Purchased: 22oz (1 Pint, 6oz) bomber from Cardinal Liquors in Chicago, Illinois; 2012
Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 13.0%
Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here.I like to read about what goes into the beer I'm drinking, and for that, I tip my hat to Firestone. I could waste a ton of space and time on this post, but Firestone breaks down their Sixteenth Anniversary Ale to a tee. If you're wondering about the Firestone Anniversary Ales, their website states:
"Since founding our brewery in 1996, we have specialized in the rare art of brewing beer in oak barrels. In the fall of 2006, we released a limited edition oak-aged strong ale called 10 to commemorate our 10th anniversary. The experience was greater than any one of us could have ever imagined. We now present XVI, our seventh release in what has become an annual autumn rite at our brewery."The idea behind the Anniversary releases is to create a harmonious blend of various high gravity beers, with an emphasis on oak. The brewery describes a connection to wine making, which is a bit bashful. These are complex blends that should be the envy for any wine fan. This beer is made from 8 different beers aged in 226 oak barrels. The full list is:
Velvet Merkin (8.7% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon barrels
-Traditional Oatmeal Stout (23% of final blend)
-Traditional Oatmeal Stout (23% of final blend)
OG= 15P FG=5.5 IBU=32.5 Color= Black / 15% Oats / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggles
Stickee Monkee (12.5% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon and Brandy barrels
-English Barley Wine (22.5% of final blend)
OG=27P FG=5.4P IBU=45 Color=28 / Brewed with Mexican Turbinado (Brown) sugar
Double Double Barrel Ale (14.2% ABV) - Aged 100% in retired Firestone Union barrels
-Double strength English Pale Ale (20.3% of final blend)
OG=25.0P FG=5.1P IBU=30 Color=16 / A Double version of our flagship created by Ali Razi
Parabola (13% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon barrels
-Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout (10.8% of final blend)
OG=31P FG=8.5P IBU=80 Color=Black / Hopped with Simcoe, Bravo, Styrian Golding and East Kent Golding
-Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout (10.8% of final blend)
OG=31P FG=8.5P IBU=80 Color=Black / Hopped with Simcoe, Bravo, Styrian Golding and East Kent Golding
PNC (13.0% ABV) - Aged in Tequila barrels
-American Strong Buckwheat Stout (8.1% of final blend)
OG = 25P FG = 5.0P IBU = 80 Color = 100 / Brewed with Buckwheat
-American Strong Buckwheat Stout (8.1% of final blend)
OG = 25P FG = 5.0P IBU = 80 Color = 100 / Brewed with Buckwheat
Helldorado (11.5% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon Barrels and Brandy barrels
-Blonde Barley Wine (5.4% of final blend)
OG=24.7P FG=4.5P IBU=24 Color = 8 / Brewed with buckwheat honey & 100% El Dorado hops
-Blonde Barley Wine (5.4% of final blend)
OG=24.7P FG=4.5P IBU=24 Color = 8 / Brewed with buckwheat honey & 100% El Dorado hops
Bravo (13.4% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon and Brandy barrels
-Imperial Brown Ale (5.4% of final blend)
OG=26.5 FG=7.7 IBU=35 Color=32 / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggles
Wookey Jack (8.3% ABV)- 100% Fresh, Dank & Hoppy 100% Stainless Steel
-Black Rye India Pale Ale (4.5% of final blend)
OG= 18P FG = 3.0P IBU = 80 Color =black / Extremely hoppy double dry hopped BIPA
The final product, the Sixteenth Anniversary Ale, is 42% Stout, and for the first time in the series' history, features a beer aged in Tequila barrels. Clocking in at 13%, this is a pretty complex and big beer from the get-go. Let's see how the blend stacks up.
This one initially pours a lighter brown, but quickly fills into some nice black shoes. It's not quite RIS dark, but it's still pretty dark. This one poured with a finger's worth of brown/sandy-gray head, but the head quickly settled into a nice cauldron effect. In bright light, the beer shows its ruby red color, and slightly transparent body. Tiny carbonation is visible in this. There's some nice alcohol legs on this, and the head is clinging with some lacing.
The aroma is nice, with big bourbon, vanilla, wood, brownie, pecan pie, coconut, hints of sweet hops ala tropical fruits and candied fruits, a dash of tequila, and a ton of vibrant spirit-esque-ness. Admittedly the aroma is a touch nondescript.
Things really kick up in the taste, with a swirl of various components kicking your palate, with big oak, vanilla, caramel/toffee candy, cocoa powder, tequila, hop kick with citrus and grass, and some big boozy complexity on the back end. I'm getting some dark fruits like raisins from the Stout base, with some roast and coffee as well (on the back). I'm also getting some slightly resinous hop kick, with some lemon, Pledge, and some zest. It kind of reminds me of the Griffin's Bow Oaked Barleywine from Sam Adams. I'm getting more tropical fruits now, and tequila...
