Stone Double Bastard Ale

Reviewed By: Herr Rick

Style: American Strong Ale
State/Country: California
ABV: 10.5%
Serving Type: 22 oz Bottle

Look: 9
Deep copper/orange color, cloudy, medium tan head with good retention & great lacing

Smell: 10
Sweet malt, caramel, toffee, citrus & pine hops, chocolate, molasses - Amazing!

Taste: 10
Up Front: Sweet malt, toffee, pine. Finish: Citrus, caramel/toffee - all kinds of flavors that keep going...

Mouthfeel: 9.5
Full body, medium/low carbonation, thick and creamy

Drinkability: 9.5

Very quaffable, alcohol well hidden.

Overall Score: 9.6

Value: 8

Cost/12 oz serving: $4.95

Overall Impression:
Very close to a Barleywine in style. Absolutely amazing beer in flavor, strength, and complexity! And if I have not stated it publicly before, Stone has far and away the best labels, graphics and (arrogant) attitude in the brewing world. Having said that, this beer is Nectar of the Mother Fucking Godz!!!

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

Reviewed By: Herr Rick

Style: American Strong Ale
State/Country: California
ABV: 8.7%
Serving Type: 22 oz Bottle


Look: 9
Very dark brown color, clear, medium light tan head with good retention & great lacing

Smell: 9.5
Pine, Bready malt, citrus, dark fruit mellow roast coffee - there is a lot going on here


Taste: 9
Up Front: Pine & citrus hops, caramel, bread, dark fruit.Finish: Roasted malt, hops all the way, lingering bitterness

Mouthfeel: 9
Medium body & carbonation, oily, and oh so smooth

Drinkability: 9

Very quaffable considering the complexity and high ABV

Overall Score: 9.1

Value: 7.5

Cost/12 oz serving: $5.25

Overall Impression:
This beer lulls you into thinking it will be like a porter/stout, and suddenly BAM; the hops blast you. Like most Stone offerings, this beer is aggressive & complex. The flavors don't seem to mesh on paper, but they work here rather well. This is not a beer for Newbeez, but if you like powerful, complex and beers that defy the norm, then this is one for you!

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Stone's Description:
We re brewers whose substantial mettle and idiomatic approach to brewing allows us to consistently create works of art such as this justifiably self righteous ale. Its bitterness hits our sweet spot. Its blackness lightens our hearts. Its liquid dichotomy pulls it all together in this sublimely sacrosanct ale. Yes, we damn well know our stuff here at Stone, and it would be irresponsible of us not to acknowledge how remarkable this heavenly creation of ours is. Thus the name we are compelled to give it ... Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale ... serves as a reminder of just how good we are, in both liquid and verbal form.

We re certainly not perfect. Too often, we allow our modesty to get the best of us as we re simply not inclined towards senseless braggadocio. When you're good, you're good. And when you do something great, the least you can do is acknowledge it. Others benefit from knowing. In this case, we find that we are compelled to point out how amazing this beer is that we rightly call the Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale.

First brewed in 2007 as Stone 11th Anniversary Ale, this beer was an instant hit. With us. Other folks with great taste loved it too, but we were focused on how much we liked it, and we felt it was truly sublime. That euphoria didn't last long though, as it was soon replaced with the grim reality that when we sold out of it there wouldn't be any more. For Us. And that was simply unacceptable. So, we are now blessing ourselves, and you the enlightened, with this beer on a full time basis.. Thusly, you may now revel in your own self righteousness as you see fit with this glorious example of ours. You are genuinely welcome, as it is our pleasure.

Defiant Paraum Pango

Reviewed By: Herr Rick
Style: American Strong Ale
State/Country: New York
ABV: ??? %
Serving Type: Growler - courtesy of Growler Dude

Look: 8.5
Deep copper color, small head with little retention & lacing

Smell: 8.5
Sweet malt, maple, caramel

Taste: 9
it was like drinking pancakes with maple syrup. Interesting, surprisingly tasty, and not overly sweet

Mouthfeel: 9
Rich & creamy

Drinkability: 9
Very quaffable

Overall Score: 9.1

Value: 8
Cost/12 oz serving: $4.25

Overall Impression:
A very interesting, slightly sweet beer that was surprisingly easy to drink - even as it got warmer. Hopefully they will brew it again, and Growler Dude will be able to pick some up for me if they do!

