Arrogant Bastard Ale

It’s rough. This Ale will put hair on your chest. Smooth is not a word I would use to describe the after taste as it lingers on your tongue. This is a good cold weather beverage.

Oh this is good! A solid balance of malt and hops that is way more approachable than the label suggests! Subtle hints of citrus and caramel.

Pleasant, but not as "arrogant" as the label makes it out to be. Good solid bitterness dominates after a very sweet and sticky initial hit. There’s a hot alcohol component too. Maybe I’m being pickier because this is so highly rated, but while it’s a good solid beer, and one I’d love to have again, I’m just not sure it’s a "99" as the stats say.

bottle. floral aroma with a hint of honey. Dark red amber color. Heavy on the bitterness, my friends guess the IBU for this one at 90 I’d love to know it’s score. Creamy texture that works beautifully against the bitterness.

ambrato carico buona schiuma discreta persistenza note maltate biscottate leggera tostature luppoli americani in bocca intensa buon corpo maltature e decisa luppolatura

Bottle from the GBBF 2009. Well I’ve heard a lot about this beer. It looks pretty much close to perfect in the glass, I know it’s hard to give appearance a 5, but in this case I had to as I can’t imagine many beers looking as appertising. The colour is lovely red/amber and glows invitingly like burning embers, the head is big and creamy and sits a god half inch above the top of the glass without falling over the side. The first thing I’m struck by is the maltiness of the aroma, after hearing how hoppy this Bastard was meant to be, I was surprised. The aroma is malty, roasty and heavy with bread and also with some delicious citrus creeping through, then in to floral hops tasty. The flavour is absolutely delicious, however, I am blown away, and I mean BLOWN AWAY by how controlled the hop action is... The hops ride along playfully on a tidal wave of biscuity red malt only ever becoming bitter as it reaches the back of your tongue. Amazingly well balanced! But the characteristic I adore most is it’s sensual, soft, creamy full body. Stupendous beer and far more elegant than I had anticipated from this well known brewery.

Bottle, from Utobeer, 29th July 09. Finally got round to rating this great beer, as I tend to enjoy it too much to bother writing a rate! Rich deep russet colour, slightly hazy, small beige head. Full bodied and ever so flavoursome - lots of strong hops along with a robust caramel malt backbone.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a beautiful, deep, reddish-brown with a medium tan head. Medium lacing. Hoppy, medium malt, and caramel. Some citrus aromas. Starts off bitter and evolves into a smooth, but complex beer. A real treat, but probably not for the timid … as the name (and hilarious label reading) imply.