Firestone Walker Opal

Brewed By: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California

Purchased: 22oz (1 Pint, 6oz) bomber bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, Illinois; 2014 

Style/ABV: Saison, 7.5% 

Reported IBUs: 35

Wut. I guess even Firestone needs to jump on the Saison fad. About Firestone: 

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. 

The Opal is part of the brewery's "Proprietor's Reserve Series." This dry hopped Saison clocks in at 7.5% ABV, and 35 IBUs. Brewed with Styrian Golding, Amarillo, and (Dry Hop) Hallertau Blanc hops, this beer features a malt base of Weyermann Pilsner, Malted, and Unmalted Wheat malts. The brewery describes the beer as having inviting lemon grass, gooseberry, and peppery spice. 

Firestone Walker Opal

The Opal pours into a slightly hazy, yellow/melon body. It almost looks wine-like in appearance, except that the beer produces two fingers of white head. It looks the part of a Saison, and busy streams of tiny carbonation remind you that this is, in fact, a bubbly Belgian Ale. In bright light the beer is a vibrant yellow/gold. 

The aroma was jumping out of the glass, with lemony Noble hops, lemon grass, big orange peel, and giant peach. There's a white wine aspect going on here, with gooseberry and white grape. There are some light peppery notes on the nose as well, specifically peppery citrus. It smells like stone fruits and bright fruit. It's inviting but uniquely farmhouse...there is mild clove and barnyard character on the nose. It's a divine aroma. I'm surprised.

This leads off with big lemon/orange peel, stone fruits, gooseberry, and white wine. The mids crush rustic malts, with creamy clove and bready goodness. The whole thing is peppery and refreshing, with underlying barnyard funk. This is a great example of a well-executed Farmhouse Ale, and it is incredibly refreshing. The hops are slightly tangy and acidic, the malts are creamy, and the beer drives home some nice bitterness against the funky Belgian yeast. 

Firestone are capable and competent, so you know this is a classy endeavor. There's nothing raw or rough around the edges here. But this is a bold Saison, and I'm finding this to be incredibly refreshing at 7.5%. I wish I had a growler full of this stuff. This is light to medium-light bodied, with tons of sweet citrus punch, carbonation, and creamy malts to move things along. Palate depth is fantastic, and complexity is not far behind. I guess it plays things a little straight in a market increasingly full of Saisons, but it's like the Buick of Saisons. Again, up front is a big blast of zesty citrus, sweet stone fruits, peaches, white wine, gooseberry; the mids dial up the creamy wheat malt, with continuing hops, some peppery spice, clove; the back end is clove, bread, Belgian funk, and barnyard. The finish is bready, barnyard, and eventually dry.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. No complaints from me. This was a good investment at $7 or $8 or whatever the bomber cost. I don't remember. Food pairings here point in the direction of fruit salads, ceviche, peppery steak or chicken, or even some orange chicken takeout. You could also throw this at sushi. I'd like to see this beer in 6-packs.  

Random Thought: Apartment shopping is stressful.