Double Bastard Ale

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

mine was the 2008 release, 10th anniversary with silver ink instead of white... not bragging... just letting you know you should hold onto those bottles and when you have a trip out to Cali, Stone fanatics will pay MAD cash for the bottle. the beer itself, was alright compared to other Stone beers.

bomber ($7) from local market into wineglass. Murky dark amber/honey brown pour with a big cream colored head that lasts and leaves great lace as it slowly recedes down the wall of my glass. The aroma hits my nose upon uncapping this one - beautifully fresh juicy citrus (grapefruit) hops with a very sturdy malt character to balance the hops. The flavor is the same but with a more pronounced alcohol presence sneaking through. The grapefruit hop character fades into a bitter earthy and pine character on the finish. Though the flavor is very solid, the hotness of the alcohol detracts from its quality. It is medium to thick bodied on the palate with soft subtle carbonation. Overall: very solid but a bit rough. A big beer.

Pours a deep, transparent ruby amber with a thick, pillowy head. The aroma is so powerful it practically hits you in the face – a delectable balance between tons of bright, citrus hops and sweet malts. Spices and booze also abound – this is certainly a winter warmer. At first sip you can tell this is a big beer. The bitterness of the hops lingers, but is never overpowering. Not very smooth – there’s no hiding the alcohol in this one. It’s just a tad on the wet side, but the flavor is fantastic. This would be dynamite with a steak.

On tap at Stone for the release party. I love living in San Diego. The 2008 is hot. Way sharp and full of alcohol flavors. Still was great. However... the tap that flowed the ’06 was the tap for me. It mellowed and blended and tasted so effing good. I’m rating this on the ’06 just because I can.

Bottle@home Finally i managed to chase down a bunch of bottles of this, very hyped, brew. 2007 vintage! Apperance: Dark red with a yellow/beige lace that looks quite creamy. Aroma: Malts, Caramel, Dark fruit, Citric notes, Hint of pine, Raisin. Flavor: Orangepeel, Caramel, Bread, Butterscotch, Spices, Ripe fruit. Palate: Quite thick with low carbonation. Lots of hops but the malts help to balance it out a bit. This tastes like a DIPA mixed with a barleywine or something. Very heavy and complex and so very different from the Arrogant bastard. This is a good brew to sip on during cold nights. Outstanding!

Until I drank this beer I didn’t realize that I was such a masochist...I’m glad that Stone is out there to teach me such valuable life lessons.

Found this gem in a wine shop in Davis, though I didn’t anticipate to score anything... I’m a huge fan of the ASA, and this one indeed put the Bastard in it’s place. The sheer hoppiness was similar, but the complexity was clearly superior. This brew had an unbelievable palate for the sheer strength of it. Excellent, excellent beer.

2007 Bottle - Pours a beautiful amber with a large tan head...aroma is huge - fruit, wood, pine, an insane amount of molassas-y malts, you can smell the alcohol...flavour is as you would expect, sweet, bold hops, yeast, dry fruit...as I expected, a year in the bottle definitely helped mellow the fire (but certainy not extinguished), will continue to evolve...