Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

Dantes

New Jersey

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

Presentation: ~10oz. from draught in a tulip glass at the Stone 12 event. Served a bit cold. Cost: $5.

Appearance: Very nice pour, French butter-colored head with a dense, moussey consistency. Reduced to a thin, but lasting, opaque film. The body was a mahogany-reddish color and appropriately cloudy (surprisingly, the Double Bastard, Arrogant Bastard, and Old Guardian were very similar in color, varying by a shade or two). I was able to hold this to the daylight through the window.

Smell: The first notes are a prelude of hops, pine-tar, and some citrus fruit notes; quickly moderated by some sweetness and woody notes.

Taste: Surprisingly, this doesn’t assault the palate as expected. Rather, the junipery-pine notes are well-balanced by the malty sweetness, the deep, woody flavors, and some complex fruits. Tasted next to the “regular” Arrogant Bastard, one can tell that the flavor profile is smoothed by the wood, which adds vanilla notes and tames the hops to a certain degree. Flavors linger languorously, finishing well, with all of its elements standing until the end.

Mouthfeel: Full, silky, and luxurious. The carbonation is perfect; distributing the flavors but remaining unobtrusive.

Drinkability: Obviously very drinkable, but truly a complex beer worth savoring. I wish that this were something that was periodically available (limited enough to remain special) so that I could enjoy it in a quieter environment, on a quiet rainy weekend, along with a cigar and the Sunday paper.

This beer only got better as it warmed in my hand. Of the list of 12 beers available at this event, this ranked behind only the cask IPA in piquing my interest and desire to try; and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I mail-ordered a few bottles of Arrogant Bastard, but decided not to try them until after this event, so I had no preconceptions. Side-by-side with the “regular” AB on tap, this won hands down: smoother, more complex, better balanced. It had it all.

Bottom Line: A truly special experience for which I’m glad I was present. Thanks Greg!

Serving type: on-tap

03-19-2003 10:10:24 | More by Dantes

Jason

Massachusetts

4.63/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at the Blind Tiger. Deep hazed brick red brown colour with a special looking lace … one bad ass looking beer. A mad but “oh so confident” oily hop aroma with a one-two slap of faint alcohol and sweetness says “who’s your daddy”. The minty hop flavour puts the tongue in a headlock and the it drops a pungent grapefruit dropkick to the palate. Malt is there for the three count and vague hints of wood leaves a puckering dizzy feeling. This beer was like a suplex off of the top rope for me.

Serving type: on-tap

03-16-2003 14:04:51 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

4.65/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had on-tap at the Blind Tiger on 03/12/03. From the Stone website "Special batch. Extremely rare. Only previously available at one location in Southern CA and one location in Arizona."

A dark brown beer with a creamy off-white head; good retention. Aroma was incredible with a complex floral, herbal, citrus and woody nose. At first taste: creamy and smooth in the mouthfeel. Then strong mint, followed by strong hoppy/pine-y herbal flavour and juicy citrus (grapefruit!!); big hop bite. Oak anchors the big malty sweet flavours and carries thru to the dry finish with strong notes of wood.

Loved it; one of the highlights and I definitely prefer this over the non-oak version. The aging added a whole other depth of complexity and smoothness to the beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2003 07:26:43 | More by Todd