Arrogant Double Bastard Ale - Whiskey Barrel
Older versions 11.5%.
Aged in Kentucky Bourbon Barrels
Aged in Kentucky Bourbon Barrels
3.9
235 reviews
Escondido, United States
Community reviews
500 ml bottle into tulip glass; 2016 vintage, bottled in 10/2016. Pours slightly hazy deep ruby red/copper/light brown color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, brown bread, nuts, raisin, plum, cherry, and date; with lighter notes of grapefruit, orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, molasses, coconut, smoke, char, floral, grass, and oak/toasted earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate citrus/pine hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, brown bread, nuts, raisin, plum, cherry, and date; with lighter notes of grapefruit, orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, molasses, coconut, smoke, char, floral, grass, and oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine/citrus rind/grassy bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, brown bread, nuts, dark fruit, grapefruit, orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, molasses, smoke, char, and oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate citrus/pine hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with minimal lingering hop/oak astringency after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from lingering bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness, increasing through glass. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and fairly sticky/tannic/resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden; a small pleasant warmth, with mild barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an incredible barrel aged American strong ale! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate citrus/pine hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on; despite the increasingly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Still quite a bit of hop presence lingering on the palate; but the balance of malt and barrel complexity is pretty damn perfect. A highly enjoyable offering.
Clear, deep mahogany colour with a thick, soapy, tan head. Malty aroma with bourbon. Soft, lightly bitter taste, rich flavours with strong finish. Above medium body, oily mouthfeel, light carbonation. Very nice strong ale.
Bottle at One Pint Pub, Helsinki (as Southern Charred). Vintage 2015. Colour is clear dark ruby with small white head. Aromas and flavors: Some whiskey, dry fruits, some sweetness and malts. Pretty simple but drinkable.
Bottle, as Southern Charred. Combining 2014/2016 ratings. Somewhat hazy amber in color with minimal head. Aroma is a bit of a muddled mess, caramel, toffee, roast, bourbon, nuts. Very sweet, syrupy flavor. Caramel, bourbon, vanilla, toffee. Full bodied and syrupy. Not as good as expected.
50 cl bottle @ Olutravintola Konttori.
Pours clear copper color with a small head. Aroma is nice bourbon vanilla with sweet caramel and ripe fruits. Flavor is ripe apricot and caramel, wood, subtle bourbon, toffee and strong bitterness. A bit harsh raw overall, alcohol comes through too much, could improve with a few cellaring years. Somewhat disappointing.
5324
500 ml bottle as Southern Charred. At the Konttori, Tampere, Finland.
Clear amber color with a small light tan head.
Bourbon, sweetness, alcohol and some hops in the aroma.
The flavor is Bourbon, sweetness, sugar, some hops and alcohol.
Boozy and one-dimensional.
2015 bottle. Notes of heavy caramel and nutty flavor . Ever so slight vanilla and barrel flavors. This version has quite a bit more whisky flavors that other arrogant bastard incarnations. Quite nice as it warms.
Too big a bastard for me, I guess. Double Bastard’s a hoss to begin with, and Charred is like DB on steroids. So much massive malt heaviness...oof. Thick as syrup, gooey, chunky, chewy, bad on the eyes but better on the nose, boozy and foreboding. Starts sweet, stays sweet: brown sugar, toffee bars, molasses, pancake syrup, maybe a little white chocolate and pepper, then blasts you with oak and hops, only to have the hops drop off and the oak go fucking nuts. Finish is bittersweet and clingy, whiskey heat waving a flare through the malty sea. (Bad metaphor, I know. I’m tired.) Fades with more oak than a furniture store. Too rich for my wimpy blood.
It pours dark brown with a bit of cloudiness. It has a brown head.It has aromas of dried cherries, plums, some caramel, herbal elements, floral, whiskey, and alcohol. The flavors are highlighted by whiskey, wood, plums, cherries, spices, dried cherries, and alcohol. There is a low amount of carbonation with a smooth, alcohol warming to is. Overall, this is a very complex beer with a wonderful combination of ingredients and whiskey flavor without the harshness that normally comes with it.
