Arrogant Bastard Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

quikfish13

Ohio

3.3/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Dark red in color with little visability. A very foamy tan head about 3 fingers thick. Appears quite tasty.

Nice hoppy scent with some decent citrusy aromas to it. Possibly a slight kick of alcohol in the smell as well.

Very strong bitter taste to it. A bit to strong to my liking. And contrary to the label I do not prefer a beer with a million dollar ad campaign. Quite the alcoholic bite to this beer. Very overpowering with the hops coming in through the center of the tasting.

A bit on the heavy side but not incredibly hard to drink. This is a good beer but a bit to strong for my personal tastes. I could not have more than one in quite some time.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2007 00:10:48 | More by quikfish13

ScottyC

Florida

3.3/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Appearance: Very deep color. Really nice red color when held up to the light. Toasty tan head color.

Aroma: Complex! Sweet and floral. Full aroma. Some notes of apricot and plum. Not overpowering, but nice.

Taste: Hits you hard on the front and back end. Really that powerful smackdown dominates the palate. Otherwise a toasty malt flavor. Finishes with a bitter kick in the mouth. Baste paired with strong cheese. A bit too strong for my tastes, I'm afraid. Like an old man who enjoys aged Scotch, I feel like to properly enjoy this beer, your taste buds need to be hardened from many years of drinking. I'll have to come back to this one in a few years when my taste buds have become bored with everything else that's out there.

Drinkability: Gotta take it slow on this one. The 1 pint lasted me a good hour and a half.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2010 14:03:47 | More by ScottyC

teromous

Virginia

3.3/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

A: It's a dark shade of brown when poured, and in the glass it is nearly black with only a hint of brown. It is opaque, and has a very small head of white foam that quickly dissipates. Good lacing.

S: This has a very odd smell to it...it has a sour scent, like spoiled milk.

T: I'm so relieved this doesn't taste spoiled. I'm not sure what's up with the smell. I smell my glass before pouring so I know it's not that. The taste is very nice, and there's a smooth blend of malt and hops. It's very well balanced.

M: The mouthfeel is very nice. It is smooth with just enough kick to wake up the mouth. I'd say that it's a full bodied beer, but it borders on medium depending on the sip.

O: Overall the beer is really good, but the smell is very off-putting. I'm not sure what's wrong with my bottle. I would have to buy the beer again to determine whether or not it's the beer or my individual bottle. As it stands, I can't even rate this as average because of the smell.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 23:22:49 | More by teromous

drifter29

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a bottle, this dark amber ale has a firm but lacy head that settles quickly. Hops dominate the aromy with citrus overtones. I loved the sweet upfront taste and the bitter bite of the aftertaste but the sustaining mouthfeel left me wanting more. A great bold flavor...just comes up a little short in body. Probably not a great session beer but well worth a taste.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2006 14:38:20 | More by drifter29

shererjt

Texas

3.33/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured a deep, clear mahogany with a large, rich, tan head. I don't normally get excited about appearances, but this one was a beauty. Aroma was primarily cascade hops, and lots of them. Some sweet malt was there to provide balance. Almost wanted to say I smelled chocolate malt (!) but more likely it was Special-B. Body was medium-to-full with lots of bitterness and hop flavor. Some malt, in fact probably quite a bit, but the balance was still way to the hop side. Mouthfeel was pretty standard, though if you didn't know the alcohol content you'd probably underestimate it. Drinkability was about average; if you like hops, and I mean really like hops, you'd score it higher.

Interesting beer. One of those "extreme beers" that many go for. I tend to prefer mine a bit more balanced. If you threw in some more malt and maybe used a less attenuative yeast, you'd have yourself a pretty nice barleywine. As it is, it's a hop-lover's delight.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2006 03:29:33 | More by shererjt

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.33/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured this into a Yeti snifter. Dark ruby color with a creamy tan head that melts down the side of the glass slooowly. Impressive retention.

