 mtoast (283), City of Rust, Pennsylvania, USA
Sep 8, 2007
22oz Bottle, bought in SoCal sometime in Jan 07. Fairly vigorous pour gets me a DEEP brown beer with rich tan foam, loses a point for lacing, which is non-existent. Aroma is a blast of cocoa powder and whiskey, there’s some oak in there too, but not nearly enough. Flavor is hot with lots of alcohol, there’s a lot more going on here but the octane just obliterates most of it, some bitterish mocha notes, some oak and a little bit of confusion. Personally, I think it would have been much better as a 10% or less beer, the alcohol masks what is really going on here and that’s a shame
Also this is my first taste of Firestone Walker, I look forward to trying more of their stuff.
GregClow (2332), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sep 1, 2008 Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, tupalev, jerc & garthicus - courtesy of garthicus. Ruby-brown with a wispy tan head. Aroma of wood, dark malt, vanilla and booze. Flavour is very strong, but tasty as hell, with lots of wood and bourbon, roast malt, caramel, and quite a hot finish. A very nice treat - thanks for sharing, Alan!
pantanap (749), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Aug 29, 2008 750ml bottle from a trade long ago. shared with the wife for our one year anniversary....dark brownish black pour with a moderate yet quickly fading light beige head.... aroma of wood, light bourbon, and soft sweet notes mostly of caramel and vanilla.... flavors were pretty sweet and roasty. spicy pepper and other barrel-aged bourbon flavors. finish incorporated more of that spicy and boozy qualities that lingered on the tongue for a bit. still very warming despite the aging....i think i prefer 11 to this one actually.
garthicus (550), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Aug 27, 2008 My bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, Tupalev,Jerc & Blankboy -- courtesy of Irishboy in a trade we did! After weeks and weeks of staring at this bottle on my shelf and fighting the temptation to open it, I finally got to give it a go. Appearance: Ruby red/brown colour with a nice brown head. Aroma: Coffee, honey, alcohol and the wonderful hint of turf/peat. Flavour: Whiskey and coffee, toffee too with a warming alcohol finish. Thanks a million Richard!
fiver29 (303), Strongsville, Ohio, USA
Aug 23, 2008 Tasted at Cleveland tasting on 8-23-08. Thanks!! Bottle pours dark brown/black with a tan head. Aroma is all over the place. I sense oak, vanilla, caramel, roasty malts, molasses, and nuts. Has a medium to full body. Taste is very nice. Mostly sweet caramel, roasted malt, chocolate, and burnt oak. This is very well done. Overall this is a truely world class brew.
ABUSEDGOAT (1902), California, USA
Aug 22, 2008 Bottle from Toronado. Yeah, I could probably save this for 1900 but I have something just about as ridiculous in the fridge so whatever. Dark colored, tan head with average lacing and retention. You can smell a little bit of age on this already. Aroma is a mixed bag of course. Chocolate, caramel, oak, vanilla, nut, molasses, more. Full bodied, silky mouthfeel. However, it felt a little off balance, where I remember the 11 being better balanced. Time has probably helped it though. Alcohol was hidden very well though. Decadent, enjoyable and almost definitely never again.
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