Stone Double Bastard Ale

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

dark amber color, aroma of citrus pine hops, toasted malt, toffee, flavor is citrus, pine, toffee, roasted malt, slight alcohol spice on the finish, full bodied and very smooth, great beer

Pours deep brownish red with a small off white head. Smells of pine, tropical fruits, and toffee with a little booze. This is a nearly syrupy brew with a massive flavor. Pineapple comes to mind with a caramel and toffee malt notes that finishes with a deeply bitter long finish. Massive beer for sippin’ time.

Super hoppy. Smells of hops and candy, with some flowering hop essence. Very good.

650 ml bottle from Systembolaget. Almost clear, deep amber liquid with medium to big off-white head. Aroma of wort, caramel, citrus, piney/resiny hops, tropical fruit and toasty/bready malt. Taste is light sweet, quite dry, medium to high bitter and really nicely malty. Chewy with caramely notes. Medium to full bodied with good carbonation. Really nice one. The combination of the chewy maltbase and the citrusy hops is great.

Bottle: Pours a dark brown with a lasting 1 inch, tan head. Very malty aroma with caramel and coffee very present. A little fruity as well, but secondary to the previously mentioned aromas. Taste is very malty sweet. Not quite barleywine caliber, but still very sweet. Most certainly not a chugging beer. Only the very slightest of alcohol notes, but they compliment rather than hinder the beer. It does a good job of offsetting the sweetness a bit. The mouthfeel is quite full and, dare I say, syrupy almost. The caramel and coffee from the aroma are also present in the flavor and the finish is, as stated, sweet but offset by a slight bit of alcohol flavor. Overall, another outstanding brew from Stone and one I would definitely recommend to lovers of big beer.

2011 vintage poured int a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale snifter. Appearance is a hazy dark ruby with a tiny head that fades to a thin ring around the glass. Smells of fruit but a couple different kinds. I pick up some orange, grapefruit, and pineapple presumably from the hops but then also dark fruit; figs and raisins. Also some wood. The taste starts out quite sweet with some light citrus coming in next, much like an Imperial IPA. There is then a transition to the darker fruits more typical in a Barleywine. There is some vanilla along with wood towards the finish. A fairly strong bitterness comes in at the end along with some pineapple. Finally there is a somewhat drying bitterness with hints of tobacco. Overall this is a very complex and enjoyable beer. There is so much going on and it constantly changes as the beer warms. A sipper for sure kind of wish it came in something smaller than a 22oz bomber.

Wow, great beer! The aroma is good, but not great, feel like the aroma does not do the beer quality justice. The taste is just great, not sure how else to put it. Stone has a homerun with this one. My only complaint is a slight bitterness in the aftertaste.

Bottle, pours hazy deep reddish with one finger off white head. Aroma is lots of malts, dark fruits, some hops and also some alcohol. Taste is malty, lots of caramel, hoppy citrus and bread. Big bitterness, medium-high sweetness, big body. Nice complex over the top beer.