I'm not sure what the abv was, but my guess is that it was in the 7-8% range. Parum Pango- The "little hammer" is made from the residual sugar of Magnus Pango - the "Big Hammer" (Barleywine).

Shmaltz He'Brew Jewbelation BM 13

Reviewed By: Herr Rick

Style: American Strong Ale
State/Country: California
ABV: 13%
Serving Type: 22 oz Bottle

Look: 9
Dark brown/almost black color, clear, solid head with good retention & lacing

Smell: 9
Sweet malt, espresso, molasses, hint of black licorice

Taste: 9.5
Up Front: Sweet malt, chocolate, espresso. Finish: Malt, dark fruit, and pronounced licorice and molasses on the back end

Mouthfeel: 8.5
Full body with medium/low carbonation, slightly sticky and cloying

Drinkability: 8.5

Very warming - it is 13% abv - DUH

Overall Score: 8.9

Value: 9.5

Cost/12 oz serving: $2.91

Overall Impression:
WOW!!!!!! This is a powerful beer! Not just in abv, but in flavor. There is a lot going on, and the flavor just goes on and on. The sweetness is not balanced out by the hops, so that makes this one more of an after dinner/night cap, one-and-done type of beer. Tremendous value too. If you like strong beers, you gotta give this one a try!

For some reason, I thought this would be a Rye Beer. I also assumed the brewery was in NY. And finally I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw the price for a 13% 13yr anniversary beer - Hahaha!!!

Victory Yakima Twilight

Reviewed By: Herr Rick

Style: American Strong Ale
State/Country: Pennsylvania
ABV: 8.7%
Serving Type: 12 oz Bottle

Look: 8.5
Dark copper/mahogany color, clear, fluffy head with good retention and decent lacing

Smell: 9
Caramel, toffee, sweet malt, citrus

Taste: 9
Up Front: Caramel, toffee. Finish: Pine, citrus, slight metallic taste - pretty complex

Mouthfeel: 8.5
Medium body with medium carbonation, and a bit sticky

Drinkability: 8.5

Warming and quaffable

Overall Score: 8.7

Value: 9

Cost/12 oz serving: $1.78

Overall Impression:
This is Victory's answer to Stone's Arrogant Bastard. It's a flavorful and complex brew. A great beer for the colder months.

New Holland Dragon's Milk

Reviewed By: Herr Rick
Style: American Strong Ale (Barrel Aged)
State/Country: Michigan
ABV: 8.5%
Serving Type: 750ml Bottle

Look: 9
Deep ruby/dark brown color, thick head that dissipates quickly, with good lacing

Smell: 9
Bourbon, roasted malt, molasses, coffee, vanilla, brown sugar

Taste: 8
Up Front: Bourbon, vanilla, and raisins. Finish: Dark brown sugar, lot's of booze. Finish is also dry

Mouthfeel: 8
Rich, almost syrupy

Drinkability: 8
Relatively easy to drink, but it's a "one and done" kind of beer for me

Overall Score: 8.4

Value: 6.5
Cost/12 oz serving: $5.25

Overall Impression:
When I bought it, I was under the impression it was an Imperial Stout, but I realized right away that it was too thin for the style. It was a slightly imbalanced - a little heavy on the sweetness, but it is a good (borderline Very Good) beer nonetheless, and certainly worth trying, especially if you like barrel aged beers like I do.

Lagunitas Hairy Eyball

Reviewed By: Herr Mike
Style: American Strong Ale
State/Country: California
ABV: 8.7%
Serving Type: 12 oz Bottle

Look: 9
Deep Amber, almost chocolaty color, head drops off fast, but the lacing lingers

Smell: 9
Dried fruit, chocolate, brown sugar, some roasted malts

Taste: 10
Up Front: Malty, raisiny, caramel, a touch of sweetness
Finish: A little alcohol comes through after a surge of hops and malt

Mouthfeel: 10
Sticky and rich, my tongue is doing back flips…Rightchaw!

Drinkability: 10
Quaffable times ten! , This could be a winter session beer for me, mortalz, maybe 1 or 2 at a sitting

Overall Score: 9.6

Value: 9
Cost/12 oz serving: $1.96

Overall Impression:
This beer is so good, that my brother in law ( who is a Coors Light drinker ) was so scared of the ABV that he had to split one with me, but he liked this beer a lot!