Double Bastard Ale

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

22oz bottle. Pours a clear, but dark ruby-brown body with a off-white to beige head that leaves more of a swirly surface than the Bastard and thicker lacing on the glass. The body is more red than the Bastard. Aroma is chewier than the Bastard. Thicker and sweeter berry malts. Almost like a barley wine, actually. Much bigger than the Bastard maltwise. Lots of sweet caramels. The hops are just as in your face as the Bastard, but these seem brighter. Much more noticeable citrus and definitely not as earthy. The booze is noticeable, but blends more with the hops rather than berries. The flavor is much more aligned with my tastes. Big! Lots of malts, lots of hops, and a warming booze. Starts with a sweet, but somewhat earthy bitterness and licorice malt taste. The bitterness quickly grows in the middle, but never becomes quite as earthy or dirty as the Bastard. Despite that, the hops remain ample. Stays more along the lines of a heavily hopped barley wine. An intense sugary citrus hoppiness. The malts grow and the caramel becomes fuller. Some dried fruits, raisin, grainy rye, and booze come in before the finish. The finish is a mix between barley wine and strong ale...but mega-hoppy. Sweet, but bitter and stong/bold, but fruity. Dryer than the Bastard. Flavor doesn’t linger obsessively like the Bastard, but definitely sticks around for awhile. Slightly earthy, but more of a piney hop linger. Not quite sharp, but on the edge. Sugary sweet maltiness, but not as resiny as a barley wine. Overall, I guess what I’m trying to say is that the hops are intense, but there is a lot more going on besides the hops in this one. Much better balance IMO than the Bastard. I can’t help but think this is a mix between a typical barley wine and strong ale. Really nice stuff right here!

Bottle. Dark brown with small whitish head. Intense taste of malt and raisin. Strong on alcohol but not too much. The bottle is maybe a bit too large though. Low on bitterness. maybe a bit one dimensional since it focus on malt.. When it gets warm it is slightly too much alcohol.

tons of malt and hops. just as arrogant as its little brother but just more arrogance to spread!

I have had this on tap before, but this one was bottled. The aroma is strong with roasted malt and hops notes of darkfruit and yeast dance around in the aroma. The flavor is the same, but the hops really stand out in the finish leaving a nice alcohol burn in the back of the throat.

2007 bottle consumed earlier this week. Maybe I’m losing my edge, but this beer was definitely not designed to be drinkable for atleast a few years. The point of this beer seems to be a beverage that just destroys your tastebuds. Tons of malt and hops....wildly out of balance. Plenty of alcohol and bitterness. Dark fruit, alcohol and hop flavor/bitterness DOMINATE the palate. Needs way more than 2 years to mellow.

One of my favourites. Always work for me. It’s pretty damn huge with allot of everything yet very well balanced. Lovely malt profile and a perfect amount of hop-bitterness balancing it out. The taste is full of nutty, nougat character.

Just like the regular, but more - and better - one of the better balanced big beers that I’ve had the pleasure to try, lots of hops, lots of maltiness, supremely well-blended, and just wonderful.

Whoa nelly. MALTS HOPS big assed beer. from a bottle. thanks to ky for bringing it back from san diego.