Firestone Walker 11 (XI Quercus Alba)

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

Bottle shared by Sick_boy282 purchased at Hamilton’s. Pours wtih a dark brown body topped by a thin to medium thick head with some lacing. It’s sweet and malty with a note of vanilla, oak and raisin, as well as, a little roast. Full bodied, smooth yet warming.

Golden-brown colour. Light chocolate nose with some soy sauce notes and mild caramel. Alcoholic, a bit thin. Hot and dry with lifeless caramel action.

Dark brown with a red hue. Beige head, but no lacing or retention. Strong mix of bourbon, brandy, and caramel in the aroma. I also got some toffee and vanilla in the nose. Very smooth taste. Sweet caramel and toffee blended with just the right amount of bourbon and brandy (more brandy than bourbon perceived). Low carbonation and medium bodied. Extremely smooth.

Very dark brown color with a decent beige/tan head. Vinous, dark fruit, roasted malt and vanilla aromas. Full bodied with mild and creamy carbonation. Suddenly there are woody, spiritous notes over darkly roasted malt. Still getting vanilla - could be vanillan, but what’s the difference. A bit of heat bite with some really roasted/toasted malts. A fair woody aspect, and there are heavy spirit impacts. That said, this is smooooth and tasty. Does not finish perfectly dry, but the malt sweetness is clearly balanced by the hop? Well, something is contributing some bitter. Visit Naples and die? No, drink this first, and don’t bother with Naples.

Bottle shared at the Cleveland tasting. I do not know who. Sorry. Thanks for sending me the correction Brandon! (I was confused!) Aroma reminded me of a cappacino. Flavor was roasted malts, coffee beans, milk chocolate and some caramel.Brandy flavor on the back end, bringing in the alcohol. Very good beer.

22 oz bottle via Irishboy (big thanks!). Pours a dark brownish/black with a small tan head. Nose is candy, toffee and malty. Wow, this is a palette bomb, lol. Lots of flavors and quite complex. Starts sweet molasses with some dark currants, plums, toffee, a bit of licorice, chocolate, some spiciness, bourbon/oak and some roastiness. Also some earthy hops in the finish, as well as some warming alcohol. Not hot, but definately warm. Body is full, carbonation is light/medium. A very good strong ale, i wish i had one for my cellar, as i think it would be even better in a couple years.

This particular bomber required a long drive over to the Solana Beach BevMo where I was given the choice to buy one or two. I chose two.

Pours a beautiful deep clear brown with tan head. The aroma is full and rich with a lot going on in there. The first bit of the nose is sweet vanilla, chocolate, mild roasty malts and a bit of caramel. Soon the varied wood notes take over with oak, cedar-like notes and fresh douglass fur. Then the booze character enters the nasal arena with brandy, whiskey and pure alcohol along with a faint leather like funk way off in the background. OK, time to finally take a taste. Like the nose I get a bit of roasty malts that slowly turn toward vanilla, chocolate and caramel. The oak, cedar and other fresh wood notes surface soon after but are more subtle in nature than indicated in the aroma. Beyond midway to the finish the brandy, whiskey, oak, caramel candy sweetness and mild alcohol hotness all mingle together and slowly bring the experience to a close. What a treat this beer is. Yum. I enjoyed it more than the Firestone 10 (which I think needed more age when I rated it).

Sample from the bottle at The Red in Santa Cruz. Poured into a sample-size wine glass. A little cap of head forms atop a dark brown body with copper highlights. Smells very bourbony with less booziness. Oak, vanilla, raisin, brown sugar. Taste includes that bourbon note in a big way, but also incorporates brown sugar and oatmeal. More bitter notes like sharp molasses, leather, and a bit of char help to balance the sweetness. Very smooth and dry despite the thick body. Even though the flavors of bourbon are prominent, the alcohol really isn’t. Nice experimental beer from Firestone.