The Final Rating 9.9/10
My anticipation of smell is an aroma of fruity flavors. Probably
citrus, caramel, and then there are those varieties of flavors I am
anticipating from good ole Arrogant Bastard Ale. I don’t mean to confuse the
aromas I have mentioned with Arrogant Bastard of course, but I do remember the
citrus quite well.
The taste considering all of the high ABV beers I’ve had will probably
be on the bittersweet side. Since its one of Stone’s special strong ale’s, it
may be considerably more hoppy and hopefully pack more of a bite than Arrogant
Bastard Ale, which is actually currently my favorite beer.
The head retention might last a while after the pour, the color itself
should appeal as an amber, but that I am unsure of as of now. The head should
appear to be a foamy tan, like its brother ale that I have previously
mentioned. Yes, I expect some similar characteristics but I am definitely hoping
for a rougher taste and a considerably adventurous experience for my taste buds
to endure.
Pour: No aggression is needed
for the pour and you can see a lot of action going on as it fills up in a
Weyerbacher pint glass. Quickly but swiftly, the head reaches the top of the glass,
about roughly an inch thick. In fact, the glass almost overflowed.
Appearance: Sort of a dark amber
copper color. The head maintains a very nice light tan where you can see micro
bubbles endlessly flow up from the bottom of the glass. Simply put, just one of the beautiful moments for a beer enthusiast to see.
Head & Lacing: The head retains itself quite well but you will
notice after a while that it will start to fade. Very foamy view from the top
of the glass, as if I’m visualizing a cloud of foam where I can barely see any
porousness. The lacing sticks well to the glass as if it’s not going anywhere
for the time being, even when the head starts to fade down more and more.
Nose: Right off the back you pick up notes of citrus and pine along
with a buried scent of grain alcohol with deeply hidden caramel that indicates
the balance of malt and hops overall. It’s hard for me to tell what other
aromas linger.
Palate: There is a steadily hint of the alcohol blended with citrus and
pine straight up front. Of 11.2% ABV you really get the taste of the grain
alcohol, but not as much as you would if you were to sip high ABV spirits. It
simply doesn’t bother me, since I’m use to hard spirits with a rough taste, and
in general it just seems quite sessionable regardless. In that regard, I
actually develop more appreciation for the alcohol taste as it is backed up by
other complex and intense varieties of flavors that tend to sneak in which I
can’t really put my finger on.
In the back, the hops creep up nicely, I guess that may be the
lingering of the citrus and pine flavor of them steadily undermined by the
bittersweet malt flavor, which is indeed quite complicated to comprehend for
myself even. I do also get a hint of caramel and maybe somewhat of a rye or
whole grain bread flavor but overall this seems to be a stronger version of the
ordinary Arrogant Bastard Ale as far as the palate serves. There may be other
flavors I can’t pick up, but maybe that is because I am overwhelmed by the mentioned
flavors.
Overall with the flavor, there is a pretty good balance of malt and
hops, but I think in the end I get more of a balance of the bittersweet malt
mixed with the taste of alcohol. I guess one can imagine the taste as if it was
a more sessionable Tequila, except it tastes nothing like Tequila and Tequila
tastes nothing like it. Especially as it warms up, the malt flavor seems to
dominate but when it was cold I was definitely able to sense the balance of
hops up with the malt.
Overall: This is just about the best damn beer I ever had. Demonstrated
is a very relinquishing balance of hops and malt with a pleasant blended hint
of alcohol along with other varieties of complex flavors. Not much more can be
expected or should be expected here. I always wish for every beer I have had
though, that the flavor can have more bitterness to it. On the definite side,
this is definitely just a stronger and more improved Arrogant Bastard Ale.
It was either this or the Oaked Arrogant Bastard I was posed with
getting at the Liquor Store just the other day and needless to say, I am
delightfully satisfied. Next time I’ll be sure to pick up the Oaked Arrogant
Bastard Ale and do a review on that as well. Taking a look at the beer is also
a site to see, especially for those beer enthusiasts. Aroma is heavily inviting
for the next sip with the palate to back it up. Lacing remains to stick to the
glass from the start.
Pours with ease and it’s not for the weak hearted to drink as it mentions
on the bottle. Be warned though, you will taste the alcohol. However, I think
the alcohol taste is simply the best thing about this beer because it gives it
that robust spark to back up the palate just a little bit more than an ordinary
beer would with a lesser ABV.
