Double Bastard Ale

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

2005 vintage on tap at Stone. Aroma of toasted nuts, yeast, and malt. Caramel and toffee tastes transitioning to a toasty alcoholic flavor and finishing with an intense bitterness and lingering sweetness, An amazingly good beer.

Bottle: Poured a deep amber color ale with a small foamy head with minimal retention. Aroma of heavy sweet malt with a strong dose of bitter hops. Taste is really sweet with a heavy dose of sweet malt plus a strong bitter hops presence. Body is above average with no discernable trace of alcohol. Very good try at bringing a lot of extreme side to a beer while conserving some balance.

2002 edition - deep orange, big head and excellent lacing. Taste is thick and smooth. From begining til end, the strong assertive flavors battle it out in my mouth. Sweeter than expected malts and a nice huge bitterness.

Bottled in 2003. Poured a nice ruby orange to brown color with a very nice head that sustained itself well. The lacing provided was very nice. Aroma was resinous and citrusey, no alcohol at all. The flavor was excellent, probably all the better that it was aged. No pine trees to kill things. Just caramel malts, resinous hops, and citrus fruits (grapefruits probably most prominent). This aged barleywine became a very nice double IPA, my favorite of the "hoppy" styles. Mouthfeel was moderate, not too thick, not too heavy. The dog LOVED the few teaspoons he got and rolled around on his back, while wagging his tail. Re-rate on drafts in Arizona and at SL provided similar experiences. This is perhaps my favorite barleywine out there.

This brew poured with a beautiful burgundy body topped by a medium thick head with good lacing left on the glass. Then the aroma of sweet caramel malt with god strong hoppy accents and a hint of alcohol hit my nose. My first tast was full of sweet and fruity malt with caramel notes and a good hoppy background. The finish was slightly sweet but mostly bitter and hoppy. I took another sip and another and another (you get the picture) and WHAT THE HELL? All I could taste was bitter hops with a tiny bit of the sweet caramel flavor showing through. I had to take a break. After about 5 minutes, I tried it again and....back to the first thing I tasted. I took a few more sips and BITTER! HOPS! BITTER! HOPS! Man! This beer kicked the hell out of my palate. I’m glad I wasn’t planning on rating any other beer that night. Full bodied and slightly dry.

This is indeed a Double Bastard! Its one massive beer. The body is a thick, syrupy, cloudy, dark reddish brown color. A large, foamy, light tan colored head settles slowly to a wispy film, leaving intricate patterns of lacing etched onto the glass. The aroma is fruitier than I expected, a surprising dose of peaches intermingling with the requisite grapefruit and orange hops. Big, heavy caramel and toffee malts are kissed with huge, oaky vanilla scents. The flavor is comprised of the same components, though the fruitiness takes a bit of a backseat to the huge, oaked toffee malts. Expertly blended for supreme balance, despite its enormity. The body is downright thick and syrupy, a slight negative in my book, though its a minor flaw I am willing to overlook. This one reminds me of a more refined, more realistic, more drinkable version of DFH 120. There’s just so much complexity going on here in such a massive package. Not something I could drink often, but impressive as hell nonetheless.

bomber, 2005 vintage (aged 21 months). pours hazy amber-copper with off white head. i last sampled this vintage at 1 year next to fresh 2006 bottle and the hops were still live and kicking in it, it was a little subdued but no aged characteristics were taking place. however, with 21 months of age it’s noticed instantly in the nose and flavor.....nose has classic BW oxidation characteristics but it’s not too much, sherry, dull caramel, plums, and cherries. hops have suffiently faded at this point. flavor has more upfront caramel than when fresh, some vegetable notes of beets, hint of smoke, and prunes. alcohol is hidden much better then when fresh. like assumed, aging this thing 18months+ really turns it into an aged barleywine. i like this hoppy mess of a beer fresh but i think i prefer it toned down and with more complex malt/aged notes.4.0.

12/2/07, 2007 vintage, released a month ago. pours dense reddish brown with small white head. nose has lots of hop notes of bubblegum, grapefruit, and tangerine with some sweet alcohol notes. flavor is pretty bitter with piney, grapefruity hop notes along with some caramelized dark fruits and tabacco. not med body and alcohol is well hidden. this vintage seems less sticky and more drinkable when fresh than previous ones. pretty tasty but not the most refined and sophisticated beer. i prefer this beer aged. 3.7.

5/12/08, 2005 vintage, about 34 months of age on it. this is tasting great right now, low oxidation, very creamy pour, sweet caramel body with hints of hop flavors still holding on. hops have really faded out but this isn’t oxidized or past its prime. just right if you ask me. really tasty and could hold up another few year but this may be peaking. good stuff. 4.0.

1/2/09 - 7 year vertical 2002-2008. Everyone pretty agreed that the 2003 was the best on the lot, DB aged 5 years. The ’03 had the best aged character with mild bals

Bottle. Poured with a medium head. Color was a rich red-auburn. Initial reaction was wow this is strong. An assault on the palate. Ends with a strong hop flavor, but present from the beginning. A general sweet taste. Alcohol very present. Caramel malt flavors. Complex. Dry finish. Liked the 10th anniversary better, but still damn good. (Rerate; general impressions were the same, but liked it a bit more. Raise from 3.9 to 4 on January 11th)