Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the
NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.
Tonight’s featured beer is Stone Brewing Company Old
Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale.
From the Stone Brewing Company website: “Allow us to present you with
the Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine, in all its unadulterated glory. We make
small adjustments to the recipe every year, just a little bit...as it provides
an opportunity to try some different hops or malts. For the 2012 release, we
made a deliberate effort to move away from the English hop influence of the
past few years, taking out the East Kent Golding hops, subbing in a blend of
American Chinook, Calypso and Cascade. Yes, that's right, Cascade. This is the
first use of Cascade in one of our beers, and we really enjoyed the hints of
grapefruit and pine it contributed to the aroma and flavor. We also bumped up
the Maris Otter crystal malt by a mere 0.5%, and it's amazing how much of a
difference it made in the color and the upfront body. All in all, it's resulted
in a well-rounded beer that is ready to drink now, or can be aged at cellar
temperatures for many years. (If you can wait that long.)”
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours dark red with a thick off-white head and chunky lacing.
Aroma: Malt overload, bready, sweet, toffee and caramel, dark fruits and balanced
wonderfully with citrus and pine hops.
Taste: Sweet and roasted malts followed by darker roasted
malts, dark fruits and brown sugar. Alcohol and bitter hops
follow. This is one of the best of this
style I’ve tried hands down.
Overall: Stone Brewing Company’s Old Guardian Barley Wine
Style Ale is truly an epic drinking experience.
Old Guardian didn’t drink like an 11% ABV beer, but after finishing the
bomber it felt like it. This is a big beer for those who enjoy ‘em. I certainly do!
Cheers!
Mark Harvey
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