Arrogant Bastard Ale
Arrogant Consortia

I give this beer a 5 for appearance. Sure, it's a gorgeous, deep dark beer with a menancing reddish glow to it, and it pours with a thick head worthy of Belgian beers, but it ascends to the next level with the best bottle design in the industry.

A strong malty scent is hightlighted with a floral hoppy zip; Stone is certainly one of the more masterful hoppers out there, and they really get the aroma into their beers.

To be fair, the bottle warned you. This is a rough-and-tumble, take-no-prisoners strong ale. The malt character is present but doesn't get in the way of some powerfully bitter hops that leap to the forefront of your palate. The faint alcohol burn is present, but contrubutes quite well to the character of this ale, like a good whiskey.

Drinkability? It seems wasteful to drink too much Arrogant Bastard. It's so powerfully distinct in its big, up-front flavors, that I appreciate it best in the context of other beers. After enjoying an AB, IPA's seem crisper, english bitters seem smoother, and doppelbocks seem sweeter.

 

Pours dark amber with ample tan head. Smells like toasty malts and bitter hops. The taste is brawny, bitter, toasty, herbal with some citrus and fig, perhaps. It’s kinda like a less fruity more bitter version of Celebration bit i still like it, and it’s pretty similar to what I remembered before, cheers!

 

 

 

Quite bitter, but that's to be expected, I suppose. There is some balance with a nice maltiness but not enough balance for me, I would prefer more malt flavor. Fortunately for me the hops aren't too dank or piney (which I don't enjoy) - just a little bitter grapefruit.

Poured into a tall clear pint glass. Appearance is a mahogany color with a thick foamy beige head. Good retention and lacing.

Aroma: dark fruit, caramel, chocolate, roasted malt, roasted nuts.

Taste: just like the aroma and very crisp and bitter, which is a nice change from the typical lower IBU beers that I've had. Other notes of grapefruit, toffee, and maybe even coffee. Body is medium-light.

 

 

 

Compared to the original Arrogant Bastard, this is a poor sequel. The original had a strong malt backbone to balance the bitterness. This incarnation has no malt to speak of. It's just another beer substituting IBUs for flavor.

 

This is the greatest beer in the United States of America only accepting the barrel aged arrogant bastard which is no longer available. And if you don't agree you obviously don't deserve it.

 

 

 

Tastes like straight butthole. Please don't be stupid and waste your money on this. Both cans were dumped out. Wasted $6.

 

 

Pours a dark amber color with two finger darkened head that is very retentive in the middle and not so much on the sides.

Smells of very earthy hops.

Immediate bite some roasted notes in it. Lots of very roasted flavors.

Overall bitter hops and roasted malts dominate The taste with a nice bitter finish.

Sorry but I can't help it... this is for me ... so common... so "basic" I cannot give an enthusiast rating.
I feel the alcool overpush, I don't understand the flavor progression. For me this beer is disorganised.

But Again... I must confess... I am not into the "strong" beer at all cost... I am about the feel... if you surprise me with a extra strong beer and I don't notice it... Yeah.... I can be in our religion... otherwise... nop ... sorry ... I like beer... not being tipsy for fun.

Alex
Co-Owner at Sandy's Shack

12 oz can poured to a pint glass.
Rich foam sticks and laces.
Smells musty, lil dank, hoppy, a sweet thing lurks.
Taste isn’t like a common beer of genre, it’s rather refined - you like it you like it, you don’t.,. well, I do.
Feel is mid. Carb is fine.
Overall, I like an Arrogant Bastard when I can get my hands on one.

 

Picked up a bottle then realized it is a few months past the enjoy by date. I’m not sure how much that affected it.
Great strong ale. Reminds of some of the Belgians I’ve had. But the IBU’s on this one are too much. The bitterness kind of overwhelms the flavor.

 

dark amber, somewhat loose 1 finger head receding to very little. A bit of lacing. Smell is more malt than the taste. Much more bitter in the taste than I expected from look and smell. Clean finish, medium body, but thinner than I expected from the looks.

Not a personal fan of the taste but has an interesting kind of spice to it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beer is so good! This was one of the first brews that has extreme levels of hop IBUs that I ever tried, long ago...
Look: Expansive light-khaki colored head that extends a finger above the rim of my snifter, and leaves so much lacing, all atop a cloudy, deep crimson body. Smell is a bit of citrus on top of dark fruit, on top of a hop factory, with caramel drizzled on top of all of that. Taste is relentlessly hoppy, leaving hop resin in the mouth so very thick, leaving an extremely bitter aftertaste, that in my opinion, is quite pleasing. I'd be lying if I said this tasted like anything but a hop hurricane in the mouth. Mouth feel is actually very smooth for being such an abrasively hoppy brew. Carbonation is above average, but it makes this hop tornado so sparkling and delicious. ABV is all there, but I don't know of many people who drink strong ale that shy away from a little booziness. Overall a fantastically hoppy brew. LOVE it.

Too Boozy, hard to enjoy the flavors with its poignant banana peel flavor.

 

 

Older bottle just over a year but hopefully the darker color and abv helped it age. 22oz bomber.

On the pour a fine 1 finger head forms that slowly recedes to a very light covering and a ring around the glass. Light haze, and very dark, a murky reddish brown that lest some but not a lot of light through. Light lazy carbonation, no lacing.

Aroma is very nice despite the age. Some traditional west coast IPA notes and some nice floral aromas on top of an earthy chocolate caramel malt note. Some umami and a slight dryness on the finish presumably from the age, but it all ties together quite nicely.

Flavor follows the aroma pretty closely and introduces some fig and date dark fruit flavors followed by a stouty and hoppy bitterness. Still quite drinkable and smooth despite the bitterness nice and complex, lots of flavor but surprisingly balanced. And not as aggressive as the bottle makes it out to be, but perhaps that's just modern tastes talking.

Feel is quite big and chewy. The abv makes itself known relatively quickly too even when paired with food, and let me tell you 22ozs of 7.2abv will get you there, so don't be an arrogant bastard. Also quite filling.

Overall a beer that's big in every way, hoppy malty, mouthfeel, and abv, but without being completely overwhelming or gimmicky, although a small bit of both. It's a good beer for those who want big malts and big hops.