Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard Ale

I'm a huge fan of bourbon barrel aged beer. Bourbon County Brand Stout, Founders Backwoods Bastard, Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine and Founders KBS are some of my personal favorite beers. I enjoy them so much that, if they are on tap in my area I will recruit my friends to go try those beers with a level of enthusiasm that makes it seem like we are attending the Beer Super Bowl. Because of my fondness for those beers I seem to think any beer that spends time aging in a bourbon barrel is going to be fantastic. And while that is definitely not the case, I seem to fall for it every time.

On a recent visit to my local beer store, I stumbled upon Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing Company and immediately picked up a couple bottles. While I was excited to try it, I've always had mixed feelings toward Arrogant Bastard Ale. I always thought the name of the beer was fantastic and the label on the bottle is hilarious. The flavor of the beer however has never quite been as good as I wanted it to be. Over the years I've revisited it from time to time hoping for different results but I always seem to arrive at the same conclusion, it's a mediocre beer that relies on its name to sell it. But I felt it was time to push those feelings aside. This version of Arrogant Bastard was aged in bourbon barrels and that gave it a clean slate and a strong desire for me to like it. But would I?

Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard pours a slightly hazy dark red with a lingering khaki head. The aroma is full of caramel malt and dark fruit with citrus, pine and oak. The initial flavor is pine and citrus with a caramel malt backbone, basically Arrogant Bastard. The flavor progresses to some pleasant vanilla and toffee sweetness from the oak before a slightly bitter pine finish. The most noticeable thing is the absence of bourbon flavor which to be honest I found most disappointing. The flavors of the oak clearly come through and do in fact add to the flavor in a positive way. However this isn't the oak aged version of Arrogant Bastard, this is the bourbon barrel aged version. Another thing I felt was lacking was proper carbonation. While it wasn't flat it was certainly lacking the proper amount of effervescence it required.

Grading Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard is difficult. While it is an improvement on the original beer, the barrel aging should have added more to its flavor profile. That being said, the added layers of sweetness brought a better balance to the aggressive hops of the original beer. But at the same time the lack of carbonation reminded me of drinking out of an old 2 liter bottle of soda. It might not be flat but it certainly was close. What I am basically trying to say is while this is not a bad beer, it just feels like a missed opportunity at making a really good one.

Overall I rate Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard a 2.75/5. It's worth trying if you are a fan of Arrogant Bastard Ale. But if you are a fan of bourbon barrel aged beers it feels like a disappointment.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!