Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Bottle... Poured foggy burgundy with a frothy head. Aroma of alcohol, spices and plum and malt. Flavors are strong and in your face, consisting of smoked flavors and bitter barley which lends to cereal-like grains and plums or raisins. Next there’s some sugary hops which finishes with a stinging alcohol warmth.

Brilliant burnt umber, big straw head falling quickly but leaving rings. Subtle malty nose, some oak, a world of herbs and spices as well. Big and malty, with caramel, toast, and light sweetness. Strong hoppy bitterness. Some oak, ginger, and a light nutiness. Initially almost too thick, fading to a livelier, more drinkable palate. Remains somewhat cloying. I keep going back and forth on whether I could drink this whole six pack. edit: I could but I won’t.

12oz bottle courtesy of Markwise (thanks!). Pours a dark, reddish brown with a thin white-tan head with little lacing of glass. Aroma: Smells of lemon zest, ginger, fresh oak, flowers, hints of grapefruit and nuts. Flavor: Strong citrus notes and hoppy character with a bitter finish.

Pours dark brown with ruby tint to it. Aroma of oak, malt and hops. Taste of slight bite of hops and wood. Big malty flavor that balances out the hop bite. I had this years ago and it was OK. This was really good trying it again. A nice change from the original.

Dark brown pour with some head and pretty flat. Strong aroma of malt, sugar, hops, and oats. Couldn’t get too much woody aroma or flavor out of this one, but have had other bottles that do. Flavors are similar to aroma with sweet, hops and bitter providing the biggest contributions.

I tried this side by side with regular AB in a blind test. The wife poured each in a trappist and didn’t tell me which was was oaked. I was able to distinguish the AB apart from the oaked version and it was alot easier than I thought. Personally I thought the oaked was better than the regular version (I liked both). The oaked pours deep amber with little head, which is a big difference from the regular AB. The oaked has a subtle wood aroma as well and the sweetness and carmel are more subdued. The oaked has little carbonation in comparision to regular leaving an oily mouthfeel but in a good way. I was able to pick out the oaked flavor after a a sip or two and noticed big differences between the two brews immediately. The oaked version is a little more complex as the the earthy notes from the wood chips mellow out the aggressive hops and malts. This brew is way more balanced than the original AB. What a great idea to mellow an already premium brew.

Thanks to Buckeyeboy for this. Dark brown pour with a thick tan head. Big malty, vanilla, slightly bitter aroma. Bitter hop taste with some of the oakiness coming through in the malt. I really wasn’t knocked out by the balance, I found too much bitterness and not really enough malt. Solid brew, otherwise.

super fine beer, another winner from stone. there is a distinct difference in this an normal arrogant, definitely worth trying them both.