Double Bastard Ale
Stone Brewing

2009 release bomber

A- a bright clear copper color with darker highlights, with a nice soft 1/2" thick off-white head that remains to the bottom of the glass. tremendous lacing left behind.
S- smell is of floral hops, but as in warms, changes to more of a milder spicy aroma
T- taste starts off malty, a little sweet. then hops flavor builds through the finish. very well balanced and blended flavors.
M- full bodied, creamy head, which seems counter-intuitive for the color of the brew, but much appreciated.
D- no hint of the increased ABV. overall, a fantastic beer that definitely one-ups the "regular" arrogant bastard. no problem polishing off the bomber myself fairly quickly

A draught pour.
Amber colored, foamy beige head with good retention and a decent head and lacing.
Strong caramel malt backbone and hops flavor profile, 100 IBUs strong!
A little boozy tasting, but not bad, fairly well masked by the robust flavors.
Medium bodied mouthfeel with a little carbonation tickle on the finish.
An outstanding Strong Ale.

Bastard is among the best beer in the world for me, but only on occasion. Too big, too sweet.
The double is doubly so.
A) Pours a deep ruby amber with 1 finger foamy khaki head.
S) Hop bitterness, very piney, but caramel also, some metal in a good way.
T) Taste is resiny, piney hop bitterness but balanced with a big malty backbone that provides sweetness.
F) Mouthfeel caressing and full on the tongue and creamy. Finish is that bitter-sweet seesaw.
Sume is greater that its parts, it's a one of one, or a double of a one of one.

 

Can dated 5/2/24

Pours a deep ruby amber with two finger foamy head. There are some floaties but not overwhelming. Smells of hop bitterness, very piney. Taste is surprisingly balanced with near eleven months on it. There is resiny, piney hop bitterness but balanced nicely with a malty backbone that provides some sweetness. Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated, somewhat sticky on the tongue and creamy. Finish is lingering bitterness with a hint of fruity sweetness.

12oz canned 4-20-24, last can opened 1-17-25.
2 finger sand colored head with great retention and a solid wall of lacing left behind. Amber body with very good clarity.
Caramel and pine, floral, earthy / weedy hops. Bold nose.
Flavor matches the aroma word for word.
Medium body with a prickly mouthfeel. Aggressive bitterness in a long and semi-sweet finish.
Very Good.

***I didn't care for this beer much until this last can with 9 months on it. Seems to have mellowed a tad and into a more balanced brew.

Original review 10 Dec 2014
Undated bottle at 45 degrees into snifter
Aroma initial faint resinous hops fading to a fruity malt.
Head small (2 cm, aggressive pour), light brown, frothy, diminishing to a 2 mm ring and partial layer.
Lacing fair – partial rings and small islands of tiny to small bubbles
Body dark amber, clear
Flavor begins with a slight hit of hops which instantly is overwhelmed by a fruity maltiness with a bit of alcohol entering the nose; the hops return as a short-lived bitter aftertaste. No diacetyl.
Palate medium to full, creamy, lively carbonation
Appearance 3.25, Aroma 3.5, Flavor 4, Palate 4, Overall, 3.75
Rating 3.79 rDev -11%
Re-review
Double Bastard from Stone. 6 x 12 fl oz can. $ 15.50 (Including tax), $ 0.215/fl oz from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. Purchased 28/12/24. Re-reviewed 06/01/25 (Review 579). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “PKG 05/02/24.” Stored at 39 degrees F at home, room temperature at the store. Served at 53.4 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 57.5 degrees F.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), murky.
Body – Medium Amber (SRM 12), opaque. Under direct light, same but with visible precipitate. When rear-lite, barely translucent and red amber.
Head: Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), cream, high density. Slowly drops to a 0.8 – 0.9 cm crown fed by carbonation and has a rocky, complete cap.
Lacing – Good – irregular sheet of tiny bubbles.
Aroma – 3.5 – Begins with moderate carob. No yeast, no ethanol (10.5 % ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl. Bonus!
Flavor – 3 – Bitter malt, very woody but not in a good way. No yeast, no ethanol. No disulfides, no diacetyl. Finishes slightly sweet. Mild gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; approaching creamy; soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 Ugly – looks like apple cider, tastes like crap. Any time the palate is the best aspect of a beer, look out! The remaining cans are going to last a LONG time.

huge malty, hoppy, toasty, toffee, candy, pine, orange,
it's very sweet and very bitter at the same time, great balance!
tasty and complex, the first impression is very candy like, then it slowly transformed to a pine bitterness, interesting!
there's no off putting tastes and just pure joy, even tho it is 10.5%

Can purchased from The Washington Beer Store (PA)

What a uniquely rich and flavorful offering!

