Arrogant Bastard Ale

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Escondido, California USA

I’m no arrogant bastard, but apparently that is one of the required personality traits one needs to even try to be worthy of the enjoyment of this particular offering from Stone Brewing. Of course, I am referring to the Arrogant Bastard Ale.

My Arrogant Bastard Ale poured rustic amber with copper hues, rather befitting an evening outdoors watching the burning crimson orb shrink below the towering mountains. A head peaks nicely with a mix of big and small bubbles striving for attention. Swift swirls inspire scattered lace along with a short-lived revival of her puffy head. Rising with the night mists is an embracing presence of sweet fruits, caramel and toffee, roasted malts and warm bread, grass, orange, peaches, and grapefruit. Carried away in a delirious fog of sensory delights, I savor our first quaff as I clutch her bounty close. Arrogant Bastard is definitely hop-forward, soaking my tastebuds in dry grass, hay, and bitter-sweet grapefruit esters. Faintly sweet and pleasantly sticky, my mouth waters after each hoppy quaff now overflowing with multiple varieties of ripe grapefruit. As she warms, pine needs and sap tingle on top of my tongue which, despite her rather sticky nature, is enjoying a growing sense of dryness. Offering silent support from the background is a quiet strength of toasted malts and rich whole-grain breads that are laced with faint notes of honey and orange. Arrogant Bastard that she is, our time is over when she decides and well, I guess her decision has been made considering my glass is empty. All that remains are vivid memories of fresh grapefruit, sweet pine, sticky sap, and dry grass balanced perfectly with toasty malts and honey.

A small part of me feels a twinge of guilt every time I say Arrogant Bastard Ale, but I swiftly squash that little voice with a flare of indifference. We all have our inner arrogant bastard which must be embraced from time to time. The brewers at Stone Brewing may embrace theirs at all times, but if such delicious works of brewing are the result, I really can’t complain.

Bottle shared with Hophead22.. Pours dark amber with a creamy off white head... Smells great with piney hops and malt...Taste like it smells hoppy and malty, lingers with you to make sure you remember you just drank some Arrogant Bastard... Great Beer!!

Cask at the Rake, London this week. Dark brown pour with a decent head. Malty, sweet aroma. Starts off with a bitter hop blast and ends quite smooth. First time I tasted this about 6 years ago I could not drink it but I really love it now, what a fabulous beer, full of character. I like the pompous, arrogant comments on the side of the bottle. Another great beer from Stone Brewing Co.

22oz bottle shared by DuffManSW at his place. Dark amber with a little bit of red and a big off-white head. Piney aroma with some real nice maltiness. Flavor was very nicely balanced, not overpowering on either side of the malt/hop thang. Forgot what a good beer this is.

A dark brownish red color, with a slightly off white medium sized head. Smell is sweet, nutty, and alcoholic. Tastes grassy and hoppy with a bitter finish. Great brew! Refreshing and complex.

1 pint, 6 oz. bottle@Olympen,Oslo. A mostly lasting dense yellow head upon a translucent, reddish-brown colored body. Aroma has a strong earthy, grassy and piny hoppiness, (almost) balanced by some toasted dark malts and a scent of toffee/cream-caramel. Taste is dominated by earthy and piny bittering hops. Sour- sweet maltiness underneath. Notes of citrus and spices. Mouthfeel is quite sharp, bordering to astringency. Medium body strenght. A powerful and punchy one, and certainly rough on the palate.

After trying a lot of these, bottled and on tap, I’m rerating it quite a bit lower. If the beer is very fresh, it’s basically a heavily hoppy IPA... too hoppy for my tastes. As it ages about 3 months, it mellows and becomes very interesting and good. Then is seems to go funky or bad within another couple months. When it’s good, it’s great, but it’s way too inconsistent for me to rate it so high.

Pours dark brown and ruby with a good light tan head. Alcohol is present in the aroma but not overwhelming. At first taste you’re met with immediate malts, hops and plenty of bitterness. Again alcohol is present but not overwhelming. Toasty malty and bitter. Great beer