Firestone Walker Big Opal

Brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Paso Robles, California USA

From the Jug at the GABF Colorado Convention Center, Denver 09/10/2008 (As Opal Wheat Wine ABV 9.5%) Very fruity aroma. Golden coloured and slightly hazy in appearance. Sweet on the palate with a crisp slightly dry and bitter finish.

Another Firestone Xll release party goer. An impressive wheat wine, sweet with a peculiar (to beer) coconut macaroon flavor. Sweet enough to hide the strength of the alcohol, and very drinkable. Like many big beers changes as it warms, with different flavor nuances about every 5 degrees....

Draft @ Toronado, for the Firestone Walker XII release party. Pours a murky, orange-amber color; light tan head with good retention and fine-bubbled lacing. Loads of juicy coconut, dried oranges, and sweet candy sugar in the aroma; still, really nicely dry, dense, and generous nose. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: intensely chewy, dense dried oranges, toasty coconut, and oily dried fruits; lightly-barreled and toasty dried fruits and caramel. Lengthy finish: soft toasty oak, coconut, and dried, dense fruitiness; oranges, nicely toasty.

On tap at the Toronado. Listed as Firestone Opal Wheat Wine (13 or 14% if I remember). Pours a stunningly beautiful hazy deep reddish amber with a small, wispy off-white head. Aroma of prunes, plums, caramel and alcohol. Taste is a malty and pruney barely wine with some banana and clove elements from the wheat with a considerable amount of oxidation in the taste. A lot of alcohol in the taste makes this odd drink a bit hard to put down. Syrupy mouthfeel with small bubbles.

Draft. Also just called Opal. It’s a wheatwine. Reddish amber beer with a light off-white head. Malty, wheat aroma. Wheat, malt flavor with light fruitiness, noticeable alcohol, and a bit of darker malt. Fuller bodied. Lingering alcohol, wheat, malt, spice, fruit. Starts to get some cocoa notes. Gets better and better.