Arrogant Bastard Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

MadCat

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: Dark amber, with a light brown head. Head is about average, but dissipates somewhat quickly leaving its presence behind

Smell: Hops. Lots of hops. Piney resinous hops, along with some citrus and floral hops. There is nice malt character in the background

Taste: First thing you notice is the hoppy bitterness. It is a rather intense bitterness, but a delicious bitterness. There is some nice roasted malt flavor in there as well. Some nice citrus, pine, and floral flavors, along with caramel malt sweetness. A very good, and complex brew. Better on tap.

Mouthfeel: Some thickness to it, a good carbonation level, some bite, overall very good

Overall: An excellent brew. Better on tap than in the bottle. More drinkable. More malt sweetness to balance out the intense, but delicious hop flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2013 01:37:24 | More by MadCat

Alextricity

Michigan

4.44/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Served on-tap at One-Eyed Betty's in Ferndale, Michigan.

The beer is a dark, ruby-ish color. A very nice little head on it with super sexy lacing... a very pretty looking beer, for sure. Arrogant Bastard has a taste not quite like beers I've had before... there's some bitterness in there, for sure, but it's not as intense as it seems a lot of people like to describe it. The hops in this beer mixed with the malts balance it perfectly. I've had some people try and tell me it tastes/feels "soapy", but I don't get that at ALL ... maybe that's because I had it on-tap. The taste is complex to the point where I can't pinpoint exactly how I remember it being, but it was interesting, and it was super tasty... a seemingly wild blend of hops and malt, and I couldn't get quite enough of my sample. Crazy drinkable, tasty beer.

Serving type: on-tap

04-27-2013 03:41:26 | More by Alextricity

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

4.46/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Half Pint of tap at Craft Beer Co, Farringdon, London (£4.50):
Deep ruby amber to copper colour in the glass with a thin white lacing on top and around the sides.

Fresh hops with strong caramel notes and further grassy hops. There is a lot of sugar upfront and some sweetness along with hints of toffee and a generally quite rich aroma. There is some roasted malts as well but overall it is the hops with some citrus that dominates.

Caramel and rich, sweet flavours with grassy hops from the smell and a lot of bitterness. There is some grapefruit coming through and a lot of sweetness. Surprisingly refreshing and had a pleasant alcohol kick to it that went down well.

Smooth with a medium to full body and a lot of carbonation. There bitterness levels were very in your face and the mouthfeel was complimented by some sweet malts too.

An exceptional beer and one that did not disappoint in any way, shape or form upon first trying it. The beer was insanely hoppy with lots of bitterness. Surprisingly easy to drink and went down well with the mouthfeel complimented the taste and smell quite well. A must try.

Serving type: on-tap

04-25-2013 15:48:29 | More by flyingpig

barczar

Kentucky

4.03/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a brilliant deep copper-red with a frothy, dense quarter inch khaki head that won't dissipate.

Floral, fruity hops, resin, pine, fresh cut grass leap from the glass. There's a subtle caramel malt sweetness in the background that hints of dark fruit.

Dank hops dominate the initial flavor, with sweet caramel malt coming in and fading mid palate, bowing to resinous bitterness that lingers through the finish. Grapefruit, catty hops, and pine emerge in subsequent sips, but the balance is decidedly resiny and bitter. The malt sweetness provides nice respite in later sips, along with dark fruit.

Body is on the full side, with moderate carbonation and slight alcohol warmth, with a big resiny bite.

Decidedly bitter, but balanced in extremes, to an extent. A glutton for punishment, the promise of sweet malt draws me back in for the bitter hop beating.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2013 00:08:19 | More by barczar

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.24/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Served on tap in a snifter glass

Appearance-Served a mahogany colored brew with ruby highlights shining throughout. Upon serving there is a one finger cream colored head that fades rather quickly to leave a persistent film on the top of the brew and a very nice level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is a nice mix of bready malts, caramel, and a moderate hop aroma. The hop while mainly grapefruit citrus in nature is also mixed with aromas of a pine hop aroma as well.

Taste – The taste begins with a bready and biscuit base with a lighter caramel sweetness. Up front there are also some hop flavors of a pine nature. The caramel fades as the taste advanced with the pine getting stronger and more potent. While the caramel fades, fruit flavors of a light cherry and apple flavor come to the tongue. While the pine levels out in the middle, it is joined by a lighter grapefruit citrus hop flavor. This citrus grows stronger more toward the end of the taste with it, when mixed with the rest of the flavors, leaving a bitter pine and citrus flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel-The body of the beer is on the slightly creamier side with a carbonation level that is a b it on the higher side. The creaminess allows all the hop flavors of the brew a chance to linger on the tongue, while the carbonation level makes it easier drinking and more refreshing.

