Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

An already extremely tasty beer is oaked to eternity which unfortunately leads to a little more astringency but still maintains the flavor well. Not too terribly different from the original version however.

$2.50 12oz. single from Green’s (Buford locale) in Atlanta, Georgia. Appearance: Pours a deep, dark amber body with a medium-sized, off-white head. Smell: A joining of sweet-smelling maltiness, primarily caramel with a smattering of dark brown sugar and rich hoppiness coming across as notes of plump grapefruits, perfume, and wood. Oh, and don’t forget about the vanilla. Taste: Toasty malts with a dark caramel sweetness and taste of brown sugar. Slight cherry fruitiness in the distant background. A drop or two of vanilla extract. Hoppy citrus and wood flavor, and that very same bit of fresh, hand-picked mint I get from the original. Moderate hop bitterness combines with a lightly astringent oaken component and both last through and beyond the dry finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Just as delightful as the non-oaked Arrogant Bastard, though I never felt the oak treatment gave it all too much of a unique distinction, except, unfortunately, in its price tag.

Bottle. A dark amber pour with a big British khaki head on top. Rich aroma with some cocoa, oak, caramel and hoppiness. Lots of oaky woodsiness in the taste. Starts with a good bit of caramel. Hints of vanilla in there somewhere. Finishes a little dry.

Eh, I’m not seeing it or tasting it. Shouldn’t an oaked beer taste like oak? Regular AB is more interesting. Sorry I bought a 6er instead of a bomber. In a word > weak.

This is the 06 version, so it’s most likely over a year old, been holding on to it for about that long. Pours a cloudy dark amber color, some carbonation, not much of a head, some islands and sticky lacing around the glass. The nose is of sweet malts, a slight woodsy tone, hops, and caramel. The taste is malty and slightly bitter in the tongue, the finish is quite dry, nice undertone of caramel. Alcohol is hidden very well. Medium body, well rounded brew. Very drinkable, still an awesome brew, would still recommed if you can find it.

Dark brown-orange body with a nice finger of silky tan head. Potent malt aroma, lots of aggressive herbal hops, pine, caramel and vanilla oakiness. The body is smooth but bitter malt. The oak seems to smooth it all out with a vanilla creaminess over strong toasted malts, caramel, toffee, butterscotch then a nice hop finish.

12 oz bottle. Small off-white head with a tame nose. Aromas of citrus and pine hops, toasty caramel malt and oak. The oak aged taste comes on the back end, with a medium body, creamy texture and mild carbonation. I didn’t notice a large enough difference between this and the non-Oaked AB to justify the price difference. I think I’ll stick with my regular AB. P.S. I am glad to see Stone is bringing more brews to Texas. I am one of their best customers in Conroe.

Bottle. Pours a hazy auburn with a thin off-white head. Aroma is rich and fruity malts with notes of hops. A spicy hops flavor upfront but a somewhat stale seeming malt body, perhaps a characteristic lended by the oak which never really makes itself present in the mouth. A bit of cloying sweetness and a bitter finish. Medium bodied. Maybe this one didn’t travel to Indy too well as I was not overly impressed.