This smells like a heavyweight title bout between hops and malt, with the hops winning a split decision after 12 rounds.

Taste is much the same...big malts, big hops and big alcohol flavors. A good example of west coast hoppiness. I also taste some flowers, brown sugar, hints of butterscotch and more alcohol. For only being 7.2 ABV, the alcohol presence was a bit too noticable and a bit of a bummer.

I think of this beer as one of the forefathers of the widely available American "Big" beer revolution. If you have been hiding under a rock for quite some time and have not had this beer, go git cha some.

Not bad at all, and a decent price tag to boot. Will revisit this one from time to time for nostalgia's sake.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2008 05:02:14 | More by twiggamortis420

coldmeat23

Oklahoma

3.33/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

GLASS: Young's Imperial Pint Glass
TEMP: Cellared @ approx 50 degrees

Pours a nice dark brown/amber. Medium pour produces a good two-finger head of lightly tan foam. Retention is very good and lacing is slightly impressive.

Nice, big caramely malt notes. Citrus hops notes, mostly grapefruit. Very bready.
For such a 'big' beer, I expected a bigger nose.

Starts with a kiss of sweet caramel and brown sugar on top of some dark fruits. Just before you can get into that, though, it blasts you with the bitter bite of big citrusy hops.
Needs to be a touch more balanced. The hops overpower everything else.

Good body. It's at the higher end of medium, on the scale. Almost gets into full-bodied, but not quite.

It's very good, but could be so much better with more balance. Not my favorite from Stone, although it is their flagship brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2008 16:35:30 | More by coldmeat23

liquidnoise

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Considering Stone's IPA is currently my favorite brew, I wouldn't call myself a fizzy yellow beer drinker.

That said, what the hell is with this beer? Drinking this beer was like drinking a bunch of hops that were thrown in a juicer and this is what came out.

This definately wasn't my cup of tea. It's so strong it's going to kick you on your ass like the arrogant bastard it is, so do you want to spend your hard earned money on something that will behave in such ways? (especially when Stone is brewing stuff like Stone IPA)

Worth a try to laugh at the audacity. Pick up a bottle of Stone's IPA while your at it so after you spit this out, you have some backup.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2009 03:10:48 | More by liquidnoise

Kickass

Kansas

3.33/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I pulled this beer from the fridge and let warm for about 30 minutes before pouring from the cleverly insulting 22oz bomber with a slight degree hurt feelings.

A- Initially viewed in low light the beer has a color range some place between a dark mahogany and very translucent light brown. When held up to natural sunlight through the window this beer has a beautiful red mahogany brilliance. The head is a nicely defined slight off white color that starts out with very densely packed small Co2 bubbles that grow larger and more defined the closer they get to the beer. The retention was good and left a nice asymmetric spider web lacing.

S- The smell was difficult from me to really dial in on. There is no doubt that the smell has a nice degree of sweetness, the hard part was placing it. What I decided on was slight hop aroma, not much though, and more on the piney side. Next was defiantly a fruity sweetness, tough to nail down but more along the line of subtle darker fruits. Finally was the malty caramel sweetness.

T- The first drink was filled with hop bitterness and very little hop flavor. Upon subsequent sips the matly sweetness was discovered as the beer first comes into contact with the tongue, if you're not looking for it, it is quickly over powered buy the hops, a fault of the beer in my opinion. I feel this beer is slightly out of balance even being an American strong ale. I'd have liked to get a more malty base out of it to complement the bitterness of the hops.

M- The mouth feel is nice, the viscosity is just enough to evenly cover the tongue yet it is not overly heavy. The carbonation lends greatly to its appropriate level of thickness.

D- I feel the 22oz bomber is quite appropriate in terms of drinkability. This is not a beer I'd like to drink more than 22oz of throughout a session. It was not bad by any means but definitely not a top ten.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2009 20:51:56 | More by Kickass

wolfinthemirror

Oklahoma

3.33/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a deep ruby red with a perfect, creamy head that sticks around. Nearly transparent with just a slight haze, glimmers sweet and mellow.

smell is big on bready malts, hop aromas permeate through and mesh together.

