Et Ceterbeer

STATS

  • Country: United States
  • Style: American Strong Ale 
  • ABV: 7.2%
  • Serving Type: 650ml Bottle
  • Price: Slightly Pricey

It’s fair to say over the years that Richo and I have both been referred to as the name of this beer many many times. So it seemed fitting that we shared this one before he goes on a 3 month odyssey around Europe.


Stone Brewing in California is brewery whose beers I have been trying to get my hands on for ages. I made a trip down to a beer store I pop into sporadically and saw a huge number of their beers, almost all of them are now waiting for me to drink them! Check out the arrogant bastard website, some of the quotes are just gold! Neither of us can wait to get into this!


The beer pours alot darker than I had anticipated, it’s a dark amber or red colour with a cream coloured head on top. The carbonation seems reasonably high as the head lasts for a very long time, not ever really completely dissipating. I’ve never had an American Strong Ale before but a quick check on the criteria says that the beer can basically look like anything as long as it’s an ale over 7%. It looks good to me.


I think I was expecting slightly more from the nose, don’t get me wrong it smells amazing, I just thought it would be more intense. There is a strong sweet smelling aroma of caramel malts with brown sugar also present. Dark fruits are present on the nose, sultanas I think, before a lovely hop bitterness overtakes the palate. These hops are both piney and woody, and are remarkable bitter!


Arrogant Bastard Ale tastes much more intense than the nose suggests. Straight away you are hit by a big bitterness which subsides into the background as a caramel malt base takes over. The taste of sultanas is there but is hard to notice as a pine hop flavour takes over, they are surprisingly bitter but have a strange minty spicyness towards the back of the palate. This bitterness lasts all the way through to a finish, which just leaves you wanting more and more! (possibly to your detriment…)


This beer packs a punch much greater than the 7.2% ABV would suggest. It’s a really nice ale, full of character that is very different from anything else available in Australia. This beer is really going to make a big impression on the Australian market if the distributor wants it to. To make this happen everyone needs to go and buy this beer, it’s a lovely ale, the names fantastic and I can guarantee you won’t de disappointed!


Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!