Day #135 – Stone Double Bastard Ale

OK, here it is. The Bastard. And not just any old regular bastard either. You’ll see.

Stone Double Bastard Ale

Stone makes no excuses for their beer and how it tastes, and it’s no secret that it is not for everyone. Just read what’s written on the label,

“This is a lacerative muther of a beer. The evil big brother of Arrogant Bastard Ale. It is strongly suggested you stay far, far away from this beer. Those foolish enough to venture close enough to taste will experience a punishingly unforgiving assault on the palate. ’Course there’s always the masochists…”

Holy crap! They seriously wrote that on the label! Of a beer they are trying to sell! Seriously unapologetic. There is actually quite a bit more written on there but I didn’t want to write the entire paragraph they put on there. Some people really dig big, intense beers and I believe I am one of those folks.

I’ve been wanting to review the original Arrogant Bastard Ale for quite awhile now; every time I’m at the store I always look for it, yet it’s never there. I’m not sure why I haven’t seen it, but I’ll just have to start with the Double Bastard. I picked this up at a local beer store, and I usually chat with the beer guy while in there. Well on the day I was there, they had just gotten these bottles in stock. He tipped me off that the store had ordered the incorrect price tags for this big beer, and I picked up a bottle for $3.99. What a deal! It is classified as an American Strong Ale and has a fat ABV of 11.2%. This is also a 22 oz. bomber into a 22 oz glass. I’m excited!

Damn. I go to pop the cap and look what was written on it. I’m seriously scared now.

The appearance here is lovely. Very pretty ruby color that is dark and luscious with a tall light tan head. I intentionally left some beer still in the bottle so that I could show off some of the head action. After it goes down I’ll pour it all.

The aroma is, in a word, heavy. Lots of intense hops and super sweet drippy malts and brown sugar. There’s also a fairly heavy wood-aged aroma. Outdoorsy, mossy and fresh. Also some bits of sharp fruit. Nice…but intense.

Flavor is WOW! Crazy intense. This beer has a huge flavor of sweet malts and sugar with a sharp bite of hops. The alcohol can be tasted and felt as a strong tingle over both the palate and the throat. It finishes with a light bitterness that tastes of wood and sweet malts. Wow this is good. I’ll post another paragraph here in a bit when I am at the bottom of the bottle to see how I’m feeling.

About halfway through this badboy now, so I’ve finished around 11 oz and I’m absolutely feeling the effects of this already.  As it warms it is taking on more of a earthy, clay-like flavor.  Still very good but I’m starting to think I’m not worthy.

Now I’m 3/4 of the way through and I’m staring at this last 6 oz like it talked bad about my Mother.  This beer is an ass kicker for sure.

Finished it just before 10pm.  It took just under 2 hours to knock out this beer and by the end I was struggling.  Wow just….wow.

Cheers!