Double Bastard Ale

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

Aromas of toffee, fruit, dough. Thick and chewy, this medium to full bodied brew is huge. Alcohol is hidden by giant malts, toffee, caramel, white raisons, all sorts of good stuff. Finishes with a bombardment of hops, huge! What an incredible brew, Im terribly impressed.

This is by far one of the best ales, if not beers to have ever flowed over my tongue. My first taste last night consisted of a bottle aged approximately one year. The color was a beautiful amber with a few shades of brown. The taste was inmistakenly fruity and tangy. This beer is not for the faint of heart, but damn if this wasnt the best thing i have tasted in a long long time. Beer is a great thing...but when you find one that tastes as remarkable well and distinct as a double bastard...well, you’ve found yourself a staple!! RERATE 12/25/02: Aroma of peaches, and oranges, a nice dark orange color and minimal head. The taste massive with orange peel, peaches, nectarine, and a nice hoppy, bitter aftertaste with the alcohol becoming quite apparent as it nears room temperature. This drop in rating you may ask??? The comparison of an aged bottle of Double Bastard with a non-aged bottle and then the average of the two. Still an awesome ale worthy of the few.

2003 bottle. Cloudy chocolate-copper. Lasting thin caramel head. Pervasive aroma of sharp hops and caramel/toffee malt. Flavours of hops, malt and alcohol. Very smooth and not overly thick. Enjoyable to roll around the tongue and savour. I did not find it shocking but perhaps after the Arrogant brother and 100s of beers I should not expect it to be so. Thanks to Kujo9 my 2004 Secret Santa.

(2002 edition) Reddish brown color with a huge malt and alcohol nose. Flavor is quite sweet with some raisins, caramel, and cherries. The alcohol is certainly present even at a colder temp. This is one BASTARD all right, it will sneak up and bitch smack you! This may truly be a beer few are worthy of. Not for the faint of heart. (2004 edition) I was unable to try last years but I am really enjoying the ’04 edition. It seems to be more balanced with less alcohol showing than in years past, but that may just be me. This has some barley wine characteristics. The malt does prodominate over the hops but it does have a nice bitter bite to it. A bit of sour fruit, oak, and port wine. Ive gotta up the old rating of 4.1 for this one. Good good stuff.

Smells greatly sweet and barley-wine-like. A tad cloudy, on a pretty dark copper body. Barely a head at all. Very hoppy, but it's very much like the regular 'ol arrogant bastard. Very sweet finish - a darling of a beer.

Very nice orange color with a ruby glow. Extremely hoppy aroma, full of grapefruit and other citrus. Very sweet malty caramel flavor with a very bitter hoppy bite. One extreme beer!

A nice reddish brown color and off white head start off this much anticipated brew. Nose is an almost vineous hoppiness...very nice! Flavor is full, quite hoppy in a very good way, and the alcohol, which is pronounced, both warms the bones and adds a nice extra note to the flavor. Finish seems to last forever, starting hoppy, but fading into a soothingly warm alcohol bliss. Really a superb beer!

Pours a hazy brown with an inch-thick fluffy head. Strong, rich aroma of malt, hops and spice, maybe a touch of dried fruit. Flavor is a complex bittersweet mixture of sweet malt, dried fruit, warm alcohol and malt with a strong hop presence. Freaking excellent beer. very comparable/similar to the best barleywines I’ve had, despite being labeled as an American strong ale.