This beer is very complex, and has really good palate depth. Everything is grounded/brought home around the oak, with sweet oak, wood, and nice sweet malts rounding the whole thing out. This is full-bodied, slightly sticky-sweet, and has lively supportive carbonation. The finish is sticky, dry, and sugary. It's Russian Imperial Stout-like, or comparable to a big Barleywine. It's hard to break this one down, because each sip reveals different layers of fun. Up front is a blast of hops, bourbon, coconut, brownie; the middle rolls into brownie, coconut, caramel, toffee, Stout, dark fruits; the back end is lingering hops, tequila, some roast and coffee, more sticky sugar, oak, wood...
Rating: Above-Average
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this, with my only gripe being that all the layers never really harmonize into sexy jazz. Maybe some time in the cellar will change that...and I do plan to age a bottle for a couple of years. Otherwise, this is a brilliant blend of brilliant beers, and the oak kicks ass. The whole thing comes together very nicely. I would pair this with rich chocolate desserts, a cigar, a burger with super raunchy cheese, or a medium-rare steak with butter on top. At around 20 dollars a bottle, this shit is expensive. If you enjoy craft beer, wine, or blended beverages, you owe it to yourself to check this out.
Random Thought: Is The Cabin In The Woods not the best movie ever?
-Imperial Brown Ale (5.4% of final blend)
OG=26.5 FG=7.7 IBU=35 Color=32 / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggles
Wookey Jack (8.3% ABV)- 100% Fresh, Dank & Hoppy 100% Stainless Steel
-Black Rye India Pale Ale (4.5% of final blend)
OG= 18P FG = 3.0P IBU = 80 Color =black / Extremely hoppy double dry hopped BIPA
The final product, the Sixteenth Anniversary Ale, is 42% Stout, and for the first time in the series' history, features a beer aged in Tequila barrels. Clocking in at 13%, this is a pretty complex and big beer from the get-go. Let's see how the blend stacks up.
 |
| Firestone Walker 16 |
This one initially pours a lighter brown, but quickly fills into some nice black shoes. It's not quite RIS dark, but it's still pretty dark. This one poured with a finger's worth of brown/sandy-gray head, but the head quickly settled into a nice cauldron effect. In bright light, the beer shows its ruby red color, and slightly transparent body. Tiny carbonation is visible in this. There's some nice alcohol legs on this, and the head is clinging with some lacing.
The aroma is nice, with big bourbon, vanilla, wood, brownie, pecan pie, coconut, hints of sweet hops ala tropical fruits and candied fruits, a dash of tequila, and a ton of vibrant spirit-esque-ness. Admittedly the aroma is a touch nondescript.
Things really kick up in the taste, with a swirl of various components kicking your palate, with big oak, vanilla, caramel/toffee candy, cocoa powder, tequila, hop kick with citrus and grass, and some big boozy complexity on the back end. I'm getting some dark fruits like raisins from the Stout base, with some roast and coffee as well (on the back). I'm also getting some slightly resinous hop kick, with some lemon, Pledge, and some zest. It kind of reminds me of the Griffin's Bow Oaked Barleywine from Sam Adams. I'm getting more tropical fruits now, and tequila...
This beer is very complex, and has really good palate depth. Everything is grounded/brought home around the oak, with sweet oak, wood, and nice sweet malts rounding the whole thing out. This is full-bodied, slightly sticky-sweet, and has lively supportive carbonation. The finish is sticky, dry, and sugary. It's Russian Imperial Stout-like, or comparable to a big Barleywine. It's hard to break this one down, because each sip reveals different layers of fun. Up front is a blast of hops, bourbon, coconut, brownie; the middle rolls into brownie, coconut, caramel, toffee, Stout, dark fruits; the back end is lingering hops, tequila, some roast and coffee, more sticky sugar, oak, wood...
Rating: Above-Average
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this, with my only gripe being that all the layers never really harmonize into sexy jazz. Maybe some time in the cellar will change that...and I do plan to age a bottle for a couple of years. Otherwise, this is a brilliant blend of brilliant beers, and the oak kicks ass. The whole thing comes together very nicely. I would pair this with rich chocolate desserts, a cigar, a burger with super raunchy cheese, or a medium-rare steak with butter on top. At around 20 dollars a bottle, this shit is expensive. If you enjoy craft beer, wine, or blended beverages, you owe it to yourself to check this out.
Random Thought: Is The Cabin In The Woods not the best movie ever?
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