Very complex aroma. Hard to start describing. Sweet and a little sour. Taste is also complex - rich, creamy, bourbon, vanilla, etc.
Really solid take on the great double Bastard. Poured to snifter. Amber color with thin head. Aroma of bourbon. Bourbon flavor makes this noticeably more boozy. Intense bitter finish. This one’s a sipper.
My bottle was billed as 2016 Southern Charred, Double Bastard Aged in Whiskey Barrels. The label says it is 12.6% ABV. I didn’t think the Templeton Rye Barrel Aged version of Double Bastard was particularly better than regulation Double Bastard. But this... this is really something noteworthy. This beer looks like Double Bastard on the pour, it’s dark caramel brown with little head. The aroma is just gorgeous. It smells like Double Bastard, but has huge, warm, buttery bourbon character. Vanilla, spice, rich and woody and strong. The flavor is bigger and bolder still. It’s complex and rich and absolutely delicious. Nutty, toasted, sweet and strong, with burnt sugar and earthy, ochre notes. The finish is spacious and warm, and the big blast of the ABV hits the nose like a ghost train. This is a beer to save for special occasions, or to make any occasion special.
Bought this as “Southern Charred 2016”, which is Arrogant Bastard’s bourbon barrel-aged barley wine (basically their Double Bastard Ale under a different name). Corked big bottle poured into a snifter. Appearance is murky and hazy, as if it’s apple cider that’s been shaken before pouring. No head or lacing. Aroma is musty “old ale” with whiffs of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, smokiness from the bourbon barrel, and a slight tannic, acidic scent. The flavor is all of the above – on steroids – followed by a balancing hop bitterness and the boozy burn of its 12.6 percent-alcohol. Mouthfeel is syrupy with almost no carbonation. A good winter sipper. Typical of the Arrogant Bastard beers, not for the meek.
Fantastic aromas and flavors of whiskey, resin, oak, piney hops and some spice. Copperish color and weighty with good carbonation.
Bottle as Southern Charred. Almost clear dark orange color with off white head. Malty aroma, alcohol, bourbon, dark dried fruits, sherry notes, caramel, vanilla, coconut, smoked notes, wood. Sweet and light bitter taste like aroma. Medium oily body with soft carbonation.
So intense. So intense. But this is stone. Barrel concentrated into an intense beer with tons of caramel. some hops and lots of tongue conquring flavors. wow. I have had better but it is nice, but at the price not getting it again.
Az a fajta american strong ale, amelyik a stout-IPA tengely mentén értelmezve leginkább az utóbbi végponthoz közeledve helyezhető el, a tipológiai besorolás mindenesetre megkérdőjelezhetetlen, különösen, hogy egy vaskos érlelés jótékony hatásának gyümölcsét élvezhetjük a Southern Charred személyében. Illatainak nem kell több pár másodpercnél, aztán megállás nélkül ontják magukból a bourbon-hangulatot, egy IPA-vonásokkal megáldott whiskey aromabombáit, olvadékony alkoholos csápjaival szinte körbeszövi a levegőt, minden egyes szippantás tömény gabonapárlat karakterét közvetíti, amolyan marcipánosan, ragacsos karamellásan, fahordós, száraz faleveles aromák útján. Szinte csípősek az ízjegyek, kirobbanóan telt tartalom jellemzi, amelyben a vaníliás, kekszes malátaalapok delíriumos komponensek súlyát, likőrhegyek tömegét hordozzák, hogy végül ostorcsapás-szerűen jelentkezzen be a zord komló marcona végszava, s a végjáték így követhetetlen sokszínűségbe torkollva, de korántsem szertelenné válva járuljon hozzá a nem mindennapi ital férfias karakterének megformálásához.