Overall – A quite tasty brew. It’s on the hoppier side, but balanced quite nicely by the sweeter fruit, caramel, and more malty flavors of the brew. Its well know for a good reason; its quite a good moderate strength IPA.

Serving type: on-tap

02-23-2013 02:45:32 | More by Darkmagus82

Chadhowie

California

4.7/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This is by far one of my favorite all time beers. The strength and fortitude of the hoppy full flavor makes this a perfect beer. It's no wonder that multiple variations have been and are attempted based on this beer. Pretty much all of those are excellent too. You can't go wrong with Stone!

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2013 22:22:00 | More by Chadhowie

Misajet90

Montana

4.86/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This is a good solid beer to go along with a strong flavored meal. I usually will have one with a steak or burgers but to be honest it's a good beer to have just about anytime.

If you can find it on tap it's worth it every time. I've only seen it at the Brewery and at Barney's Beanery but I'm sure there are more. Out of the bottle this is a great beer also.

Overall I highly recomend this beer to everyone, if you like dark beer or not it's worth trying it out.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2013 19:35:31 | More by Misajet90

AAG

Texas

4.05/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Served on tap at BJ's Restaurant and Brewery in Temple, Texas on New Year's Eve. All I can say is "wow!" What a great way to start off 2013...

Appearance - 2-3 fingers of nice, thick head; dark brown in color; head subsided over time as I drank it but left brilliant traces of lace down the sides of the glass. Great looking beer...

Smell - Citrus fruity smell, caramel, extremely aromatic; can smell the hops; incredible smelling beer.

Taste - Wow...initial reaction is, "wow, this beer is hoppy." Then I began to taste the incredible citrus taste, a hint of coffee, caramel, and malts. Incredible beer by the second sip; almost rind-like in it's taste. Very complex tasting beer....one of the most complex beers that I have ever tasted.

Mouthfeel - Very hoppy; bitter hops tend to linger slightly in your mouth and throat but this subsided as the beer warmed and I made my way through it.

Overall - In short, not for the faint of heart! Complex, intense, mildly overwhelming, with a sharp bite. However, extremely enjoyable; well-crafted; aromatic, full-bodied; delicious. Probably not for a novice (and definitely not for a BMC drinker!) but definitely recommend this to those that appreciate such a well brewed beer. Wow...

Serving type: on-tap

01-01-2013 16:31:50 | More by AAG

Mikecap

Rhode Island

4.83/5  rDev +15%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This was one of my first forays into the aggressive hop-foward west coast beers, and I have never looked back.

Pours a deep brown color, almost black in appearance with a slight whitish head.

The smell recalls citrus notes with pine and maybe even some oak in there, the hops are certainly at the forefront and Stone makes no attempt to hide that.

Powerful malt and hop flavors dominate the brew, bitter without being too bitter, plus some sweet notes of citrus and caramel. Absolutely delicious.

Certainly a bold mouthfeel that captures the essence of the style. Although classified as a strong ale, I put it more towards Black IPA on the spectrum thanks to the hops and intensive, but smooth finish.

Overall one of my favorite beers out there, and a true product of the fine men at Stone.

Serving type: on-tap

12-20-2012 16:25:05 | More by Mikecap

jaz58

Ontario (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed this brew at Jerome Bettis Grille in Pittsburgh

Pekoe Tea in colour.

A nice thin head that stayed thoroughout the drink creating a nice lace spider web.

Hints of toffee in the noise.

Tea with a hint of qunine at the beginning. The bitters come in and they are aggressive yet not overwhelming.

If you enjoy IPA's this Brown ale may beat a few you have had.

Serving type: on-tap

11-21-2012 02:40:27 | More by jaz58

ToddL

1.75/5  rDev -58.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Had 3 other persons at my table. No one would dare try a second taste of the overly hoppy bitter beer.
I'm not a huge fan of hops , So it was all I could do to hold my nose and choke down this beer I paid $7 dollars for. But if you are a fan of bitter tasting hop flavored beers give this a go. This just happens to be on the opposite spectrum of my liking.

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2012 14:50:53 | More by ToddL

Cavanaghty

Maine

4.98/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Served on tap in a sample glass.

Appearance: Deep amber color with a white head.

Smell: Hops, citrus, malts. Some sugars too in the background.

