successful balance is struck. Dry resinous aftertaste. Just loaded with flavor, takes a long while to dissect. Seems a little raw.

bottle, golden orange pour with faint white ring, nose of strong refined sugar and flavor of caramel, malt and ripe dark fruits, finish is long lasting

Stone done remodeled my precious! Rather than tossing Precious into the hot liquid magma, they reforged it in the name of change. Well, I am forced to reckon that change isn't always for the better. Pours orange-copper and leaves plenty of lacing on my St. Bernardus glass. Alcohol and lots of citrus in the nose. Citrusy body with a touch of caramel and a rather strong alcohol presence enhanced by bittering hops. The candied fruit (good wording, Drew) is still present, but overall this is thinner-bodied than the earlier "make." Not a big winner, but not a loser either.

[bottle - 22 oz - 2005 vintage] Dark red/copper pour with a creamy looking tan head. Very potent aroma of malt with some hops and floral notes as well. Flavor is a very well blended mix of malt, hops, barley and some other sweetness with a nice alcohol kick at the end and a creamy finish. 11.26% tastes pretty good. I would love to try some of the older versions.

Bottled (and no Theis - I brought it). Amber coloured with a rather small head. Malty with notes of fruits, caramel, spices and bread. Somewhat soapy and floweral. Nice hoppy finish.

bottle. 2004 vintage. orange-copper body with a small white bready head. aroma is funky yeast and sweet malt. flavour is sweet and sugary, yeasty, and boozy. Huge malt component, perhaps lacking in hop presence. Flavourful.

Wow. Very bitter beer. Really good though. Thanks Tchrome. Clear orange in color with a tan head. Malty hoppy flavor. Smooth brew. Yum.

Luminous peach with tiny specks of yeast. Thick, sticky, and creamy white head. Notes of honey and powdery pale malts covered with toffee in the aroma. Miniscule hop presence with vaporous alcohol and firm phenolic esters. Unmistakably two row malt in the aroma, which far outweighs the Munich. Soft body. Spongelike carbonation. Abundance of bright and juicy hops quickly become buried within the fervid alcohol. Scattered hints of dates and leafy hops. Strong rubbing alcohol presence overwhelms the toasted cracker notes, which try to beef up the body. Candied malts soften the roast astringency. Soft hop presence creeps into the finish with a lasting solvent flavor and some overripe peach subtleties. Ugh. This badly needs something else (like more dryness and, dare I say, more hop emphasis), besides a simplistic malt character and understated hop presence, to deter the sugary sweetness and hot alcohol. Even now, after having three bottles of this, I still find it unimaginative and uninteresting.