2014 Series Southern Charred: Caoba turbio y espuma beis. Aromas de maíz, burbon, vainilla, madera. Cuerpo denso, con sabor como en aroma con toque licoroso acompañado de fruto seco (3.9); 2015 Series Southern Charred: Caoba turbio y espuma beis. Aromas de bourbon, vainilla, avellana, alcoholes. Cuerpo denso, sabor de bourbon y frutos secos astringente al final (3.6).
Bottle. Pours a cloudy deep amber with a tan head that dissipates completely. Aroma has lots of sweet grains and caramel with some whiskey and a bit of bitterness underlying. Flavor starts with sweet grains, caramel and toffee but finish has more of a barrel bite and a light grassiness.
As Stone Southern Charred. Pours murky dark reddish brown with a medium frothy tan head. Aromas of caramel, toffee, butterscotch, ripe tropical fruit, roasted nuts, oak chips, slight charred notes. Taste is malty and sweet with huge caramel and toffee notes as well as fruit jam and oak character. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Very well hidden alcohol. Very good!!
Pours a hazy brown with a light tan head. Smells of bourbon, vanilla, oak. Taste is sweet, mildly bitter - oak, bourbon, caramel malt, toast bread, light hop noted - subsumed under the aging.
Corked bomber of "Stone Southern Charred." Mahogany Amber color with creamy, hazy appearance. Bourbon dominates but does not overwhelm. Malt, toffee, vanilla, woody. Good stuff.
Tasting at Matt’s; corked, as "Stone Southern Charred"; 12.7% ABV
Dark amber color, hazy, almost no head. Quite strong Bourbon aroma, but also malt. Deep malt flavor, nicely complemented by the strong bitterness, and god hop quality; a lot of toffee too, some treacle, nutty, with evident vanilla and Bourbon; warm in the end, the sweetness prevents it to be too boozy.
Excellent.
Bottle. Pours a hazy orangish amber color. Aroma and taste are bourbon, sweet malts, caramel.
Had as "Southern Charred." Pours clear mahogany with lots of teeny bubbles and a nice cola-like buff head. Aroma delivers strong bourbon-soaked wood, toasted malt and caramel notes. Bold flavor floods the palate with bourbon, toasted malt, caramel, woody and nutty tones riding an earthy underpinning. Not for the faint of heart - or taste buds! Firm, viscous mouthfeel has lively fizz and a woody bourbon finish. Double your bastard, double your fun!
Super cloudy/dirty orange-brown color. This was quite the let down for me. The flavor really didn’t have much bourbon/whiskey at all. It was noticeably sweeter. Much preferred the original, both in flavor and especially price.
Pours a burnt amber brown color with a thin khaki head. Oak, caramel, toffee, molasses, toast, resin, pine and bourbon aroma. Burnt caramel, toffee, toast, oak, pine, molasses, light chocolate, smoke, resin, raisin and bourbon flavors. Medium full body and low carbonation. Oak, caramel and bourbon finish. Series 2014, batch 06.
Bottle split at Sentinel, picked up in CA somewhere, 20/05/16 ’as Southern Charred’.
Rich reddish amber with a big old light beige cap.
Nose is rich bourbon barrel, light spice, dark malts, coconut shreds, toffee.
Taste comprises well integrated bourbonics, fruit cake, spice, toffee fudge, cheesecake base, rich malt.
Medium + body, fine carbonation, semi drying close.
Decent strong, good use of the barrel, packs a punch but drinks below the hefty ABV.
Bottle shared at Sentinel, post Barrow Hill, courtesy of Cloin. Cheers. Hazy bronze. No head. Nose has chewy sweet, barley hop. I’ve no idea what that means. Woody. Boozy. Fruity, with some toffee notes. Taste is boozy sweet. Heavy toffee. Palate is smooth, rich and luscious. Overall, it’s heady, boozy and a bit over the top. Good beer to end the evening on.
Shared bottle at Craft Ale, called Southern Charred on that particular bottle. Nose was heavy caramelly malt, oaky bourbon, dense and complex flavor, comes off like a souped up and spirit oak-aged DB, with the oak and bourbon lifting up this already massive libation.