Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale 2009 - Stone Brewing Co.

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a bomer from Oak Knoll Liquor in SM.
Poured a nice burnt orange color with a foamy dirty white head. Nose was hops, hops and oh..hops with some grapefruit, orange peel. Taste is ok. Mine had an oxidized taste to it. While still good not as good as previos years.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2009 02:59:06 | More by barleywinefiend

rajendra82

Georgia

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Limited Early 2009 release in 22 oz. bombers, and it's in Georgia already, man how the times have changed. The pour was quite good to look at, as the body was deep reddish amber, and clear, and the head atop was somewhat small but durable. The smell was quite malty, with fruity aromas like fig, apricot, and pomegranate, but the hops were lurking right beneath when I inhaled deeper revealing pine and more pine. The taste was sweet at first as the malts seemed dominant, but mid sip it switched to a dry, hoppy, and boozy affair. The finish was bitter and chalky with hops driving the point across. Quite creamy in the mouth and satisfyingly dense. Glad to see an old favorite of mine locally, without having to put up with confiscatory shipping charges from the west coast.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2009 05:55:51 | More by rajendra82

sweetbrew82

California

2.53/5  rDev -38.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 1

22 oz./ fresh '09

P: Shiny gold from the bottle, sits a deep orange-tinted amber in the glass. 2 fingered off-white head is thick & creamy with good retention. The sinking crown leaves the glass coated with lace.

A: Big whiffs of fresh hops; citrusy with a hint of floral along with caramel, rubbing alcohol, and some earth. Judging from the raw alcohol presence here, I think you could get drunk from smelling it!

T: This is quite malty sweet out of the gate with gobs of caramel, slight toffee, and booze with an earthy undertone. Hops arrive late but come with a vengeance as grapefruit, lemon rind, & pineapple swing the balance back to the bitter side for good. The result, the alcohol teams up with the alpha acids and scorches the tongue like the hills of Yorba Linda. Which any good BW should do. But in this case, the alcohol flavor is just too present, and invades on the task at hand.

M & D: Full-bodied, thick & chewy, rich & creamy, just what I expect from a Stone BW. The drinkability of this one is described pretty accurately by the score I've given: awful! If I wasn't such a cheapskate, I would have dumped it. Like drinking a glass of vodka with a beer accidentally spilled into it.

Notes: This is just way too young, in my opinion. I don't want to lose those precious hops. But I do, however, want that alcohol to sit back and relax. Right in the middle should be perfect. This is one beer that I won't be drinking fresh anymore!

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2009 05:45:44 | More by sweetbrew82

scottoale

California

4.2/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The limited Early 2009 Release, of course. Poured into a Duvel tulip, a chill-hazed, apricot amber-gold with a thick and creamy finger of off-white head. The head settles to the surface leaving a thick sheet of lace clinging to the glass. Great looking brew.

Caramalty and fruity sweet, with an overdose of hops lurking beneath. A slight roast and earthiness to the nose as well.

Big malty brew with a nice big hop balance. Quite tasty fresh this year, but still a bit raw and will smooth out very nicely with a year or two on it. I really like Old G thats been aged, compared to it fresh. Too much prune and fig when fresh, citrus flavor from the hops keep it in check. Needs to meld.

Big body and plenty of carbonation that's right for the style, as it holds up for ageing. It's more noticed in the mouth than visually and the mouthfeel is slightly astringent at this point. The alcohol is very well masked for a whopping 11.3% ABV.

Definetly worth trying this fresh and popping a few in the cellar for improvement. Big, bad Stone gnarleywine!

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2009 19:58:54 | More by scottoale