Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

2004: Rusty orange in color. Thick and syrupy, with a "gritty" richness. Bread dough rawness and yeasty sweetness in the malts. Not a lot of wafty hop aromas; mostly just a deep-rooted hop bitterness. Some tingly alcohol notes, but mostly subdued. Definitely good now, but may complexify (just invented that word) much more in a year or two. "Limited Winter 2005 Release": Deep amber; decent head; very sticky lace. Creamy and smooth, but lightish; still nice texture. Caramel and fruity alcohol. Delicate flowers; really nice alcohol aromas. Great balance of sweetness/bitterness/alcohol. Tasty shizzle. "Limited Early 2006 Release": Very nice. Perhaps a little better than I remember it. Very rich and toasty malts have a really nice flavor of sweetness (rock candy, toffee, caramelized brown sugar). Earthy-piney hops and warming alcohol.

Beer pours quite orange in color with a medium sized off white head that is somewhat retained. Aroma is not huge by barleywine standards. Hints of toffee, ash, and alcohol. Flavor is where the action really picks up. Flavor is malty sweet on the front side, but the finish is the real eye opener. One of the strongest blast of grapefruit juice ever in the finish. Me thinks will definetely benefit from the cellar.

Bottle, 2008. Cloudy, deep, orange-ish copper with small ring of white creamy head. Citus aroma with alcohol and notes of mildly roasted malt. Sharp, bitter taste of resiny hops with an alcoholic finish and wamth. Could not drive (legally) after this one.

Nice body! Deep red to very light brown in color with minimal head (just right for a Barley Wine). Nose is extremely sweet (first whiff reminded me of cotton candy), with hints of fruit (definitely put in a snifter as recommended). Taste is quite surprising. A lot dryer then expected with a kick of liquor as it warms its way down the throat. Creates a great moutfeel as it softly caresses the palate (not to strong in any particular area). Wish I had this one when it was colder. Gotta love Stone! I know I do.

A great copper amber clear color. A nice mode white head. A very strong licorice aroma, sweet and strawberry. very nice indeed. A very bitter hoppy feel, deep roots of trees are there. Very, very hoppy. I like it, its a solid deep body without the natural licorice comparison, i like it, cause it stand on its own two feet. Alot of hopps, but a sick ass background to back it up.

Clear amber color with a small beige head. Aroma is sweet, malty, caramel, fruit and hops. Flavor of caramel malt and hops. Finish is long with a tangy hop bitterness.

Clear burnt orange color with an off white head. Fruity aromas with hints of malts and butterscotch. Sticky to syrupy mouthfeel. Thick and rich. Very malty and very smooth with cherry and toffee characteristics. Nice aftertaste with little alcohol burn present. Really tasty and very smooth once it opens up.

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.