Firestone Walker 11 (XI Quercus Alba)

Formerly brewed at Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Paso Robles, California USA

I got this treat in a trade awhile back from errantnight, way to come through Derek! Firestone’s 11th Anniversary brew appears solid black in the glass but the closer it gets to the light the brighter mahogany highlights I get until they glow ruby when directly backlit. A light pour upfront didn’t bring much of a head so I got a little more aggressive and wound up with a quickly grown two finger beige head that fell to a half finger cap rather quickly. Peaked sheet lacing gets left behind after each drink making for a great appearance. Wow! The nose on this brew is potent, rich and complex. The complexity is so much that I can’t even begin to describe all the smells coming from this snifter. Silky oak in the form of vanilla, caramel and crystal maltiness, bourbon, mild coffee grounds, and mild chocolate all play roles in this brew. Each swirl brings roastiness to the top and the bourbon brings enough alcohol fumes to tickle my nose hairs. Even with this huge melting pot of aromas nothing is out of place and they all seem to be intermingling seamlessly. I don’t want to pull my beak from the glass but of course I need a drink. The first couple sips of this brew I took were merely good. After another 15 minutes or so of warming they have become excellent! This is blend is heavy on the RIS as far as I can tell with roasty malts, dark chocolate and faint freshly ground coffee laying down the base. The bourbon and oak are both big with buttery vanilla and bourbon that seems to bring some heat to the back of the throat. Caramel sweetness pops up here and there along with what tastes to me like crystal malts. The RIS and barrel ageing are what take the cake and that’s perfectly fine with me. The overall flavor of this beer is big and in your face with so much dense complexity it’ll make you think. The body was close but not quite where it should be when I first opened the bottle after about 30 minutes out of the fridge, but now after abo

Shared this one with my brother. 22oz bottle served in a chalice. Poured a deep brown with hints of red. Off white head. Big aroma of chocolate and vanilla plus a little alcohol. Rich and full bodied. Amazingly complex flavors. More chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon. Finish of chocolate and whiskey seems to last forever. There is a fair amount of hop bitterness to balance all the malt. Dessert in a glass.

22 oz bottle. Pours a clear dark amber to brown body with a very minimal fizzy head that completely vanished (Edge-FW10). The nose is big and boozy with a lot of bourbon barrel influence. Lots of vanilla, char, coffee, roast, a bit of plum and figgy fruitiness, smells like it’s going to be super sweet (Edge-FW10, much more balanced). The flavor is very sweet and boozy, a lot of roast and Imperial Stout character more than Brown Ale. Too much bourbon really, I wish that there was some more variety in the barrel choices, I think that some port or red wine barrels would do some good things here. Vanilla, charred oak, very noticable alcohol. There’s just no smoothness or mellowness to this. Finishes pretty hot with chocolate and burnt malts. Mouthfeel is full and sturdy with a viscous texture, very heavy on the tongue. Nice soft carbonation and a warming finish (Edge- FW10). Overall, I just thought that this was a bit of a bourbon overkill. It was actually pretty hard to finish the whole bottle. This may age into something a little more pleasant though. Way way below what I thought of the FW10, makes me wonder about the upcoming FW 12.

Pours a very dark purple brown color with a light amount of haze and a small, diminishing head. The nose is that sometimes perfect mixture of nutty fruity alcohol, some red chile peppers, red grapes and wine barrel tannics. Body is properly thick and strong, syrupy even, thick and viscous, sharp and spicy with black pepper coating the tongue in a long, delicious finish. Rich, aromatic, slightly hot and boozy, but overall just a wonderful beer.

Sampled @ Backus’s Backdoor Bash.Pours a dark brown with a small khaki head.The nose is of caramel swetness with some dark fruits added in.Flavor was sweet.Dark fruits, wood, caramel and a touch of vanilla.A real nice blend of flavors with a nice warm finish.

7-28-08 bottle shared with lb4lb thanks to miketd and Weisguy
Dark brown thick pour with a thin little head. Smell is oaky and cherry and malty with a touch of cinnamon. Flavor is vanilla and is quite similar to cake. Super thick dense mouthfeel. Drinkable, but just too much vanilla for me and not earthy enough where it seems it should be. Too much like a dessert, like a cake - heavy and cream like. But, I must say it is headed in the right direction.

Tasting at mcbackus 10/19. Holy shit what an amazing beer. Rating #900. UNREAL! Dark brown pour. Aromas of vanilla, wood, toffee, malt, and just amazing. Flavor is sweet, malty, caramel, vanilla, wood, dried fruit. Complex, balanced and damn delicious. WOW!

Bottle shared by wolf... Dark brown in color, good head and lacing. Nice aroma of vanilla, chocolate, oak and malts. Taste was the same....hint of chocolate, vanilla, malt, brandy and some dark fruitys. Texture was perfect very soft, low carbonation. Very easy to drink overall a very good beer! Thanks wolf!