And immediate and overarching sweetness (almost immediately) gives way to big, bold pervasive bitterness. What a complex and amazing flavor profile! We both really enjoyed this!

Glad and amazed to find this at our local store!

(12 oz can, PKG 04/29/24; purchased cold six-pack from amateur-ass Mr Liquor... poured into my Old Rasputin glass)

L: clear, dark tawny, tea-colored liquid; primo plump foam build with slow decay... little lace, but it's sticky and jagged

S: unmistakable Marasca cherry overtone with a grassy, brown sugar undertone nearly equaling its intensity

T: it's Arrogant Bastard with some extra barleywiney malt sugary boozin... slightly smoky, ever-bitter green aftertaste; mild, marginal bourbon, sherry, agricole flourishes... fruitcakey caramel cookie build on the aft... bitter tropicalia and banana funk

F: requisitely rivulet-ed with unfermentables and resins; booze and bitterness on the back end simmers and lifts, leaving little residuals... how can this be improved? ideal for the storied style and my sensibilities

O: first time having this... I was going to only get a single of this, but I'm most glad I got the full pack... it's not a barleywine, but it's close?; like I said, it's AB but bigger (and better?) (2387)

This is a big arrogant bastard and I like the malt flavors. It’s hazy, it has sweet dark fruit hints and yet the hop-powered bitterness on might expect. I can’t believe I’m just finding out this (along with regular AB) isn’t exactly brewed by Stone. The logi is Stone, and the can says brewed by Stone, but this site and other online sources say otherwise. Confusing. But hey, a great big beer to sip if you like the regular one. But this one’s like a meal.

Found a 6-pack of the 2024 reissue at Circus Liquors in Burbank and cellared this strong ale for a while before revisiting after all these years.

Pours a beautiful dark caramel, darker than regular AB. A thin head that takes a while to dissipate and never quite does. Lacing is pronounced- lots of micro bubbles on the inside of the glass when I swirl.

Aroma is malt, fresh bread, cherry juice, malt. Quite good. Interestingly the aroma goes away rather quickly once poured.

Taste is astringent malt, burnt caramel, peach pit, toffee and pomegranate rind that's been stepped on by your hiking boot. Grapefruit pith soaked in bourbon. Wet oak leaves. Resinous mouthfeel on the heavy side. I detect no raisin or dark fruit that might suggest we're entering barleywine territory. Double is thicker, hotter and more blunt than regular AB - it's 10.5 - and nuance is struggling to break through. They turned it up and the toffee/ carob/ pine notes go missing.

You ever brew beer and chew the raw dark malt seeds? That.

Opens up as it warms with hints of rye and citrus. Thin sheet of microbubbles never goes away. Hey, if you like AB this is quite the trick, but not for everyone. I liked it.

 

Pouring a gorgeous red hue, which lightens up to dark amber at the bottom, with a level head of khaki foam.

I can already tell that my original review of this is wholly inapplicable to my current palate, so it's time for a redux.

I finally got my hands on some fresh 12 ounce cans, and my god, as opposed to regular Arrogant Bastard, my fondness towards this one has actually decreased, greatly. I strongly prefer enjoying regular Bastards with Dark Souls over winter, because this goes beyond the extreme. Hops are still crazy resinous, but malt and yeast do too much, i.e. cherry lozenge for days.

Blech!

The pour is auburn colored with a thick & tan frothy head of foam. The taste is bitter, peppery, caramel, hints of grapefruit, pineapple, orange, mango, along with some earthy herbal notes. The 10.5% abv drinks more like an 8% abv beer. Overall. this was a good take on the original Arrogant Bastard ale. Cheers! A-

 

I dunno. It’s just Arrogant Bastard with a little more kick. Try and imagine riding J-LO after putting on a few pounds from Thanksgiving dinner. I’m sure that’s similar to this drinking experience. Very fine indeed.