This is not for the faint of heart. extremely big beer here, and quite filling. Heavy malts and pungent hops. Nearly too strong for me, I must admit.

nearly full bodied, had a very chewy quality to me like a barley wine or something. moderate carbonation, with palate wrecking qualities.

As I poured a 2nd glass from my 22oz bomber I realized I really was not worthy of this brew, and I feared I wouldn't be able to finish it. but alas I prevailed, and it left with me with the best buzz i've ever gotten from a single bomber which leaves me suspicious of the abv, it seemed much stronger than %7.2 because it kicked my ass. 22oz was plenty for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2010 02:44:19 | More by wolfinthemirror

andjusticeforale

Connecticut

3.35/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This poured pretty nice out the bomber bottle, and was a dark amber brown color.

The first thing that hits you is a bitter grapefruit taste. This lingers and lingers and envelopes upon sip after sip and is bitter and never complex or sweet.

There is no real true malt that can be distinguished, because of the bitterness.

Admittedly I am not the biggest fan of hoppy beers, but this is pretty crazy. There is a distinct lack of balance. When you drink a saison you can get sour and sweet, or a well crafted IPA you get intense bitterness and sweet or malt or heft to balance but not. here.

Oh yeah; I read the bottle; I have tried numerous beers from all over the world, and I wouldn't rank this one very highly, or as outstanding, despite the bottle.

It may be an unpopular opinion, but this beer is a bit of smoke and mirrors I am afraid, or is it emperors new clothes?

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2005 13:18:08 | More by andjusticeforale

mrasskicktastic

New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Reddish brown with a one and a half finger head that leaves thick lacing all down the glass.

S - Sweet caramel malt, strong pine hops - not much else.

T - Bitter immediately. Mostly bitter pine hops with a bit of grapefruit pith bitterness too. It almost tastes sour, but I think it is just a side effect of the bitterness.

M - Thin, a little harsh, pretty refreshing.

D - Alright. If you love bittering hops, then this is for you. I think it could use a bit more depth in flavor to be a truly great beer, but a great delivery of what I believe the brewer is intending this to be.

Serving type: on-tap

01-19-2007 02:13:34 | More by mrasskicktastic

Jerico

New York

3.35/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured this into a Bordeaux wine glass.

A - A pretty, dark beer with a fluffy, dense head.

S - Potent, dense, malty and a distant fruit taste - almost like raisins and caramel forced on top of each other. This beer wants you to know you are about to drink it.

T - Heavy and malty and dense. The aftertaste I got from it was unpleasant, almost salty. Call me one of the unworthy.

M - Creamy and heavy, it sticks on your tongue for a while.

D - I fall in the minority on this beer. Complex and beefy, yes. But the salty taste does not appeal to my taste buds. The advertising punches above it's weight.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2008 01:12:33 | More by Jerico

jujubeast6000

Texas

3.35/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed 1/19/2008 (bottle):

Pours a dark brown colored body, with a brownish head that is big & lasting. Has a very bitter hoppy aroma. Wow sourness in the mouth. Very bitter dry, malty sour taste. Almost acidic. Warming. I didn't like this beer so much before, but now, it's growing on me.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2008 03:57:15 | More by jujubeast6000

DrinkinBoy

Georgia

3.35/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Stone Arrogant Bastard pours a very clear dark amber color. The head is light tan and has great retention.

Its aroma has notes of caramel, roasted nut, and toffee.

The taste starts off sweet, but the mid palate is quickly passed by into a overwhelming hop bitterness. There are no distinct flavors just a tongue thrashing of bitterness. This taste lingers on the palate for minutes.

The mouthfeel is heavy and the carbonation is nice and subtle which helps balacne out the tanins from the hops.

