Review: Stone Brewing – Double Bastard Ale 2007
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Stone Brewing Co.’s Double Bastard Ale 2007 has just made it to the shelves where finer beer is sold. You can find this in 22oz bottles, and I would guess 3 litre, reusable growlers.
Appearance: A dark maroon with thin white swirls at the top. Light reflects off of it cool, but not much gets through. After pouring it into a lowball cocktail glass, it’s half inch head decreases to a 1/16 inch head. Leaves its mark on the glass as you sip, but not overly lacy.
Aroma: You get a faint whiff of Stone’s signature super hop smell. The alcohol tickles your nose. After that, you smell some nice dark fruit, like prunes, black cherries and such. After swishing it around, you can find grapefruit if you try hard enough.
Taste: Beauty? Is that a way to describe how something tastes? This has fruit flavors in layers. First you get bitter citrus, then you get sweet apricot. Again, there is the signature Stone hop layer. I really dig the hops they used, similar to that wonderful beast they used for X1. It’s hard to distinguish between the bitter, yet sweet juicy citrus, and the alcohol content factor. Although there is no indication oak was involved, my mind wanders to an oaked flavor similar to OAKED Arrogant Bastard. You like that. I used all caps like Stone says too.
Mouthfeel: Very thick and syrupy. Coats your mouth with a layer of wonderful flavors. The hop bitterness stays in the middle of your tongue, but the 10 other things going on make it a pleasant bitterness.
Drinkability: Be careful with this one. It is clearly labeled a 10% abv ale, and can be felt after half of a 22oz bottle. I would pair it with a hearty meal, or save it for after a hearty meal. For whatever reason, this strikes the senses more than Old Guardian even, so with that said, save it for the weekend, or a lazy Friday at work. Definitely not when you need to be on your A game. Something to give that co-worker who says they don’t like beer. Gives a whole new meaning to beer.
