Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Oak not overpowering, which is good, but I wasn’t blown away. With all the hype, I guess I was expecting more out of this beer.

I like the hazy copper, almost brown, color and the tan head with good lacing. The aroma and initial taste is all spicy hops. Finish has a long lasting, dry oak flavor.

12 oz bottle Pours a dark amber brown color with a fair amount of light tan head that slowly recedes. The head laces slightly. Nose is mostly a spicy hop scent with a light hint of grapefruit...there is a slight complexity in the nose that I can’t quite place. Hops are lighter on the palate then the nose suggests, but they linger on the back of the tongue. There is a light woodiness in the aftertaste, but nothing that comes to the forefront for me. The malts here balance this beer nicely, and I pick up a small hint of caramel. Overall an excellent beer, complex enough to keep me paying attention, but well balanced and easy to drink.

The oaking in this one seems to have turned that grapefruit hoppiness in to a mango hoppiness. I get mango everywhere in this one. In the aroma, in the taste, and on the swallow especially. Pretty rare for a beer to be mango-hoppy. Really a quite fruity beer. I have to say I like the regular arrogant better, but this was a nice alternative to a favorite of mine.

Worth trying if only for the name and the narrative on the back of the label. I liked the dark, almost red colour and the VERY hoppy taste. Head was a bit less than expected, but taste was a grabber. Again, mucho hops.

Keg at the White Horse’s American Beer Festival 2009. Red fruit and pine aroma. The flavours of honey, pine, prunes and a touch of spice (nutmeg, perhaps?) mix well together. Quite decent.

660 ml bottle. Clear amber with a dense tan head. Aroma is grapefruit, some caramel and a small hint of oak and vanilla. Flavor is citric bitter, fruity in general, some caramel, and slightly spicy. Very smooth and balanced and even if its really bitter and quite strong it feels very soft and kind. I did not taste that much of the oak, but it has definitively done a great job with this beer. Love it.

Pours a deep reddish brown with a two-finger, creamy, beige head; nice lacing. Huge aromas of raisin, wine, and caramelization. Flavor is a delicate balance between malts and piney, resinous hops and a hint of alcohol; the hops become more assertive as the beer exits the palate. The oak presence is there, but extremely subtle at lower temps, serving primarily to round out the primary flavors and add a smoothness to the mouthfeel. As the beer warms into the 50s that familiar vanilla quality becomes apparent. Medium to full body and a long, hoppy finish. Excellent beer.