Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

BeerBATvocate

Colorado

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Let me prefaces by saying... WOW! Very nice beer indeed. I'm a big fan of the style. And Stone pulls it off like a champ.

OK.. so
Standard 22oz. Bottle for Stone
A. Pours out black with a nice light tan head. Nice lacing. Not much light comes through the black. Maybe a bit, with a tad dark brown and ruby highlights... but faint.

S. Roasted malt, Hops, and a hint of cherry. Very compelling.

T. Fist comes the roasted malt, followed immediately by fresh hops, then finishing with a black cherry followed by bitterness that sticks for a bit. Very nice.

M. Medium body, Creamy, Slightly sticky, with a well balanced carbonation.

D. Quite impressive. Very complex for the style. Almost a contradiction in a way... but in a really good way. Overall ver impressive. Not much to complain about really. Possibly.. well no... on second thought.. nothing really to complain about on my end. I love it.

Will buy again. Often.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2010 02:53:47 | More by BeerBATvocate

localhost

California

4.18/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Cask @ Beachwood BBQ

Pours very dark yet not very heavy and remains very drinkable. Mine poured with quite a bit of head, however this was likely due to the temperature of the cask and was kept under control. Many different flavors come at you at once, but they work very well together. Good flavor and scent of hops but much darker than a traditional IPA. A good amount of roasted and malty flavors, a little similar to arrogant but still quite different.

Overall a very good beer with a strong flavor. If you like arrogant, then you will like this one.

Serving type: cask

09-12-2010 04:02:11 | More by localhost

alexpkoehler

California

4.38/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This was like an American take on a Theakston Old Peculier for those of you familiar with that particular Yorkshire ale. It is rich dark smooth and malty without ever being heavy. An awful lot of brown-ish head when you pour this into the glass that takes a while to dissipate (probably has something to do with it coming from a bottle and my walking it home from the store.) I will definitely have some more in the future.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2010 04:41:15 | More by alexpkoehler

fatmcq

California

4.93/5  rDev +16%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I usually buy these in 22oz bottles, but I filled up the 2-liter growler at the Stone brewery last weekend, and I was not disappointed.

Appearance: Dark. Very Dark. With a reddish tint. Great lacing and 1 finger of thick head that is almost slimy (in a good way).

Smell: Like Christmas. Douglas fir. Earthy and hoppy, with a sweetness like chocolate.

Taste: BANG! Tastes just like it smells... and more! Earthy, piney, bittersweet, grassy, citrus and toffee. Absolutely amazing.

Mouthfeel: Wow. Thick, without being syurpy. Looks and smells like a heavy beer, but drinks with medium weight. Carbonation is perfect. Even 36 hrs after cracking the growler open, it still felt fresh.

Drinkability: EXCEPTIONAL. Everything about this ale is right. Taste, smell, appearance, and feel are all amazing. This might be the IPA in which I compare all others from now on.

Serving type: growler

12-10-2010 04:28:02 | More by fatmcq

bluesplit63

Connecticut

4.1/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

One of the best from Stone so far.

Self Righteous Bomber.

Purchased from Nikki's Liquors. North Providence.

Pours a rich black with a thick light tan lace.

Hints of citrus and pine.

Smooth feel to the mouth with a light closing taste of alcohol.

8.7abv. Enjoy slow and steady.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 22:44:57 | More by bluesplit63

sloambbr

California

3.93/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: black black black. Dark head that has a pretty good retention. Settled quickly. Good looking beer overall.

Smell: Hoppy. Wasn't all that impressed with the smell. Smelled like a standard Stone IPA. Which is still a pretty strong hoppy smell.

Taste: Heavier taste that goes along with the color, but still tastes like an IPA. The only thing that really sets it apart from a normal IPA is a smoky initial flavor. Very hoppy. Good floral taste, and an nice lingering bitter. Not as "self-righteous" as I was hoping for, but really good none the less.

Mouthfeel: Heavier than an IPA, but its nicely carbonated, which offsets nicely.

