Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

kdb150

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into my Brooklyn Brewery tulip.

A - Deep reddish brown, about a finger of head. Recedes quickly, but lots of lacing. Looks pretty good.

S - Smells very strongly of caramel malts and hops, with a decent dose of vanilla and a hint of wood. Very, very nice aroma. Rich and complex, worth smelling over and over again.

T - Doesn't live up to the nose. The hops do not meld very well with the woodiness, and there is an odd bitterness that lingers and also overpowers the maltiness. Rather one-dimensional and lacking in flavor for a strong ale, even one with relatively low ABV. Smells MUCH better than it tastes. Very disappointing

M - Right on for the style. Light in ABV for a strong ale, and the mouthfeel matches. No syrupy or sweet aftertaste. Carbonation feels right.

O - I'm honestly not sure what this beer is trying to be. The color and dark caramel character never melded very well with the strong hoppiness of the normal Bastard, and the oaky vanilla character doesn't either. It's not bad, but it's also not very good. Certainly not worth having again, since it's far too small to age.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 05:36:15 | More by kdb150

Weas

Arkansas

4/5  rDev -5.4%

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Kansas

3.75/5  rDev -11.3%

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midnitesun11

California

4.25/5  rDev +0.5%

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BeerChanticleer

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +0.5%

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taylor714914

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -17.3%

06-18-2013 23:48:34 | More by taylor714914

jbar920

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%

06-18-2013 17:43:29 | More by jbar920

RyV

California

4/5  rDev -5.4%

06-18-2013 06:22:05 | More by RyV

Mattias

Sweden

2.25/5  rDev -46.8%

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spw109

New York

4.75/5  rDev +12.3%

06-17-2013 07:36:51 | More by spw109

BeerRunner

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%

06-17-2013 03:17:12 | More by BeerRunner

Chingringo

Florida

4.75/5  rDev +12.3%

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GuitarIPA

Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -23.2%

06-16-2013 23:40:58 | More by GuitarIPA

fsck

Washington

4/5  rDev -5.4%

06-16-2013 07:43:10 | More by fsck

anson42

California

4/5  rDev -5.4%

06-16-2013 01:23:59 | More by anson42

jlazerus

Colorado

5/5  rDev +18.2%

06-16-2013 01:05:02 | More by jlazerus

SourAddict

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev -5.4%

06-15-2013 01:07:49 | More by SourAddict

b1515152004

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%

06-14-2013 23:41:52 | More by b1515152004

ACB

California

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%

06-14-2013 22:30:33 | More by ACB

Danno48

West Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +12.3%

06-14-2013 17:16:15 | More by Danno48

beerguy36

Tennessee

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%

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Satan70

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -17.3%

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smartassboiler

Illinois

4/5  rDev -5.4%

06-12-2013 23:10:14 | More by smartassboiler

barczar

Kentucky

4.01/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a brilliant amber with copper highlights and a frothy one inch beige head that dissipates slowly, leaving thick, holy lacing.

Resin, pine, and grapefruit open the aroma, with fresh cut grass and slightly dank cannabis rounding out the hop profile. There's some caramel malt sweetness buried in there somewhere, along with toasty oak. Notes of dark fruits...raisins, prunes, and figs, emerge.

Flavor is a juxtaposition of sweet and bitter. There's an initial promise of bitterness, which the malt overcomes mid palate, but resiny, herbal hops take back the profile in the finish. Grapefruit, tea, fresh cut grass, resin, burnt caramel, and oak are on the laundry list of flavor notes. Lightly burnt toast flavors emerge as it warms.

Body is fairly full, with moderate carbonation and light alcohol warmth. They'd a bit of hop astringency present.

Great, complex beer. A little too resiny bitter for my liking, but still very good in all other respects.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 18:21:20 | More by barczar

JMUbrewz

Virginia

4/5  rDev -5.4%

06-12-2013 17:26:48 | More by JMUbrewz