Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

v. limited early 2008 bright orange tint, tall white head clings thin. candied sweet aroma and a spicy, alcoholic taste. alcohol level somewhat burns on the palate. Would advise at least a year wait.

(22 oz. bottle (2007) via trade with <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=3 target=blank>shigadeyo, thanks Craig!, cellared for 11 mos. after trade) Pours hazy dark amber with perhaps a slight rusty-red tint. Thin off-white head. Aroma of toffee, vanilla and pine. Mouthfeel smooth, almost soft, with some stickiness. Light, fine, droopy lacing, somewhat sloppy. Syrupy film coats inside of snifter. Flavor was fairly big but not overly complex. Toffee and caramel overlain by pine and grapefruit rind. Medium strong bitter bite carries from fore through finish. Fairly hot but not overwhelming. As beer warmed the flavor seemed to kind of flatten out to just caramel candy sweetness, pine and alcohol rather than developing any more complexity. Still a good barleywine if slightly simple and a little harsh.

Beautiful caramel color with caramel sweet aroma. The sip begins with a caramel sweetness and ends with a pine hop bite. Really sweet, really hoppy. A lot of everything…taste bud overload in a delicious way. A good way to end any session, as it will kill your tastebuds for the rest of the day.

2004 vintage. Poured a somewhat hazy orangeish amber with a fizzy/frothy off-white head. Rich aroma of butter toffee, sugar biscuits, molasses, and orange peel. Flavor is rich and strong with notes of toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, and citrus. The hoppy bitterness makes its presence felt in the end along with the warming alcohol. Nice flavors, and would be even better if the hops and alcohol were toned down a bit. Yet I know asking Stone to tone down hops and alcohol in a beer like this is like asking a great white to share its dinner. However, over my short time of beerdom I have come to appreciate the citrus character of American hoppy barley wines, and this is certainly an excellent example of the style. Very nice.

Pours a hazy copper with a big foamy off whit head. Nice aroma of fruit, malt, hops and caramel. Sweet flavor, with malt, fruit and caramel dominating, and the hops really coming out in the finish. Very nice.

I look at the picture and wonder how did they get that head on this beer? For me and the bottle I had ; no way it is not happening, no head. Aroma and taste are mostly malts, caramel with not much hops, a sweet taste. Not bad but the alcohol is dominate in taste, for me.

amber color and small head. caramel aroma full bodied. very hoppy and malty.

2009 bottle thanks to WeeHeavySD. poured a nice gold with a off-white head that stays and laces the glass. aroma of pine, citrus, caramel, and some slight dark fruits. flavor was much the same with the addition of grass and alcohol. the body was the first thing i noticed on this. body was full and slick with what seemed to be high carbonation. pretty good as is now, but i should of listened to some advice and cellar the beer longer.