Stone Old Guardian Belgo

I ordered a bottle of Stone Old Guardian Belgo online because I wanted to compare it to the original Old Guardian. The beer pours a ruby color with a foamy off-white head that almost leaps out of the glass and completely laces the glass. The aroma consists of raisin, tangerine, plum, candisugar, and Belgian yeast. The taste is smooth and sweet with a wonderful raisin, fig, tangerine, plum, and date flavor. The Belgian yeast kicks in on the finish, as well as a nice alcohol bite on the tongue. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. While some people may have called this a gimmick in creating a Belgian version of the Old Guardian, I would say it was a well done gimmick. I really enjoyed the Belgian yeast component to this beer, as it brought out the fruitiness and alcohol bite in the beer.

Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine 2010

Seeing as my friends and I were thoroughly impressed with the Stone Brewery, we dropped back in for dinner on our way home from Las Vegas to San Diego. To start the evening, I ordered a glass of Old Guardian Barley Wine 2010. The beer has a dark red amber color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma is sweet and malty with toffee accents. The taste is sweet and very bitey, with toffee and caramel adding big flavors to this beer. There is a light hop finish. The alcohol content is 11.26% ABV. I thought the Old Guardian Barley Wine 2010 was an amazing beer and a great example of a barley wine.