Firestone Walker 11 (XI Quercus Alba)

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

A lot going on in this one. Aroma has some chocolate covered cherries with some bourbon, vanilla and caramel. Flavor has a faint green bitterness, maybe roasted malts and some dark fruit and nuts. Lots of alcohol, some bourbon and wood. Nice to drink, very complex. Can’t decide between the two so far so both get same numerical rating. Hopefully will get to revisit even one of the X or XI sometime in my life.

22 oz. bottle via trade - Pours a hazy brown color with a 1/2 finger thick light tan head. Very light spotty lacing. Low carbonation. Aroma is sweet toasted malt, dark esters, and oak/bourbon. Flavor is roasted malt, esters, and oak/bourbon, and a bit of chocolate. A little bit of vanilla comes through as this beer warms. Finish has a good alcohol bite and is somewhat bitter and dry. Medium to full body. A nice beer. It was better than X, but not quite as good as XII.

22oz bottle courtesy of Solomon420 poured into a tulip. Pours a very dark brown that shows slightly red around the edges when held up to the light. There’s a small cream-colored head that recedes slowly to a healthy collar. The aroma is big and damn good. There is dark fruit, with lots of raisins and plums along with some roasted dark chocolate malts. There is vanilla and plenty of bourbon as well, though it’s not overpowering at all. The taste is even better, spectacular actually, with a roasted, slightly bitter kick on top of the big chocolate malt backbone with lots of vanilla, caramel and some raisins as well. The finish is where the bourbon comes in and it leaves a pleasant burn going down along with a little bit of tobacco. The mouthfeel is good, medium bodied and a little slick with plenty of wood and bourbon on the palate. The carbonation is soft but adequate. I am not sure what this one tasted like fresh, but it tasted wonderful now. There are tons of flavors but they have all come together perfectly and the drinkability is extremely high given the ABV. One of the best beers I’ve had in recent memory.

Bottle poured into a tulip class produced a finger worth of tan head that trailed off to a nice light lace. The body was a chocolate lab color and the highlights were amber in color. The aroma was a huge bourbon bomb. Plus there was some nice vanilla note along with some oak thrown in for good measure. It tasted like the finest bourbon as well. The words Smooth came to mind as I sipped away at my glass. It had a medium feel to it in my mouth with light carbonation. This was a wonderful brew easy to sip and relax with. I do believe one bottle is about all you want in a sitting. I would not mind drinking this one again

Just an amazing beer, aged to perfection. Not boozy but such a complex blend of great flavors and aromas. Easily in the top five beers that I have ever had.

Sampled at Noog 5. Another brew I did not ever expect to get to rate. Bombay mahogany color with a wispy head. Fairly clear at this point in its life. Chocolate, mocha, and caramel dominate but I thought I got a bit of roastyness and tobacco. Full and inviting if nothing else. The flavor is quite unique and the best way I could describe it was “tootsie roll” in liquid form. Well, that and dates with a cooked caramel/malt presence. Creamy mouth feel that really lingered. While I thought the 12 was better, this was also excellent.

Noogfest High 5. Sample from a bottle thanks to DenverLogan. Dark brown-red with a thin off white head. Aroma is bourbon, vanilla, sweet malts. Taste is vanilla, chocolate, charred oak.

Cool to see this at Noogfest High 5. The body was hazy dark brown. Smells of wood and molasses up front. There was also some vanilla and oak. The taste was sweet vanilla with oak and caramel. I also got bread crust with some roasted peanuts. Good, but possibly a little past the prime.