Like any extrememly hopped West Coast beer I can't imagine drinking more than one without tongue fatigue more like exhaustion.

Overall it is worth a try to get a feel for what this really cool brewery can do.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2011 04:08:56 | More by DrinkinBoy

GoldHorde

Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

I am not familiar with the style specifics of [American Strong Ale] so i wasn't sure where to place the expectations of my palate mitt. I was tense, like a catcher waitin' for a wild pitch from a cocky young rookie freshly on the mound from the farm league.

POUR/APPEARANCE: An extremely clean and red shifted amber color of immediate intrigue.

OK, so first pitch showed some maturity with a clean strike.

HEAD: A quickly fading one finger pitch with loose lacing.

OK, so one in the dirt - count it up to junior jitters.

AROMA: Virtually non-existent bouquet - could be a cola for all I know.

Foul, in the dirt.

FLAVOR: The promise of oak maturity whistled into the mitt here - a sharp fast ball right down the middle takes both hitter and catcher by surprise. This kid's "been around" - what's his name again? Oh yes, "ARROGANT BASTARD ALE"...I think this kid will be around for a couple of seasons or so...

Welcome to the major leagues - of American Strong Ale.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 04:43:48 | More by GoldHorde

ThreeDimesDown

Connecticut

3.38/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A dark cherry, clear pour with a nice beige head that dissipates to a lingering remnant providing nice lacing till the end.

Aromas of hops, citrus and pine are most powerful with hints of caramel.

The taste is bigger than the nose with hops (citrus and piney) up front but not overbearing. Caramel maltiness mellows the hops a bit. Bittering hops are strong leaving a dry, sticky finish.

For a higher ABV, the mouthfeel is smooth with the constant small bubble carbonation. Light to medium with an almost creamy feel.

Drinking this one that is two weeks from "best by" date, so the hops are in the forefront. It's a good drink and can imagine it pairing nicely with a big flavor meal. But not necessarily a brew I'd have a session with.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2010 00:25:52 | More by ThreeDimesDown

Erdinger2003

Iowa

3.4/5  rDev -19%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The head is thick and frothy, very nice...it stayed even until the last drink. The color is dark brown with an amber hue to it. The smell is slightly roasty, slightly sweet and a little musky. The taste is very hoppy/musky and powerful. It tastes a bit old. The mouthfeel is a little lacking, it's a bit harsh. Overall I will try this one again, but it's not my session beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2007 13:05:00 | More by Erdinger2003

tj4288

New York

3.4/5  rDev -19%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

poured from a bomber into a large wine glass
a- the bottle is awesome, and the cap even said "you're not worthy!" lol . beautiful slightly cloudy dark amber color, average size head that hangs around, with excellent lacing. very inviting

s- about average, i was surprised at the lack of smell for an american strong ale. but the smell i did pick up was roasty and pine, coffee-like.

t- very well balanced, honey, mollasses, burnt toast. only SLIGHTLY bitter kick in the front followed by a dry finish

m- heavy, thick, medium carbonation

d- goes down fairly easy but i dont know if i would actually search for this beer to purchase it again

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2009 22:05:36 | More by tj4288

ChrisPro

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev -19%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle from Bottleworks tasted blind.

Pours a dark amber with light tan bubbly head.

Honey, molasses and alcohol aroma.

Strong sweet honey flavor balanced well with light bitterness.

Thick, syrupy but a good finish.

Overall, a very solid brew. I'm sure if I had this 10 years ago I would've been blown away by it, but as it is, it's very well made and still relatively unique.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2010 03:51:20 | More by ChrisPro

SWMeyer4141

Texas

3.4/5  rDev -19%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Reading that bottle 4 years ago was an experience, I had to try it. Since then I pick up an Arogant Bastard every now and then. Saw a bomber for 3.99 earlier so figured I would pick it up and drink half before and half during dinner.

Appearance-Dark dark red color. Light brown colored, creamy head that leaves a lot of lacing. No matter how the smell or taste is, this beer is one of the best looking beers I've seen.

Smell-I can smell a sweet, burnt caramel with some hops lingering in the backround. I don't get too much citrus which i thought It had but get some darkfruits, I actually can get some barleywine characteristics. I little spicier though, some clove sneaking through.

Taste-Malty, bready/yeasty. You get some sweetness at the forefront and the hops come through at the end. I get some raisons as well. It's not bad, but just not as complex as i remembered it last.

Mouthfeel-Medium-Full bodied which goes down very smooth. Back of the throat gets the hops and a dryness which makes you going back.

Overall-Four years ago I would have said this is the craziest, most intense beer ever, but now it's kind of average to me. The look is amazing, but the smell/taste are getting weaker to my palate. Stone does a great job at promoting their craft beers by their intense marketing campaign, but it's almost getting a little bit old to me. I would prefer some other offerings such as the Sublimely Self-Rightous ale and Ruination.

I'm still confused, b/c I know this beer has more to offer then a B-, will review one day next week.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2011 02:01:35 | More by SWMeyer4141

Kubus

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev -19%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

1 Pint bottle ( or whatever imaginary measure America conjured up in its wild past) poured into a rocks glass. Before anyone screams blasphemy I'm in a hotel, it's the best I could do.

A: Copper red colour, looks really promising. Good layer of foam, disappeared pretty quick, but the colour is enchanting.

S: Hops, Hops, Hops.

T: Starts off nicely with an average sort of ale taste, then come the hops. Aggressive, mean hops. Hordes and hordes of hops, assaulting my mouth, sending signals to my brains to GET THIS DOWN OR OUT! NOW! I gulped it down slowly, it gets tough halfway, but finishes better

M: Heavy, like a dying star. Sip, don't gulp.

O: Well I drank this mean motherfucker, and didn't regret it. Good as an aperitif. More of a feature than a headliner. If you want
something bitter, I would personally choose Southern Tier's IPA or 2XIPA, but definitely try it if you see it.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2011 06:25:41 | More by Kubus

pweis909

Wisconsin

3.4/5  rDev -19%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I am not worthy. F-that. I just don't need a kick in the teeth.

This beer is a crystal clear lovely amber with a nice tawny head. The chinook hops are too heavy-handed, making the aroma a one-trick pony. A bit of dark fruity crystal malt sweetness is subtly noticeable as the beer warms, but the hop bitterness is beyond my liking, and seems to impart astringency that strips moisture from my epithelial cells.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 15:00:31 | More by pweis909

WrathsU

Florida

3.4/5  rDev -19%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - Ruby red perfectly clear body with slightly off white very thick head. Long lasting head and good apparent lacing.

S - Carmel malts and toffee up front pretty strongly. A decently malty body with a not as strong hop aroma to it. Kind of let down with the hop aroma.

T - Dark malts without a roast flavor throughout. A lot of malt up front with a good bitterness kick towards the middle and in the end. Finishes with a slight vegetal taste which is undesirable.

M - Medium-heavy bodied with good carbonation level and low alcohol burn.

O - A pretty mediocre beer in taste. It hides its alcohol good, and has good attributes, but when it comes down to taste I am slightly disappointed with it.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2012 01:24:54 | More by WrathsU

cbl2

New York

3.43/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Note: On tap @ The Chapter House, Ithaca, NY 6-25-04

Appearance:

Crystal clear ruby-brown with 1/4" tan head that has good retention.
Smell:

Nice floral bouquet. Very hoppy with almost no malt presence.
Taste/Mouthfeel:

I thought my taste buds had changed enough to enjoy this, but I was wrong. Pure hoppy bitterness through and through. Some candied fruit/grapefruit emerge 3/4 of the way through, but it's too little too late.

Serving type: on-tap

06-28-2004 15:04:23 | More by cbl2