Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

Cask conditioned at The White Horse, Parsons Green, London. Thick dark brown with no head. Heavy, sugary, sweet toffee like, chocolatey beer. Totally flat unfortunately and cloying. Some fruitiness in the close, but I couldn’t really get on with this.

on tap @ coles. pours a slight hazed red with a tan head. big malt structure in the nose with some back hopping and some vanilla from the wood. the flavour is very similar to regualr bastard but the aging has calmed the hops and the vanilla aspects of the wood really show. a nice find on tap, i could have enjoyed more pints of this one if i had more time.

On cask at the Daily Pint in Santa Monica, CA. Pours with a murky dark brown orangey hue with no head whatsoever (cask conditioned). Aroma is woody, with dark fruits, caramel, and hops. Flavor starts off grassy and hoppy, with a slightly sweet malty ending. Light-medium bitterness also accompanies this taste in the finish. No carbonation, once again because it was cask conditioned, with thin-medium mouthfeel.

Poured from the 12 oz bottle a very murky orange amber color with a thick, creamy, off-white head. Aroma has a good amount of woodiness, lots of sweet caramel malt, some floral hops notes. Flavor starts off with some grassy hoppiness, a woody and slightly sweet caramel malt middle and ends with a light bitterness. Hop aroma and flavor that makes arrogant bastard good is really lacking in the oak aged version. Lacing on the glass is decent and the alcohol is fairly well hidden. I don’t know if I just got an old batch but the flavors are pretty muted and the mouth feel is a bit on the thin side for the flavors. I was expecting an outstanding beer, like its brethren, but got just a better than average beer instead.

On tap at the Yard House in SD. I must admit that I was shocked to see any local beer from SD at the Yardhouse, but I was particularly stunned that they had OAB vom fass! Cloudy dene dark amber/brown like a barley wine, but Shockingly infused with oak barrel bourbon and vanilla. This seems hellaciously stronger than 7.2% ABV, as I had to nurse it for quite some time. Fantastic!

Dark orange pour with large tan head, strong alcohol and earthy aroma, flavor is caramel and vanilla, strong hop presence carefully balanced with strong malt, a bit smoother than it’s un-oaked counterpart...finishes great.

Sample draft at the Stone tasting inTallahassee. This one was pretty much exactly what I expected, Arrogant Bastard with a nice earthy charred wood accent that fills it more flavor. Outstanding.