Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine - Extra Hoppy

2015 Odd Year Release

STYLE

Barley Wine

ABV

11%

IBUs

80

This one-time-only release, part of our “Odd Beers for Odd Years” series, takes a downright excessive brew into uncharted, extra-hoppy territory. We did this by dry-hopping it with Azacca hops, essentially turning an American barley wine into a triple IPA. Azacca adds big candied-fruit character plus pineapple and citrus aromatics to the base beer’s onslaught of toffee, tropical fruit and vanilla flavors and robust bitterness. Like its Classic counterpart, this delicious oddity will evolve into an even more glorious beer with age, challenging your ability to wait any longer to drink it.

ABOUT THIS BEER

Release Date

February 9, 2015

FEATURED HOPS

Azacca

Cascade

Chinook

Delta & Nugget

NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

AVAILABLE

NOT AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

NOT AVAILABLE

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

Alberta and British Columbia, Canada; United Kingdom; Singapore; and Sweden

Tasting Notes

Appearance

Clear, deep amber with a creamy tan head.

Aroma

Strong candied-fruit aromas from the Azacca hops used in the dry hop, with hints of vanilla and toffee malt.

Taste

Flavor is similar to the aroma. A big candied-fruit character, with a rich malty smoothness and sweetness. The fruity hop notes carry through the entire palate and are reminiscent of pineapple, cream soda, citrus and fruitcake. At midpalate, some spicy herbal hop notes show up. Decidedly bitter.

Palate

Creamy, rich and smooth up front. Rich and creamy throughout the palate and finished with a pleasant substantial bitterness. There is a light sweetness and a mild alcohol heat on the finish.

Overall

2015 is an odd year, so we followed our five-year tradition of brewing a variation of the classic Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine recipe. This year we decided to focus on an extra-hoppy version, using the classic recipe as the base. We dry-hopped the beer with a new hop variety, Azacca…a dwarf variety with a name that sort of sounds to us like an all-powerful genie who lives in a bottle (coincidently enough) that was recently developed in Yakima Valley, Washington, and formerly known by the decidedly less genie-like name of "13-AD-483." We’ve used it before, most notably in our collaboration beer Beachwood/Heretic/Stone Unapologetic IPA, but this is the first opportunity we’ve had to really showcase the Azacca hop at this level.

Provided by

Mitch Steele

,

Brewmaster

Pairing Notes

Appetizers

Coconut shrimp, roasted pecans, blue cheese-stuffed mushrooms, teriyaki beef skewers

Soups

Beef stew, French onion, baked potato, chicken and andouille gumbo

Entrées

Tri-tip steak, Peking duck, cassoulet, wild mushroom ragout, butternut squash ravioli, coconut curry

Cheeses

Colston Bassett Stilton, buttermilk blue, aged Gouda, Devil’s Gulch

Desserts

Fruitcake, German chocolate cake, pecan pie, caramel toffee bar

Cigars

Oliva Serie V Melanio, San Cristobal Revelation Legend

Provided by

"Dr." Bill Sysak

,

Craft Beer Ambassador

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Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine - Extra Hoppy