 Gusler (2656), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Sep 16, 2002 Updated: Mar 7, 2003
07/10/02: Vintage 2001 Release: Deep amber or ruby red if you prefer, the head is large, frothy, the lace in sheets. Nose is malt, caramel, floral, a hint of bubble gum, maybe even a touch of butter. Front is sweet, the top is medium, the finish is acidic, dry, highly hopped and the alcohol leaves a bit of its bitterness on your palate, 'Damn what a great beer'. Seems every time I drink it I find something more that I like. <P>
09/16/02:Vintage Spring 2000 Release: A rusty nail looking thang! cloudy and rusty red the color, the head is frothy, beige, huge sheets of lace. Nose 'Oh Baby' Floral, fusel alcohol, brandyish, malts and caramel. Front is malt sweet, the top full, the finish is 'Hopped To The Max', alcohol bitter, acidic, dry, and what a 'Tummy Warmer' I stick by my high ratings, and raise you 'Weenies' a point.
03/07/03:Vintage Winter 2003 Release: Deep burnished copper on the pour, the head immense in size, spumescent in its texture, and a winsome light beige in color, as it evanesces, it leaves a thick glutinous sheet of lace welded to the glass. Big sweet malt nose, fusel alcohol, caramel, hints of the hop flower, a real treat for the schnozzle. Start is ambrosial, loaded with malt and the top peanut butter thick, and the finish spiteful in its carbonation, the hops prickly in their spicy bite. The aftertaste dry as a bleached desert bone, oh yes, almost forgot the “alcohol”, quite evident in its bitterness and “tummy warming”. Ah another great year of Old Guardian got a case aging away, but the chances of it lasting more than a year slight.
yespr (6162), Copenhagen O, Denmark
Aug 7, 2008 22 fl oz bottle, 2002, at Stone Bistro, thanks to WeeHeavySD. Pours hazy orange with a fully gone head. Dense caramel malty aroma, slight oxidised. Smooth fruity flavour of malt and caramel. Smooth caramel into the finish. Holding up fantasticly despite the vague oxidised notes in the aroma.
WeeHeavySD (1699), San Diego (Hillcrest), California, USA
Aug 3, 2008 Bottle @ Stone @ RBSG, 02 vintage shared with many. Pours orange with a 1 finger tan ring. Nose is smooth and light. Taste is sweet and rolling and very nice, wow this is a great bottle.
carruthm (357), Seattle, Washington, USA
Jul 29, 2008 v2003
bright orange tint, tall white head clings thin. sweet aroma and a spicy, alcoholic taste.
Stine (1320), St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
May 25, 2008 Poured from a 22 oz. bottle, vintage 2003. Clear, slightly misty reddened orange. Clean, sweet aroma of candy corn, but clean in a synthetic sense, while bits of gritty grains and an indefinable salty pungency linger unwelcomingly. Some apple vinegar and a wink of tomato. Flavor is warm and quite sweet, showing caramel, golden pit fruits and maple syrup, and still resting on a cache of calm resinous bitterness; while the barren pine-like bitterness has lost a bit of its probably once-violent edge, that effect is to highlight the savory, if mild, malt flavor; absolutely a positive influence for this example which was probably somewhat abrasive with rampaging chinooks and cascades when fresh. Medium to full palate is somewhat dry and gently carbonated, finishing somewhat shortly on the last dregs of hops. Seems age has done it well though the weird pungency of the aroma suggests a shorter wait period might do better. Thanks Eric!
Sephiroth (54), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Feb 17, 2008
Reviewed on 6-29-05. I was lucky to find this at Kahn’s.Thanks Brennan! You always take care of me.
I pour this beer into a tulip. There is a slight, three quarter inch thick head that dissipates before long. The body is a clear amber color. Thin, cloudlike swirls remain. The nose is well balanced with malt, hops, and alcohol.
This beer tastes like it is in its prime. The juicy hops battle the might of the malt to a draw. Caramel malt and somewhat piney hops are the dominant flavors. I am starting to think that this might benefit from another six months of ageing.
The mouthfeel is thick and oily, which is right on for a beer of this magnitude. I could drink this beer all night, except I won’t, because I only have two left.
Edit: HaHa! I found another local source!
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