Stone Old Guardian® Barley Wine

Stone Old Guardian
Barley Wine

Appearance

Deep amber with a creamy tan head and light haze.

Aroma

A blend of bready yeast esters, toffee malt flavors and citrus hops. Allowing the beer to warm to about 50° - 55° F really allows the malt and hop character to come through.

Taste

Flavor is rich and malty, with a pronounced yeasty ester profile. It finishes with strong citrus and tropical fruit hop flavors.

Palate

Rich and smooth up front. At mid-palate the beer transitions to a pleasant dryness and lingering hop bitterness with a slight alcohol heat on the finish.

Overall

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. This year, the changes were minor since we also brewed the "Odd Year" version, which is a more intense departure from the classic recipe. We kept the Maris Otter crystal malt in the recipe, and whirlpool-hopped with Chinook, Cascade and, for the first time, Delta hops (replacing the Calypso we used in the 2012 version). It's a well-rounded, complex beer that is ready to drink now, or can be aged at cellar temperature for many years.

Stone Old Guardian
OAK-SMOKED Barley Wine

Appearance

Deep amber with a creamy tan head. The beer has a light haze with a more intense reddish hue than the classic version of Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine.

Aroma

Light smokiness combined with fruity yeast esters and malt flavors. The smoke character is very pleasant and blends well with the other beer aromas, but doesn't dominate.

Taste

Flavor is rich and malty. The smokiness is second to the malty sweetness and lingers pleasantly through the finish.

Palate

Rich and smooth at first, the finish is bitter with a slight alcohol heat and bitterness.

Overall

We used oak-smoked wheat malt from Germany at 20 percent of the grain bill to provide the smoke aroma and flavor for this beer. The result is a very nice blend of the classic Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine flavors with an additional smoky component that is well-blended and complements the overall character of the beer.

Stone Old Guardian
Barley Wine

Appetizers

Foie gras, lamb lollipops, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese

Entrees

Cassoulet, duck confit, venison, boar

Cheeses

Stilton, Gorgonzola, Maytag Blue, Montgomery Cheddar

Desserts

Salted caramel apple pie, caramel pecan crunch, sticky toffee pudding, plum-almond tart, Fig Newtons

Cigars

Dunhill Signed Range Toro, Don Pepin Garcia Lancero, Illusione 888 Churchill

Stone Old Guardian
OAK-SMOKED Barley Wine

Appetizers

Quail knots, Merguez sausage, wild boar ribs or any pork ribs, tomato & bacon jam, bacon-wrapped jalapeño shrimp

Soups

Beef stew, French onion soup, chili con carne

Entrees

Spanish ham, smoked pork butt, beef teriyaki, grilled portabella stuffed with Point Reyes blue cheese, lamb shoulder

Cheeses

Beemster X-O- aged Gouda, Berkshire Blue Cheese, Oregonzola, Bayley Hazen Blue

Desserts

Double chocolate brownies with caramel frosting, pecan pie, oatmeal raisin cookies, coconut macaroons, bacon toffee ice cream

Cigars

Padrón Family Reserve 85 Years, Oliva Serie V Belicoso, Tatuaje Havana Cazadores