Mouthfeel/Taste: Medium bodied and smooth. Hoppy, citrus taste that dominates the palate.

Overall: Great beer, this one definatly lived up to it's reputation. I will have this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2012 14:38:44 | More by Cavanaghty

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

4.38/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served on tap in a pint glass

It has been to long since my last go at the classic Bastard. This beer is a deep amber color and is extremely hazy. The head is slightly off white and really doesnt stick around too long. The nose is mostly pine, herbal and floral hops. The taste of this beer starts out with a high bitterness and an intense hop profile. There is a ton of grassy, herbal, spicy notes and a lot of pine and some lemon zest. The beer has a ton of mouth feel and helps to deliver the beers flavors. The other flavors of the beer are toffee, caramel and bread yeast. This is a classic go to beer, best fresh in my opinion.

Serving type: on-tap

10-07-2012 15:34:03 | More by TwelveOunces

tectactoe

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

They always have Arrogant Bastard on tap at a pub close to my house. Pours a deep ruby shade of brown with a thin head that leaves tremendous lacing. I've found that many of Stone's brews leave awesome lacing, and this one is certainly no exception. The initial whiff has a floral essence with plenty of hops and flowers, which is quickly followed up by a nice helping of toasted malts and grains. The taste has pronounced bitterness from the hops up front that quickly becomes mellowed out and balanced by a deep, sweet caramel flavor with roasted barley and a hint of earthy and coffee flavors. The bitterness is nearly a whim by the end, but clearly leaves an impression on your tongue, teasing you to drink more. The mouth is somewhat thick, very smooth, and a bit creamy.

This beer contains a solid amount of malt flavor as well as hop flavor and does an incredibly nice job of balancing the two in near perfect harmony - one of the hardest tasks when making beer. This is a beer that I have had many times, and I'm sure many more times to come.

Serving type: on-tap

10-03-2012 11:57:21 | More by tectactoe

TheRealBigC

Nevada

4.03/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

There is nothing quite like Arrogant Bastard. I love that descriptors for the beer ended with "you probably won't like it." This might be true, though, for the uninitiated. It's quite a bitch slap on your tongue. Strong Ale is the best way to describe it. It's just so strong on your tongue - bitter and complex. I honestly can't pick apart the pieces that make up this beer. The malt and hops work together seemlessly for a balanced taste. I've never tasted sweetness in this beer, though, which some have noted in their reviews. As it warms it is a little smoother, but sweet is an adjective I reserve for the Double Bastard.

Serving type: on-tap

09-27-2012 17:51:42 | More by TheRealBigC

Melikeydahop

New Jersey

4.4/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I'm a big fan of Stone's IPA...and have been wanting to try this one for a while. Lucky enough to find it on tap at my one of my favorite sports bars. Poured a beautiful light reddish color with maybe a finger or less of white head. I've never had a strong ale before..so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. This beer was delicious...nice deep malt sweetness almost a cherry flavor, balanced by a good kick of hop bitterness on the finish. Nice amount of carbonation, and left an absolutely fantastic lacing on the glass..perhaps the best I've seen.

If a pompous male cherry and female grapefruit got together for a night of intense passion and produced a love child made of beer, and the cherry skipped town the next day, the grapefruit would have named her baby Arrogant.

I'll be looking for this one again. Absolute must try.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2012 15:01:56 | More by Melikeydahop

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On a cold tap in a chilled glass so not ideal for flavor profiling, but still this beer rocks. From just the looks of it this beer is the standard to measure others by. Dark amber with a hint of ruby. Full ivory head and excellent lacing. Smells of caramel and other darker malts. Ample hops are present but are extremely well balanced by the malt. Not too strong yet not soft. Near perfection.

Serving type: on-tap

08-17-2012 21:41:30 | More by Oakenator

Kadonny

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from tap at the Craft Ale House in Limerick PA into a classic pint glass. Believe it or not, this is my first AB from tap.

A: A reddish brown color with a fluffy off white 2 finger head. Real nice pour. Big glass lacing.

S: Piney floral hops with a nice malty smell. Wow, the hops really come out in the nose here.

T: Hops first with flavors of pine, citrus and a floral quality. The rich sweeter malt comes in with hints of caramel and some toffee maybe a bit of fruit even. Finish is classic Stone bitterness that just lasts in the mouth. Wow, this is great from tap.

M: Wonderful. Not real thick, but coating and the alcohol is nowhere to be found. Again, nice bitterness that lingers.

D: High, super high. For a 7.2 abv beer this is so drinkable and enjoyable.