Overall this was a really good beer, wouldn't expect anything less from Stone. Wish it stood apart from the double bastard a little more though.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2011 01:16:13 | More by sloambbr

econ

Philippines

4.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bomber into an American pint glass

At 8.7 ABV and 90 IBU, with a viscous, almost opaque off-black and a creamy tan head, this beer is no pushover. Both in terms of aroma and flavor, it has the rich, heavy chocolate, coffee and roasted malt of an imperial stout, along with the arrogant hop bitterness that Stone is known for. I find that it reaches a good balance between both extremes, and is a good beer for those rainy days when you're just shuttered in at home. Heavy-bodied and almost sticky on the palate, with a slightly bitter finish that tends to stick around as well. I do feel that malts do offset the hops quite well, as it doesn't have that trademark hop profile that is ruinous and offensive for everyone except the most arrogant of bastards. Stone pats itself on the back quite strongly for this one, as evidenced by the name of the beer itself, and deservedly so. I'd love to try this fresh, and see how the hops dropped off when compared to the bomber I tried.

crossposted on http://booksbitesbrews.blogspot.com

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2011 03:52:48 | More by econ

2Dreadnaught

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I enjoyed this beer on tap at Timothy O'Toole's in Gurnee, IL on 5/14/12.
A: Poured a deep black with a thin (less than 1 finger) light tan head. Virtually no lace.
S: Slight grainy malty aroma with a hint of anise and coco.
T: Dark roast grain with licorice undertones. Medium carbonation with a nice dry finish.
O: A decent black ale worth a try.

Serving type: on-tap

05-14-2012 21:38:12 | More by 2Dreadnaught

BaronVonBeauregard

Georgia

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

The color is a very dark with a large, thick head, and the aroma is hoppy with citrus and resin notes showing out the loudest. The taste is bitter, slightly sweet, and reminds me of some imperial stouts out there; the aftertaste combines a long bitter finish, soft carbonation, medium body, and a slightly sticky texture.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 01:22:47 | More by BaronVonBeauregard

advm1

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

I first want to start off by saying that this is one of my favorite beers right now. So my review is going to be pretty biased :)

It poured out like black coffee into my snifter with a one finger tan head. There were thick tan rings left after each sip and they didn't go away. Smells of hops and more hops, malts and minimal citrus fruits. Tastes exactly how it smells and leaves you with a hoppy aftertaste. Let it warm a little and you'll really taste the malt!! Mouthfeel is wet and refreshing, I actually wanted to gargle with this beer. Carbonation is a little on the heavy side making it a bit difficult to drink glass after glass.

Serving type: growler

12-27-2008 22:18:33 | More by advm1

Elric14

Massachusetts

4.68/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer poured well. The head kept longer than I could wait to drink it. This beer had one of the most intense and pleasing aromas of a beer in a long time. Mouthfeel was pleasingly thick with a slight bite at the end. taste suggested dark burnt candy, rasins and coffee. could feel the alcohol warmth after first sip (gulp). very good beer, but could drink this all night.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2009 19:21:52 | More by Elric14

WBCFM

New Jersey

4.97/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Currently, this is my favorite beer of all time. I first tried it when I visted San Diego and went to the Stone Brewery in Escondido. WoW!

At first, the smell of hops takes you over like a drunk girl takes over a conversation at a party.

But your first sip is something enitrely different. Its malt, and citrus and almost stout -like.

Yet the finish brings you back to that hops taste that you were expecting at first sniff. This is listed as an American Strong Ale, which I guess is fine, but lately a few breweries have been releasing what they call "black double IPAs", and I would put this up against any of them any time.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2010 01:20:38 | More by WBCFM

jrish

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a snifter.

This beer is a beast. Absolutely love it. Pours a great black, tar looking body. A thick 2 inch khaki head is on top. Lacing is present til its time to refill. Smell completely catches you off guard with a left hook, your nose gets hit with a wonderful blend of citrus-floral smelling hops and a wonderful caramel malt. It tastes of a hop - malty fist fight ending with a wonderful chocolatey knockout. Full bodied with a perfect bitter. Very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2010 23:24:04 | More by jrish

rmatson

Utah

4.33/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a chilled 22 oz bomber into a DFH signature glass. Brought the bottle back to Utah from Cali and have had it in frig for a few months just waiting. Let warm a 10 minutes before pouring.

