Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

A vertical tasting from 2007, 2006, and 2005. Thanks to santoslhalper for the latter two. They get smoother and better with some aging. 2007 had some fusel notes, with caramel, oak, and some vanilla. Nice hoppy fruitness with alcohol vapors. Mild aroma overall but musky and sweet. The older ones were smoother and deeper in character. Very nice. Amber golden clear with a thin off-white lacing head. Heavy bodies, with medium carbonation. Gets smoother but no thinner as it ages. Color doesn’t really change too much either. Starts sweet with big malt presence - this doesn’t really change throughout the years. What does change is the amount of alcoholic burn and fusel notes that are heavy in a fresh batch but dissipate over time. Vanilla, oak, caramel are all there, and the sticky sweetness gets a little lighter. Medium bitter finish with some cloying after, but this too, diminishes with age. I’d say the 2005 was the best of the three, and I’m definitely going to wait a few years before having another 2007.

Bright orange appearance, slightly cloudy with a thick, frothy white head. Aroma is decadent, smells like a fresh produce stand, particularly as you wander around to the citrus section, also has hints of maple syrup and sherry. Flavor has similar qualities with raisins and dates thrown in there for good measure with chocolate making a late appearance to top things off. Mouthfeel is nice and thick but not syrupy and cloying like some Barley Wines lean to from tme to time. Excellent Barley Wine. The label is lacking though compared to others tomes by Greg - hard to read all the way through this one - perhaps the 10.06% ABV had something to do with it!

Absolutely beautiful glowing deep orange color with a perfect creamy off-white head. The aroma was not what I expected. I didn't get a lot of hops here. Instead, I got some great brown sugar, molasses, grape candy, and alcohol tones. The flavor was very sweet...brown sugar, grapefruit, and alcohol. Thick, yet crisp feel...creamy! Very nice.

Name: Old Guardian
Date: April 19, 2004
Mode: Bottle
Source: Whole Foods Market, DC
Vintage: 2004
Appearance: clear dark amber, fine white head
Aroma: nice floral and citrus aroma
Body: incredable soft and creamy body
Flavor: big hop flavor well balanced on a nice sweet carmel base, long esb bitter finish
Overall: like a really big really nice esb

Name: Old Guardian
Date: April 17, 2005
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2004
Appearance: big strong earthy hop aroma with lots of sweet fruity essence
Aroma: lots of sweet fruity malt flavor, nice bitterness, the fruity character is coming out really nice after only one year, the hops have backed off to aroma and nice bitterness
Overall: still a very nice creamy esb, but now with added fruity character

Name: Old Guardian
Date: January 06, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: blind tasting
Vintage: 2004
Score: 3.2
Appearance: muddy orange, wispy white head
Aroma: sweet fruity bitter malt aroma
Flavor: nice fruity malt flavor balanced by earthy hops, light alcohol essence

Name: Old Guardian
Date: February 01, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
Vintage: 2004
Body: body is thining out
Flavor: picking up some oxidation in the malt flavor

Name: Old Guardian
Date: September 06, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: vertical tasting
Vintage: 2004
Appearance: hazy amber, wispy beige head
Aroma: sweet caramel and crystal aroma
Flavor: sweet caramel and crystal flavor, touch of fruityness, plenty of balancing lo

Medium brown color. Large foamy white head. Aroma is malty and fruity. A medium to full bodied barley wine. Malts are fruity and sweet. Hops are grapefruity and spicy. Hints of an alcohol bite, but pretty smooth for a 10% alcohol beer. Nice touches of orange, cherries and citrus in there as well. Seems a little hoppier than the older versions. Still very nice barley wine and well age well. As usual a nice etched beer bottle. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Hazy orange amber, small lasting tan head.Alcoholic butterscotch nose.Taste is mostly alcohol and butterscotch, lots of hops. Thin and lacks body. The hoppiest,thinnest barleywine I have ever had. Don’t see what all the fuss is, the alcohol kills all the other tastes.6,3,5,2,11 Rerate Sept 14/06: Tap at the Archer. Wow what a difference!!.Hazy amber,lasting beige head.Toffee,brown sugar nose.Well blended and complex molasses.brown sugar flavor, decently hopped,with medium alcohol heat

Shimmering auburn color with a nice persistant white head and light lacing. The aroma is very spicy with a great balance of hops (amarillo?) and some sweet candi/caramel malt. The flavor is also well balanced with only the feeling of the alcohol coming through, not the taste. This is a very smooth barleywine, I like the changes they've made to this beast.

Had this right after a Bigfoot. They are kind of similar. Both are hoppy resembling an IPA in ways. I enjoy this one more. It has a little more sweetness than the bigfoot. Apricot and honey come to mind. Color is lighter than bigfoot and much lighter than the 2001 Old Guardian I had on tap. This is a beautiful hazy orange with a few floaters in it. The aroma is not very strong. Is has apricot and alcahol notes. It’s a very nice aroma, but just not that strong. I’ll probably buy a case, and hold on to a few since this is bound to get very good with age. Too bad I don’t have much patience for that. ReRate: Same tasting as original, but changed glass from pint to my Delerium Noel snifter. Oh boy, that sure improved the aroma. Dried papaya, apricot, yellow raisons, and bubblegum? are jumping out of the glass now. Caramel is also in the flavor. Not carmelized apricot like the 2001, but caramel with apricot instead. Alcohol is more prevelant in this glass. Rerate 2005 bottle 060505: Kind of light on the palate. Letting breath a little mellows everything out. Taste is buttery with loads of caramel. Syrupy with a prety good hop balance. Getting better.