Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

22 oz bottle shared by Gregis, early 2007 Vintage. Pour is golden orange with a smallish off white head. Nice lacing left on the glass. Aroma of soft perfumey toasted caramel with decent orange citrus bitterness. Taste is malty caramel, apple fruit sweetness with pine hop and honey orange bitterness. Nice mineral grainy earthiness to the finish. There is a hint of the Stone yeast, more of the earthy mineral flavor. Palate is medium, mouth coating, alcohol present in the long finish. Nice one, thanks for sharing this one with me Greg.

2007 bottle - golden-amber color with a small off-white head. Aroma is strong and sweet with dark fruits, citrusy hops, and burnt sugar. Flavor is big and syrupy - lots of sweet malts, fruit, sticky citra-pine hops and alcohol. Stings the tongue nicely, but its way too hot at this stage in the game. Still a Nice BW - Stone delivers quality big brews as always.

22 oz bottle marked early 2006. Poured reddish copper wtih a medium but long lasting head A powerful fruity aroma of vanilla, maple, an maybe grapes greets you. Tons of flavor. Does not taste like it is 11.26 % alcohol. Which is a danger, because you could drink a lot of this...it is that good. If fact this is so wonderful I am going go back to my local COOP where I purchased this and lay in a supply. Like a fine wine you discover, you want to have this on hand to impress friends on just how good a brewed drink can get. Update 1/31/07. : I bought a bunch back in March and put them in my wine cellar. No one has ever told me how to store beer, so I kept the bottles upright amd at 55 degrees just as it says on the bottle... I decided to do a comparison of the aged bottles and a brand new bottle dated Early 2007 puchased today. I could barelly tell them apart though the aged one was slightly smoother. As I had already given this a five for palate it did not change the overall score. . Aging might be a good idea but it appeared nine months did not make that much difference. I have a few more bottles left, and will check back in another nine months and see if I can tell if 18 monthis improves it any more.

Pours hazy amber with no head. Yeasty bread and malt aroma. Initial malt taste fades to bitter hops quickly. Very gritty mouthfeel. Not very well balanced. Sittng on one for next year.

On draft at Abraxas. Probably the early 09 vintage. Clearish red orange pour with no real head. Piney hop resin flavor is well balanced. Some citrus notes. I guess this thing must need a bit more time to really bring out the ’barleywine’ flavors i’ve come to expect.

2006 bottle courtesy of HogtownHarry. This BW is a deep and hazy caramel colour, topped with a frothy beige cap. The nose is huge on this one. Massive caramel and piney hops meet citric notes, some apricot, bread crust too. Tastes of big complex malts, caramel and butterscotch, piney, citric hops, some apricot. Quite bitter and malty on the finish, massive lingering hoppiness. A slight metallic twang at the end. Good stuff. Thanks Harry!

(Bottle) Pours clear amber. Dark fruits, strawberrys, citrus, alcohol, toffee, caramell, vanilla, Creamy and extremely complex aroma. Grean leaves. Nuts, allmond. Bitter, hoppy and oily mouthfeel. Butterscotch, caramell malt, sweet flavour with piney/citrusy hops. Fiery and peppery. Big afterbitterness.

What a lovely beer this is. If you can find yourself lucky enough to buy a bottle of this nectar then don’t pass it up. Hops in the nose along with some vanilla and malty sweetness. Flavor is what really sparks the interest in this beer as it’s fairly complex with hops, some tart fruit like cherries or a young orange, some toffee and dark fruits. This should be enjoyed all night long with someone you will enjoy it as much as you do. Outstanding.