Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale (2010)
Stone Brewing

Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale (2010)Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale (2010)
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From:
Stone Brewing
 
California, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
11.1%
Score:
92
Avg:
4.14 | pDev: 9.66%
Reviews:
204
Ratings:
339
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 08, 2021
Added:
Feb 13, 2010
Wants:
  11
Gots:
  83
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Foxtrot:
Photo of Foxtrot
Reviewed by Foxtrot from California

4.37/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
I've held off on reviewing this one, letting the bomber gain a little age on it. Paired it with some Stilton.

Pours a decadent ruby/orange body with an abundance of foam, tight bubbles slowly recedes into a beautiful lacing that is none other than world class.

Aroma is of sticky pine resin, a dash of floral hops to round it out. Its not the hops that stand out, but the sweet barley malts that really take the cake here. Perhaps even some orange peel or tangerine on the back end.

Stone continues to impress me time and time again. Slight bitterness and carbonation hit the front and sides of the tongue, floral hops take center stage mid palate with a dazzling array of pine, bitterness, and all things hops. Then to round all things off is the impressive malt balance. Modest sweetness to balance out the hop bitterness, and adds a big sticky feeling on the teeth and tongue. Finish was also exceptionally smooth but with linger aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is thick, of course. Anything less would be unworthy. Thick and viscous to a high degree, not IRS thick but just a tad under.

Drinkability is good, other than the liver loving 11.1% ABV, it is a pleasure to enjoy during the cooler season. Heck it even does well in warmer weather as well
Jul 02, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.96/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Shared bottle, from Ølbutikken, Copenhagen. ABV was 11.1%. Deep orange to amber colour, moderate off-white head. Rich and intense sweetish aroma, notes of malts, fortified wine and molasses, some fruity hops too. Intense malty flavour, very sweet, but nicely balanced by distinct American hops. Yummy.
May 08, 2021
Photo of BKotch
Reviewed by BKotch from Texas

4.15/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Ten-plus years old! Nice job, Stone. It presents a little murky, but nice head and good mouthfeel. Aroma is better than I expected and flavor is excellent. I suspect it had a lot of hop character ten years ago, but also as expected there's almost none today. Probably more on style, frankly. And I still have one more left!
Nov 08, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Jun 10, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by heysuz from Indiana

Jun 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4.38 by Imperialjake from North Carolina

Jul 04, 2017
 
Rated: 4.24 by jeff1973 from California

Apr 20, 2016
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.26/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Beer purchased at Nathaniel Square Corner Store in Rochester, NY. '10 vintage, drank in 2015. 5 year old barleywine, baby.

This pours a murky, slightly reddish brown, with a small head, and no lacing. Kind of looks mud and blood and mixed together.

5 years later, amazingly this still smells like piney and grassy hops, with some slight oxidation, burnt caramel, orange liqueur, and toasted bread.

This has aged quite nicely. There's some sweet sherry-like flavors, and very slight cardboard, from the apparent oxidation. It's not very strong, though luckily. There's still some somewhat intense piney bitterness from the hops, which are magically still present 5 years later. There's some orange marmalade flavor, which when combined with the slight booziness, kind of makes for a orange liqueur or Grand Marnier type thing going on. There's some unsweetened caramel, burnt grain, and toasted bread as well. The sweetness is at about at 5/10, definitely sweet but not overly so.

This is medium bodied, with a somewhat crisp but slightly syrupy mouthfeel, and a lower level of carbonation.

This was really nice and still quite good after 5 years.
Jul 03, 2015
Photo of Eriktheipaman
Reviewed by Eriktheipaman from California

4.35/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Appearance: Semi opaque orange brown body with nice ring of head along with med. lacing

Smell: Brown sugar and caramel, complex alcohols and esters lending themselves to fruit notes of dried and fresh apricot, raisin and dried cherry.

Taste: Balanced bitterness supports sweet caramel and massive notes of dried cherry. Alcohol warmth with a lingering bitterness on the back leaves you wanting another sip.

Overall: 5 years has always seemed to be the sweet spot for Old Guardian and even at this point there are only faint signs of oxidation.
Jun 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3.65 by GRG1313 from California

Jun 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.15 by BostonJustin from Massachusetts

Apr 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by rderedin from Maine

Mar 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.89 by Stinger80OH from Ohio

Mar 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by exl_90 from Texas

Jan 01, 2015
 
 
Rated: 3.75 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Nov 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Dicers from California

Oct 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.36 by shoegueuze from California

Sep 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by firstlighthiker from Tennessee

Aug 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by zestar from California

Jul 19, 2014
Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale (2010) from Stone Brewing
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 339 ratings