Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

Pours that nice copper color with an orange hue.Aroma is sweet as is the flavor.Definately a good barley wine when you can taste the dark fruits of raisin, figs , etc.Nice and clean the whole ride with the warming of the belly.

Pours an amber color with a slight white head. Slight fruity aroma with a good bit of alcohol. The flavor manages to have some hop bitterness, some fruity notes, and a lot of alcohol. This is a good beer and it packs a mean punch but not exactly what I was looking for.

Creamy off-white head. Reddish amber body. Malty BW aroma, slightly aged caramel feel with light hop background. Flavor is great and blended hops and sweet fruity malt. Pretty thick flavor, nice mouthfeel. Looks fizzy, but doesn’t taste it. Good BW overall, but still a little average in some ways. I like the vanilla fruit aspect though.

’07 vintage, pours clear ruddy brown with a foamy tan head that lingers. Nose is sweet and malty, with dried fruit and caramel accents, along with noticeable sugars. Flavor is a bit subtle, with caramel malt and sugars, along with dried fruit. Finish is a hoppy bitterness and the mouthfeel is a bit viscous. Nice brew.

deep cloudy golden color, minimal but mostly lasting head. aroma is very heavy on buttery toffee and earthy hops, and for some reason a little bit of canteloupe. flavor is lightly sweet, tongue numbing alcohol, hops not really all that assertive in the flavor. finish is moderately sweet. I was hoping this would be better.

22 oz. bottle - pours dark amber with slight haze and a little head just around the edges; malty aromas w/ sweet hops and some stale fruit; flavors come off stale as well with some spice and fruit mixed with the big hops; texture is thin with some alcohol burn; IMO, not a very drinkable BW at this point; not exactly harsh or anything like that, just not my type of BW as it was missing the sugary flavors that i love; i love stone, so was sort of disappointed with this one

Aroma is a floral hop scent with some sweet malt back tones. Color is a hazy orange with light carbonation and a tight head. Taste is rich and hoppy. Starting with a full/medium body it goes down smooth with a gentle fizzy feel. Finish is sweet with a touch of malt and a bold hop flavor that builds to a citric taste. After taste rolls out of the citrus with a nice bitterness that fads and leaves you with a warm alcohol feel. This is a very good brew, its just a bit hoppier then I feel a Barley Wine should be, I think its more like a double or imperial IPA. This is not the first time I have had a hoppy Barley Wine and I really hope more breweries go back to brewing rich, sweet, malty ones and save the hops for good Pale Ales.

Bottle thanks to Bman1113VR. Orangey colored pour with a soapy green tinted head. Nose is boozey, raisins, dry malt, and fruity citrus hops. Nice nose. Medium to thick mouthfeel. Long pronounced finish that is fairly bitter. Taste is sweet dried fruits, dark candi sugar, and fruity citrus. Nice beer.