Firestone Walker 11 (XI Quercus Alba)

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

Bottle. Dark mahogony brown beer with a little tan head. Sweet vanilla, caramel, bourbon aroma. Rich bourbon, vanilla, malt, toffee, caramel, oak flavor with a bit of chocolate, slight roast, and some brown sugar. Nice balance. Medium-plus body. Lingering brandy, caramel, malt, slight chocolate. Alcohol present, but nothing overpowering. Great beer.

Courtesy TheCheeseMan. Pours a translucent, melted chocolate color. A bubbly, beige colored head leaves sudsy sheeting behind. The nose shows massive amount of barrel influence. Bittersweet chocolate, nougat, and caramel provide the malt base, while oak, vanilla, and strong bourbon add highlights. Flavors are creamy up front, almost like chocolate milk with a drop of vanilla extract. Cola sweetness follows, a touch of molasses buried within. Finally, warm, oaken bourbon comes through to finish things off in a woody, boozy sort of way. The body is substantial, but not as full as I was expecting. Smooth, but pretty hot on the palate. Overall, a very, very good brew that might actually benefit from a little less bourbon influence. Very similar to New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk, though a touch more boozy.

Pours a deep mahogany brown, virtually no head at all. Aroma is unmistakable, as the barrel component dominates. Pushing through are notes of vanilla, oak, raisins, dates, dark plums. Flavor is bold and warming, with a nice boozy quality that is well integrated.

Pours a dark brown color with no apparent heads showing in the pour. Aroma is intensely bourbon, but light amounts of vanilla, fruit and chocolate show up in varying amounts. Taste is bourbon, light vanilla, brandy, and light chocolate. Moderate carbonation, alcohol isn’t that well hidden, but isn’t too obtuse either. This one does not live up to the hype.

Thanks for the trade, Odeed! Definetely let this warm up a bit. I’ve re-rated it within 10 minutes. Pours a dark brownish read with little to no head and lots of particulate. Smell is dark fruits, brown sugar, and some chocolate. Taste is about the same. It’s very warming but the alcohol is well hidden. The palate is full of brandy and bourbon. A rather interesting brew that seems to taste better as you drink it and it warms. Glad I got to try it.

A- Pours a deep, dark brown with little to no head. S- Smell is sweet, coffee, dark fruitiness, brown sugar. T- Starts off dark and caramely with incredible coffee tones that are not overpowering at all. More on the sweet side and a little hot alcohol wise. Supremely blended. M- Thick and creamy with ample carbonation. D- Alcohol ridiculously well hidden except for the parts that add to the flavor. Wish I had more to sip on but glad I was able to share the wealth with some traders.

A slightly hard pour produces an initially two-finger thick, light chocolate stained, tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer sits in my glass a near black color with deep brown hues; when held up to the light it shows a brilliantly clear, deep ruby color. Wow, what an interesting mix of flavors. I have never gotten such a distinctive note of coconut from a barrel influenced beer before; it is really quite nice and you would swear there was actual coconut added to this brew. There is lots of other things here as well though; aromas of vanilla, light cherry, brandy soaked dried fruit, hints of clove, bourbon-soaked vanilla beans, toffee malt, light chocolate, a backdrop of toasted grain / bread crust notes. Despite being so influenced by the various barrels, this beer is quite mellow and smooth for a barrel aged beer; it is really well integrated and a true sign of the blender’s art.

Quite a bit sweeter and fuller tasting than the aroma might have suggested, but still quite in line with what I was expecting of this beer before I opened it. The barrel spirits are a touch more noticeable in the flavor than they were in the nose with the various whisky components being most noticeable, but also some fruity brandy notes towards the late middle, before some more spicy bourbon notes kick in for the lingering finish. A bit of alcohol warming is found in the finish as well. Coconut flavors play a role here as well, though not quite as distinctly as in the aroma. The coconut mixes with rich toffee flavors, distinct & rich vanilla flavors and a dark, concentrated fruitiness; this last reminds me of bourbon soaked dried fruit, the types one might use in a dense fruit-cake (though the fruit plays a soft, supporting role here).

The carbonation is not overly heavy here, but does provide a nice, persistent texture to this beer that just scrubs the tongue as it flows past, though not enough to really compete with the reasonably viscous body of this brew. Speaking of which, this beer is definitely not heavy for a beer of this strength, though it is most definitely a sipping brew. At times the finish takes on some bitter cocoa notes, though in a good way; just before this though can often be found a rich chocolate-cream character. As the beer warms up it really starts to pick us some interesting spiciness in both the aroma and flavor. It is hard for me to pick out individual components, but if I had to describe it I would say it is a mix of cinnamon, fenugreek, mace and allspice; these notes are all fairly subtle, but compliment nicely the mix of vanilla, molasses and fruit notes that are found in this beer. The sweet, light roasted chocolate notes really start to come to the forefront as the beer warms too.

A tasty beer, a bit more integrated than the 10, but only just barely. Still seems to be lacking in an intenseness, a richness and even a complexity that would be necessary to make this world class. Still it is an incredibly tasty brew, that really helps to showcase what can be accomplished with blending.

Poured into a 9oz brandy snifter. Consistency is very heavy, dark brown color with very little head. Aroma is amazing combination of brandy, whiskey with subtle malt sweetness. Flavor is amazing, whiskey hits you up front with soft mouthfeel and like velvet slips into dark cherry notes. Very complex. Very nice effort from Firestone!