A-dark like a porter with a brown tinged head. Carbonation low.

S-smells of slight roast with hops making their presence felt

T-tastes of hops throughout, which is generally not common in dark beers; however, this is a Stone beer. Hop bitterness is firm, with some very mild/smooth roasty flavor. Aftertaste has a lot of hops that linger and meld with that subtle roast. I wonder if they used some some huskless malt to limit the coarseness that can come from roasted barley or black malt.

M-fairly smooth of hops that prickle your tongue.

D-could have a few of these and would be a great hoppy beer for the darker months. The hops linger on the tongue but for a 8.7% ABV fairly drinkable. Stone's beers tend to have a low finishing gravity and that helps in the drinkability category.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2010 03:02:08 | More by rmatson

christianAK

California

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Out of a Cask at 7th Annual Firkin Fest @ Triple Rock.

Dark IPA style with a low carbonation.

Nice hop to dark roasted malt aroma.

Thick mouthfeel. Tastes of burnt chocolate and toffee. Good bitterness to round out sweetness.

Fun beer out of a Firkin.

Serving type: on-tap

04-25-2010 23:07:06 | More by christianAK

sandmaker

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The first thing I noticed about the self righteous ale is the strong, sweet smell. Definitely a delicious strong malty smell with a dark color to match. Exactly what I come to expect from the new breed that is an American Black IPA. The taste is hoppy and bitter as you would expect from a IPA, but also of lingering malts. A beer I could drink multiples of in a night an not be tired of.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2010 03:38:36 | More by sandmaker

Reveille1984

California

4.22/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a- Bottle poured into a New Belgium glass. Dark with about an inch of brown head.

s- Huge burst of citrus hops in the nose with a touch of roastyness lingering in the background.

t- Strong citrus hops in the forefront, similar to the nose on the palate. Finishes out bold, bitter and dry. Very nice mix of strong hop flavor and dry, roasted smoothness.

m- Medium moutfeel, average carbonation. Par for the course.

d- Definitely a sipper, but that's not a bad thing with a beer this tasty. Definitely a tad high on the IBU's, but that's pretty much the standard with every Stone beer. A very unique mix of flavors and one of my favorites from Stone.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2011 04:57:44 | More by Reveille1984

flavorshark

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I'm gonna be honest; were I blind-folded, it'd be hard for this noob to tell the difference between this and Arrogant Bastard. That's an enormous compliment.

Smell: Apricot, pineapple, hops. People are saying pine; I want what they're smoking.

Taste: Fruity and hoppy. We are disappointed in our inability to adequately describe whatever else is going on, but it is good.

Appearance: Brown. We're drinking from the bottle.

Overall a very solid beer. Not quite as good as Arrogant Bastard but a nice change in pace.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2011 23:33:50 | More by flavorshark

rickards9

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My buddy brought over a 22 of this beer last night. Poured from the 22 oz bottle into one Sam Adams glass and one Long Trail pint glass.

Appearance: Very dark brown, but with some ruby red along the edges of the glass. Normal pour provided a decent head, probably one finger, and it dissipated very slowly.

Smell: Chocolate. In your face chocolate. My buddy said he smelled some bourbon too.

Taste: I had read that it's classified as an American Black Ale, which usually to me means Black IPA. This one did not have the hops to classify it as an IPA. I got a whole lot of chocolate in the aroma and no hops. The flavor was of sweet chocolate syrup, which gave way to a more bitter aftertaste with some heat from the alcohol (it is almost 9% after all). Not hop bitter, but rather dark malt bitter.

Mouthfeel: Good body on this beer. Pretty thick and heavy.

Overall: I'm giving this a 4.5 right now, mainly because I drank it thinking it was going to be hoppy, and that it was at least 90 degrees in my kitchen. This would be an AMAZING late fall or winter beer, but mid-July? I'll stick to my IPAs and keep this cellared for a few months.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 18:40:30 | More by rickards9

stover4

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Someone said it best, "looks like used motor oil" lol, but don't let that deter you. The head could use a little help, but everything else is quite delightful.

