Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

2004 Vintage. Slight hazy golden amber w/ creamy finger of pale tan foam. Big, hoppy aroma of grapefruit & pine w/ sold malts (toffee, caramel) in the background. Full-bodied, extremely resiny feel. Big, hoppy & very bitter flavour but still enough malt to support. Very long finish.

Sweet nose with hints of brandy, underlying hoppyness. Reddish to amber colored brew, small off-white head. Very sweet flavor, fruity, alcohol, quite boozy, but its nice.

22oz bottle, 2008 release. Amber-orange with a creamy beige head. Big malty aroma with strawberries, peach, and lots of pineapple and alcohol. Sweet and fruity flavor, with hops that are struggling to get over the massive malts. Warming alcohol in the throat. Finishes with enough bitterness to make it drinkable for it’s size. Full and smooth body. Nice enough, and pretty balanced, but none of the flavors are good enough to warrant the amount of alcohol in it; you just can’t drink enough of it.

06 bottle. Pours a hazy brown with a thin tan head. Spicy hop aroma with a nice caramel malt, toffee balance. Three years seems to be the right time to start balancing this a bit. Taste is smooth malt with lots of spicy grapefruit earthy hops and touches of toffee. Really nice.

Hazy, golden red body with a creamy, white head. Fruity sweet aroma full of citrus, tart berries, pine sap, caramel, a touch of toffee and a little warming alcohol. The body is fairly moderate in thickness but has small, tight bubbles that stick to the glass. Good flavors that start sweet with the malt before becoming intensely bitter. Hoppy as hell that finishes with a bitterness that really makes the tongue curl. Alcohol makes its way into the finish to warm the ming, body and soul. Another strong Barley Wine from the folks in San Marcos.

2007: Pours a rich honey copper color w/ a medium sized, semi creamy froth. A full canopy w/ a thick and creamy ring of lace. Aroma is that of richly carameled leather. Full nectar w/ mellow residual effers creates a creamy texture. A decadent malt profile meets a persistant hop component that performs a beautiful balancing act. It takes alot to tame these two beasts but they work simultaneously in unison to create a work of art to be remembered. Flavors of viscous caramel, leather, and citrus rind are dominant. Then comes the apple nectar, vanilla, ripe black cherries, and a bit of toffee w/ a burnt match, sulpher saltiness. Theres a peachpit bittering on the finish that lingers forever breaking down the malty sweetness. It leaves my tongue parched. Awsome! ******2006 scores 3.7: Malted caramel nose. Pours a rich, thick nectar w/ minimal froth. Seemingly mellow from the nose, it comes right up from underneith you and bites you w/ raspy citrus blades. Big time malted caramel w/ a hop that steals the show leaving your palate useless. What ever may have been there is now gone. Not sweet at all. brb. moments later...wow, the flavor has changed drastically. Has become so mellow, where’d the citrus go ? Now I can grasp the candied fruit, even cinnamin, and leather. The followthrough is kinda week for these guys. I wanted more flavor. Overall; a good barley wine

bomber from the cheese man! 2006 edition. Murky brown pour with a very small off white head. Aroma is BIG on sweet malt, and some nice hops, and a touch of fruit. Wow, this smells so much of a big glass of caramel. Flavour is very smooth, some big matly notes, the hops come through in the finish, they leave that high alpha soapiness in my mouth, with a touch of pine. Finish is nice and bitter, but not too bitter, they hops are present enough, and do they job beautifully, and the malt is the star, it leavs a wonderful sweet/caramel maltiness, and adds a bit of a brandy like sweetness. Excellent barley wine, i enjoy its not a hop monster like many other american barley wines i’ve had.

2005 bomber. Pours an orange copperish color with a small white head. Aroma is very hoppy with hints of citrus,pineapple and syrup. Taste is very hoppy with a slight detection of pineapple orange and grapefruit. Was slightly dissapointed in this one, as it didnt match the hype. A great barleywine, but something is lacking. I would take Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Ale over this one. Perhaps aging will help this beer.