Sweet, bitter, dry, tart, sour… and really only sweetness belongs in a barley wine. Maybe that’s a sign of the 2013 printed on the bottle? While I drink this my head keeps shaking “no” and I’m not making a pretty face with each consecutive sip. This beer smells alright, and it looks like something I want, but I don’t. This beer is a mixed bag. It keeps pulling me in and then pushes me away again… and there’s smoke in it. The smoke tastes like an after thought, perhaps something that was added after a barley wine recipe went haywire. But Stone is a reputable brewer and I seriously doubt they would get wrapped up in shenanigans like that. Furthermore, Stone is an absolute industry leader when it comes to delivering new smokebeers to the SBM market, If only they could hit one out of the park. Also, there’s a distracting chapter or two of War and Peace stamped on the back of the bottle for some reason, or whatever the hell it is its as long as shit… I ain’t reading that. Overall Happiness metric : 2 smokestacks out of 7.
| Brewer | Stone Brewing |
| Beer Name | Old Guardian OAK SMOKED |
| Brewer’s Description | The odd year Stone Old Guardian OAK-SMOKED Barley Wine is the Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine recipe tweaked to include oak-smoked wheat malt. The beer pours a deep amber, darker than the original version, and exhibits a faint smokiness in the nose. As with the original, the flavor is rich and malty, but laced with subtle smokiness due to the addition of the oak-smoked wheat malt, which accounts for 20 percent of the grain bill. The flavors blend well together, and the smoky tones complement the beer’s larger-than-life character. |
| Food Pairings | Smoked ham, smoked pork butt, beef teriyaki, grilled portabella, lamb shoulder |
| Brewery Location | San Diego, CA |
| Alcohol content by volume | 11.64% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | 70 |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 3.3 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 5 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 2 |
| Overall Happiness: 1 – 7 (sad – happy) | 2 |
Learn more from their impressive website:
http://www.stonebrewing.com/beer/special-releases/stone-old-guardian-oak-smoked-barley-wine
or here:
SmokeBeerMinistry 