Stone Old Guardian (Vintages 2004 and later)

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

Poured an orange color with a thin off white head. Malty aroma. Sweet and fruity with apples and peaches. Malty sweet, caramel, hints of peach, hop bitterness. Medium bodied, almost syrupy, with a long bitter finish.

Bottle of the 2009 vintage on 02/20/2009. A cloudy amber color with a foamy off-white head. Peach, apple and grapefruit aroma with a fresh hop finish. Unlike many barley wines the aroma does not give into the high abv. Smooth caramel, dry, and bitter, with a nice long finish with a touch of sweetness. This one is young but very enjoyable.

Bottle. Bronze and clear with a small head. Sweet full bodied taste.Powerful but not as much as I had expected. Dangerously drinkable and very impressive.

Bottle. There are few beers I have gone through as much trouble to get as this one. I called multiple Bevmo locations from my home state of MN prior to my trip out the SF Bay Area to find out who had this brew. San Mateo said they were going to get it, but their shipment didn’t come in. Finally the Geary St. SF store said they had a few bottles, and since I was driving up to the City it worked out well. I’ll have to say I was a little disappointed. This is at least a notch below the SN Big Foot. Rich, smoky aroma, not overly strong, with molasses notes. Clear body, deep amber, no visible carbonation, no head, but very nice lace. Very strong flavor. There is no question this is a barley wine. Peppery. Not sweet enough, however. Good, but I found myself wondering why I went through such an effort. I bought 3 bottles, so perhaps I’ll cellar one and see what its like in a couple of years.

Bottle... This beer rocks!... Crystal clear, orange ale with a fruity and malty nose with notes of butterscotch, toffee and caramelized pineapple. The flavor is mostly the same with additional undertones of alcohol and orange peel. Full-bodied and oily with lively carbonation. Lengthy, lightly bitter, sweet finish. Top notch brew!

Bottled Vintage 2006 + 2007. Amber coloured. .Unclear. Dense beige head. Pines, alcohol, sweetness, herbs and flowers in the aroma. Massive. Flavour is flowery, sweet and piney. Caramel and light fruits are notable. Full bodied. Is quite dyr. Is bitter and caramelly in the end. Thanks to Storm for sharing this, which turned out to be my American beer no. 600. Fantastic beer to celebrate this.

Dainty dark peach in color, and somewhat peachy aroma as well. Nice hopppy nose, hoppy flavor. Not as typically fruity or sweet as many barleywines. Characteristic for Stone

Burnt orange, nearly copper pour with medium lacing - heavy hop aroma, with touches of grapefruit and caramel - flavor is like a wonderful mix of SN Bigfoot and Old Horizontal - bigfoot hoppiness (with corresponding citrus aspects) and the sweat malt profile (with all the caramel and fruity esters) of the Old Ho mix in near perfect harmony - tasty but slightly out of balance - I'm sure aging will work out the kinks.