I have had AB from bottle many times, but from tap this beer is even better. Wow I almost forgot how much I loved this beer. Excellent. My love affair is renewed again with Stone. They just make great beer after great beer. Uber kudos to them.

Update 5/24/2012: Stone sixtels have landed in PA, and a fresh one has made it to my house. As a general update, I am picking up on a lot more citrus notes in both the smell and taste than before with huge grapefruit qualities. The herbal floral flavors are still strong and I'm getting less pine and earth notes.

I am still in love with this beer and it continues to be a true classic of all times. Superb.

Serving type: on-tap

05-24-2012 14:08:41 | More by Kadonny

damndirtyape

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a mason jar at Coalhouse Pizza, Stamford, CT.

Appearance: Dark hazy copper-amber beer with a light tan to light orange head. Initial 1/4" head upon serving died down to a thin skin across the top, but plenty of persistent lacing noted as I drank the beer down. Dark, inviting, rich in color and lacing. A great looking beer.

Smell: For all the taste, a bit surprising it wasn't as strong in aroma. A bit of nice malt and citrus hops, but not very strong in aroma. Maybe the glass?

Taste: Strong hop flavor right up front with citrus, orange and just a hint of pine, then moving into a solidly wonderful malt base to counter that hop flavor, and then a just right bitter finish - hoppy, but not a mouth-puckering bitter finish. Oh so good.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, nicely creamy, just right carbonation. To my surprise, did not stick to the teeth as much as I expected.

Overall / Drinkability: A very dangerous beer...I could easily see myself having another one and regretting it later. On the other hand, while strong in flavor, balanced enough that you can get all the flavors in each sip and deeper drink as well such that you want to come back for more. I've had the oaked version of this beer in bottle, but on tap and unoaked...I think it's an even better beer although the smell wasn't as strong as I though it would be. Still, a great beer I will seek out again.

Serving type: on-tap

05-23-2012 02:47:28 | More by damndirtyape

Charlottini

4.63/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Arrogant Bastard is one of my favorite go-to meals. Yes, I said meals. It's also especially excellent with "big food", such as red meat dishes. It arrives menacing and dark in color, strong in flavor, and it's alarmingly easy to drink despite it's massive personality. It won't overpower your food, but if you like strong beers, this one is just amazing. I've enjoyed it out of a bottle and from a tap. I think the tap version is slightly more fabulous, but both are positively fantastic.

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2012 20:04:28 | More by Charlottini

bobhall78

4.53/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Medium dark with some orange color. Can still see light through it.

S - Malty, citrus, chocolaty.

T - Mild bitterness, some citrus in there somewhere, mild coffee, and chocolate flavor.

M - Medium body, smooth.

O - Not bad for a dark beer if you like a hint of citrus in a dark beer. Goes down smooth with a little bitterness.

Serving type: on-tap

04-08-2012 17:31:23 | More by bobhall78

GNWBC

Washington

4/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

P: pours a clear dark red/brown with light head that fades after a while.

S: strong malt and hop notes with some light citrus hanging around.

T: lots and lots of strong malt, good hop character evens out the beer, well balanced for being so pungent.

MF: goes down clean, good after taste that faded quickly and is not overwhelming to the palate.

OA: surely worthy of its reputation.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2012 00:54:36 | More by GNWBC

BillH200174

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Blood red with a tan head that laces well and mostly diminishes. Flavors are huge, supperhoppy, resinous and complex with a unique, massive spicy mutant cinnamon like flavor dominating. Finishes with pronounced bitterness but a nice almost port-like aftertaste.

Serving type: on-tap

02-25-2012 01:23:49 | More by BillH200174

notchucknorris

California

3.68/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Ignite!

A: Reddish brown color with a thin tan head.

S: Big malty aroma with some citrus hops and a good amount of resin.

T: I started out loving this beer, then I hated it, and now I'm back to liking it again. Big, chewy malt throughout, citrus hop resin and a good amount of booze.

Serving type: on-tap

02-09-2012 22:04:00 | More by notchucknorris

ummswimmin

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Stone is the eighth largest brewer in the US, and Arrogant Bastard is the largest selling bomber in the US. The name is synonomous with great, consistent beers. I was at a beer dinner sponsored by Stone, and this was part of the four course dinner. They paired it with pork belly, and it worked well together.

If you haven't had Arrogant Bastard... go to the liquor store; it is there.

What started as an error, became an excellent old ale.

It smells and tastes great. You know that it is there for you... when you want a great strong ale.

Serving type: on-tap

01-24-2012 04:06:11 | More by ummswimmin