Stone Brewing Co. - 2015 " Double Bastard in the Rye" strong ale

Here's a fancy beer I came across last year and bought two bottles on the spot. It's is made by Stone Brewing Co, technically under the trade name Arrogant Brewing, a riff on their Bastard series of beers of which this is one. Called "Double Bastard in the Rye," it's a 2015-vintage, 12.70% ABV American strong ale aged in rye whiskey barrels. This past weekend I stayed at my aunt Claudia's house out in rural northwest Connecticut, and after a blizzard, what better beverage to serve (and how better to chill your beer than sticking it in the snow!)

This beer is barrel-aged, a term that has popped on the blog quite a bit. Barrel-aging is a common practice, and to recap from a deeper discussion last March, many beverages (wine, beer, whiskey, rum, etc.) are aged in wooden barrels, netting a variety of effects. Today's is aged in barrels that once contained rye from Templeton, Iowa-based Templeton Rye Spirits. Distilled according to pre-Prohibition techniques and recipes, Templeton Rye is distributed nationwide.

The cork-and-cage bottle opens with a lazy pop and pours a lovely caramel color, slowly with not a lot of carbonation. Aroma is of apple cider.

Candled, it's an electric orange and is dark cider-colored in the glass.

Wow, it's heavy and oaky, with a strong woodsy booziness that's very powerful. It's perhaps a bit more sweet than the "Double Bastard", but still retains that double IPA heritage with heavy hops. It had the same texture as a barleywine, perhaps a bit lower gravity, and finished with a warm cider flavor. Not bad at all, and the 12.7% ABV strength certainly helped with those alcohol flavors.

I liked this. I was expecting something more along the lines of an "Oaked Arrogant Bastard", albeit one stronger and thicker. But the cider-y nature of the beer and the strength was enough to keep me entertained. I've got another bottle of this tucked away in the cellar, and perhaps will revisit in a couple of years to see how it changes.

It's a one-time-only release, and somehow the Super Liquors in East Hartford, CT, managed to keep a whole bunch stocked. I've subsequently seen them at Total Wine in Manchester, CT, so keep an eye out if you like this kind of thing.