Name: Double Bastard Ale

Brewer: Stone Brewing Company

Style: American Strong Ale

Vintage: 2007

Cellared On: November 17th, 2007

Original Tasting: December 2nd, 2007

Stone’s Double Bastard beer starts out innocently enough. It’s a beautiful ruby red in the glass, topped by an average-sized creamy head. Nothing in the aroma of this beer will give you any real indication of what you’re about to taste. I found the smell of this brew rather subdued, with just a touch of sweet malt in the air.

Things change dramatically when you take a taste. The malt in this brew is HUGE! Sweet and roasted malts manage to combine for a biscuit/cookieish flavor with bit of caramel sweetness thrown in for kicks. An aggressive bitterness comes banging in as the flavor develops, with the piney hops lending a slight tartness (is that grapefruit?) to the beer. There’s a caramel sweet finish, with the hops lingering on afterward. I know DB is 10% abv, but I could barely find the alcohol here; it’s incredibly well hidden. DB has a medium to heavy body, just being a tiny bit syrupy. This is one big beer with big flavor.

I think the most impressive thing about this beer is the balance. Despite the strong flavors present in this beer, they manage to work together seamlessly with no conflict on your palette. DB is a real triumph for Stone brewing, and has instantly become one of my favorites.

Six-Month Tasting: May 14th, 2008

There’s a few differences here, but nothing too drastic. The hops are a bit subdued, and I’m starting to get some dark fruit notes out of the tremendous malt presence that I wasn’t getting before. The sweetness also has a bit of a molasses feel to it, as opposed to the caramel taste from six months ago. Alcohol is a bit more prominent on the finish this time around.

I think it’s a bit harder to drink without the hops doing less to balance out the tremendous sweetness. It’s reminding me much more of a North Coast Old Stock Ale now.

Cellar Outlook: There is a lot of talk about older vintages of this brew improving in complexity over at ratebeer.com. I could see the caramel sweetness coming out more and adding a bit more to this brew over time.

Six-Month Cellar Outlook: There’s no reason to change my mind now. I’m pretty sure I’ll be enjoying this vintage for years to come.

Next Tasting: November 2008

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com

www.brewbasement.com