Firestone Walker 11 (XI Quercus Alba)

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

(22oz bottle, thanks CaptainCougar) Small tan head atop cola brown-black body. Aroma is medium sweet, bourbon, creme brulee, some chocolate. Taste is sweet, bourbon, creme brulee, chocolate, some alcohol including light burn. Sticky full body, fairly smooth.

Courtesy of Captain Cougar. Clear dark brown body with a s tiny beige head. The nose is bourbon, coconut, chocolate and molasses. The flavor is moderately sweet, with lots of chocolate, molasses, toffee, dark fruit, coconut and lots of bourbon. Full sticky body with a moderate level of carbonation.

Wow. Dark brown beer with a thin white head. Some floaties. Bourbon, oak, vanilla, coconut, banana, caramel, and brown sugar in the aroma. The flavor has loads of sweet vanilla and bourbon. I also get pina colada, creme brulee, fruit salad and plenty of oak. There’s a flavor for every taste bud in this one. The mouthfeel is so smooth that it glides across your tongue. Almost perfect. A brilliant beer.

Pours a small tan head with fair retention and lace. Dark brown in color with a slight ruby tint. Nose of dark roast malts, chocolate, vanilla, wood and whiskey, really inviting. Full bodied and oily on the palate, coating. Flavors followed suit with the aromas though not as enticing, still a nice quaff though. Lightly sweet finish with the whisky notes being downplayed, the way i like it. Bottle received in trade but i forgot from whom, sorry and thanks!

22 oz bottle. Dark brown with some edgy tan froth. Nose is chocolate, apricot, hay and raisin. A little weird but wonderful. Soft medium body; airy but almost no carb. Taste is bourbon, cocoa and caramel. Very well crafted but too much barrel for me. Alcohol grows with warming.

Bottled, around 1 year old now. Pour is a very dark brown, but still with some clarity, and not much head. The aroma is deep and complex, constantly changing as this beer warms: notes of licorice, pinto beans, cilantro, toffee, and rich, old whiskey can be found. This stuff really reminds me of some 15+ year old ryes and bourbons Ive had, though of course the aroma isnt as intense. The flavor has a nice sweetness, with biscuit and nuts like a good English barleywine, along with a touch of roast and bitter dark malts like an imperial stout. Some buttery oak is apparent as well. Though not as complex as the aroma -- and flavors rarely are -- the taste is still dead on what Id expect for a beer like this. The beer is somewhat drinkable, though certainly not too much so. A very solid beer here.

20080329 Blind tasting notes and score from Cornboy 2nd annual Barleywine Extravaganza. Even after 21 other barleywines, this beer stood out as something special and justified the top score it received out of the group. Too bad it is not a barleywine but I guess bring the unofficial winner is nice, like winning another countrys world championship. Sweet beer but balanced with caramel light and dark, toffee candy, coffee candy, and some yeast balanced with woody vanilla and lingering earth tone hops.

Thanks to whomever brought this to Backus’s house for the Bash. Good brew. Lots of chocolate in the nose. Dark fruits rule the taste. Smooth and heavy mouthfeel with a long lasting aftertaste.