Stone's Oaked Arrogant Bastard

From the great folks at Stone Brewing Company, tonight's brew is the Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale.  While I've had the [standard] Arrogant Bastard Ale several times, I've never sat down to evaluate the Oak-aged version.

The Oaked Arrogant Bastard comes in 12oz bottles, in big, black 6-pack holders. On the shelf next to the IPA, Pale Ale, and Levitation, the Oaked 6-pack sticks out like a sore thumb.

The Oaked Bastard pours out a darker shade of red, somewhere between rust and chestnut.  A nice thick foam arises in a slightly off-white shade.  The thickness of the foam fades back pretty quickly, but a thin layer of larger bubbles remains through the entire glass of beer.  As the foam recedes, just a mild amount of lacing remains on the glass.

Aromas are pretty heavy on the hops, but not super intense.  There's actually a touch of malty sweetness coming through between the hops.  The palate reveals a similar profile.  There's quite a bit of bitter hops at first, but then that little bit of sweetness from the malt comes through quietly.  Just as I type that, the hops clings to the back of my tongue and seems to beat my palate into submission. While not super intense, there's a unique quality about the hops that seems to hold onto the back of my tongue for ages!

While I've never been a huge fan of the original Arrogant Bastard, I find this Oak-aged version to be much better balanced and quite drinkable. Or, maybe I'm just becoming more and more a fan of the hops?

Stone Brewing Company
Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale
TCSH Rating - 8/10
Aka - Very nice, I stand corrected

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum