Happy New Year to everyone, hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Too much eggnog and too many Christmas cookies has put me a tad behind in rolling out some blogs but like my waistline, lets get things back in shape.
Lets start with this tasty delight from the small, humble brewery in Escondido called Stone. They rolled this beer out in November so there is a good chance you’ve come across it already. I’m talking about Lucky Bastard, or Lukcy Basartd if you want to make my brain hurt.
This is a big, hopped up ale created to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Arrogant Bastard. The smart guys up at Stone created this concoction by blending three of the bastard brothers to create this brand new limited edition bastard. Stone is quick to point out however, it’s only limited until they decide to make more. Arrogant Bastard, Oaked Arrogant Bastard and Double Bastard all put together in what I imagine is a Thunderdome style fermenter overseen by Tina Turner and Master Blaster. If you get that reference, you’re welcome!
Being a fan of all three of those delightful beers, I was overjoyed to pop the cap of this 22oz. bottle of bastardy goodness. At 8.5% ABV, keep a few pretzels nearby if you’re drinking this alone.
As far as how does it taste? Listen, if you are a Bastard enthusiast, you’re going to like this beer. It’s got the slap you in the face boldness of the original arrogant Bastard, a big splash of the boozy-ness of the Oaked Bastard and then the Double Bastard kinda pokes you in the eye when you least expect it.
It has a nice complexity to it, big roasty flavors held together by the caramel notes from the malts and I really dig that oaked booze flavor. The beer has a great nose on it when you open her up and if you pour into a glass you get a gorgeous copper with a slight reddish tint. It’s a beauty.
Oh and have fun reading the label after you’ve had a few swallows off this monster. The arrogant style spelling gave me a headache. Other that that minor quibble, I absolutely loved this beer and believe that if you are a fan of any of the Bastard beers by Stone tis is very much worth your time. Plus at $5.99 can you really afford not to try it out? Of course you can’t, now go get it.
Stay tuned for my thoughts on the 2012 edition of Double Bastard!
Sláinte,
Tom
I appreciate when a beer goes “Three Stooges” on me! Oh, and I thought the title was some drunken mistake. haha Thanks for posting. I need a little time to detox ( by detox I mean not drink for 24 hours straight), but I can’t wait to get back on the beer horse.