As with all stone beer, you'll taste some hops, but there is something about this one that merges flavors into something truly special. This is the type of beer you savory as it warms up a bit. It's no wonder they serve it in a brandy snifter type glass. It's the fine cognac of stone's beers, and if you've tried their beer you know they don't mess around.

This beer was not going to be sold to the masses originally, but the employees loved it so much they had to share their passion with everyone. Thank you Stone Brewing, truly a work of art.

Serving type: on-tap

02-28-2012 08:22:56 | More by stover4

HiltonHeadMike

South Carolina

4.95/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A - beautiful clarity, black, creamy lacing head.

S - piney, hint of smoke, chocolate coffee. no off notes

T - balanced grapefruit, citrus, pine

M - full bodied, great lingering aftertaste

O - outstanding! Can drink this everyday of the week. This is at the top of the black IPAs in my opinion

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2013 15:16:13 | More by HiltonHeadMike

Deigea

California

4.1/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured into Stone Russian Imperial Stout snifter. Beer was allowed to warm for 30 minutes after pulling out of fridge.

Appearance: Brown on top to deep black. Flashlight cannot be seen through thicker parts of glass. Head is light brown, and medium, although fades pretty quickly. Remnants of head left after fading.

Aroma: Very hoppy with mostly pine or resin. There are hints of citrus after. Overall taste doesn't linger for long, and very pleasant. Deep and malty, not crisp like a normal IPA.

Taste: A strong beginning that quickly mutes compared to most Stone beers. The initial taste of pine and hops die off quick but leave a bit of bitter in the back of the throat. While hops are prevalent at first, malt shows up quickly after and fades leaving only a slight aftertaste. The pine is probably the strongest flavor, showing up just before the hops leave and staying with the malt and lingering after.

Mouth-feel: Obviously has the thickness of a dark IPA. Not nearly a porter or stout, but more obvious than others. Decent carbonation levels which are obvious with each sip, but not overwhelming by any means. Very pleasant beginning taste.

Overall Impression: A very pleasant dark IPA. I can't say I'd enjoy more than one bomber in a night due to it's complexity, but the taste is overall impressive. Definitely worth a try if you're looking for a dark IPA. I can see why this beer was brought back after being the Stone 11th Anniversary.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2013 05:46:15 | More by Deigea

erialbill

New Jersey

4.43/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours black but not too thick. Very nice creamy tan head that left ample lacing on sides of the glass. Nice job of combining a great stout with a great IPA. You get to enjoy all of the complex flavours of both beer types in just the right combination. Another great Stone offering. Would highly suggest giving it a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 22:22:42 | More by erialbill

Cubieblu

Illinois

3.86/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Served chilled in a Stella Artois Chalice, allowed to warm before drinking

A – Dark black with slight reddish around edge of glass if held up to light. 1 ½ fingers of light mocha colored head. Lots of alcohol lacing along the glass.

S – Big up front citrus and floral hops. When cold the roasted qualities didn’t really come out, but as it warmed up the roasted characters started coming out. Would have enjoyed a bit more roasted notes in the smell. Get a nice pleasant smell of the malts in the background.

T- Big hop forward beer. Lots of citrus, mostly of grapefruit. As it rolls over your tongue the roasted characteristics from coffee and bitter chocolate are slightly present. Then a nice bitterness of grapefruit gets you on the backend. Some alcohol is noticeable but just enough to let you know this is an imperal.

MF – Medium body with good amount of carbonation.

D – Very drinkable – goes down easily, maybe too easy.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2013 02:14:56 | More by Cubieblu

ccoffeegod

Virginia

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bought this beer at Grape and Gourmet in Virginia Beach, Va.

Beer was poured into the glass was inky black, no light would show through. 3 finger head, head dense and smoky in color. The smell of the beer was overwhelmingly one of grapefruit, odd but welcome. Taste was a blast of hops. Very bitter followed by a hint of sweentness. Again grapefruit taste at the very end. Mouthfeel was smooth with a bit of sharpness to it. An exellent beer, well worth the money I spent, but it is a one time thing I dont think I want another and least not right now.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2007 19:40:55 | More by ccoffeegod