Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

Tasted from cool painted bottle into nucleated pint glass. Overall impression was the same as regular Arrogant Bastard, which is to say, awesome plus the added complexity of oak-aging. Poured a nice copper color with some chill haze and moussy off-white foam, long-lasting with excellent Belgian lace. Aromas of assertive, citrusy, resiny American hops, bread, caramelized brown sugar, fruity ale yeast esters, and yes, toasted hardwood. Flavor was rich malt sweetness to compliment the profound hops bitterness. Finished with that subtle fruity snap of English ale yeast. Remarkably balanced, much more like an IPA than standard Pale Ale. Extremely well-crafted beer, even more so than the original, which is saying a lot. Highly recommended.

UPDATED: FEB 5, 2012 Pub. 12 oz, bottled. Pours clear red with a white head. Aroma: Hops. Toasted malt, tobacco, mämmi, salmiakki and oak. Taste: Light sweetness, med bitter. Palate: Light-medium body, subaverage carbo. Quite dry finish.

Bottle to pint glass. Pours dark amber with a small tab head. Aroma of oak (surprising), hops and toasted malt. Flavor goes from front to back very smoothly - semi-sweet malty to earth hops. Incredibly balanced. Mouthfeel is on the thin side. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle. Pours a nice dark amber color with a beige head. Aroma is of oak, wood, earthy notes, caramel, sweet malt, toasted malt, grapefruit, pine and some citrus notes. The flavor follows the nose with lots of grapefruit and pine, some resin and earthy hoppy notes, along with the oak, caramel, toasted and sweet malt. The body is medium with a dry mouthfeel. Overall a pretty nice brew, better than the regular Bastard!

I’m again and again amazed at this beer. It pours with very little head. The aroma is mostly of biscuity sweet malt caramels and milder earthy hops. At the front you get a slight oak with an amazing bitter-sweet caramel malt that is completely identifiable outside of the hops. It’s like eating caramel malt straight from a supplier. As it transits over your tongue it becomes slightly more bitter from the hops, and it really gets your appetite going for the malts at the front again. I can’t believe how well the hops go with this beer. I wish I knew what hops they used for the flavor/aroma. Bottom-line this beer is not as buff as one might think from the name. There are plenty of beers more hoppy and plenty of beers more malty, but this beer takes an amazingly balanced approach. This is award winning beer in my mind.

UPDATED: FEB 2, 2012 Poured from a quart growler. VERY dark copper color with substantial haze. Off white, small head that didn?t last long, but left a nice lacing.Has a fairly normal ale aroma - strong pine with some very distinct citrus scent. I didn?t get much from the oak, but I?m very new to tasting.Taste is STRONG! Definitely not a beer for the not-yet-converted hophead! It?s very rich and complex while remaining surprisingly drinkable. The mouthfeel is great - substantial thickness... seems to coat your mouth and keep that lovely bitterness around for quite a while.I haven?t had anything, yet, from Stone that I haven?t liked and this was no exception. Highly recommended

Pours ruby/brown with an off-white head. The smell has spicy and piny hops, some rich toffee malt, some woodiness, some slightly astringent graininess.... hard to explain, kind of funky, but not belgian yeast funky. Taste is rich caramel with a huge presence of the pine and resinous hops. Nice spiced character. Some wood, alcohol oomph, but not sharp at all, just adds a little something to the flavour. The bitterness is there but not totally palate destroying thanks to the alcohol and body of the beer. Mouth feel is medium-thick, with light but apropriate carbonation.

This beer is fantastic. The beer pours a brilliant ruby red, and has a very small amount of head. The taste is full of hops, very pine like. The taste also offers smoke and incorporates nice undertones of oak. The finish is just as exciting and offers a long finish. This beer is awesome.