Firestone Walker Saucer Full of Secrets

Brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Paso Robles, California USA

On tap at the 2008 Strong Ale Festival. Poured a deeper amberish-brown color with a very small sized off white head. Aromas of dark fruits -plums and raisins-, lighter woodiness, light vanilla, and caramel. Tastes of dark fruits, vanilla, wood, and chocolate.

FoBAB 2008, Chicago: The program described this as a "Belgian Quadrupel aged eight months in Heaven Hill/Old Fitz Bourbon and rye Whiskey barrels" and that didn’t ring true. Here it’s a Dubbel. Doesn’t seem right, either, it was such a lightweight drink. It poured a deep amber body with a respectable off-white head. It had a boozey aroma with a hint of caramel, vanilla, and wood. Seemed pretty thin, boozey and lightly fruity. The finish? Again, boozey and sweet. Whatever this was, it was just okay.

FoBAB 2008: Coppery hue with a nice off-white head and produced fine lacing. The aroma has a lot of rye whiskey character and bourbon barrel influence of vanilla and oak. Caramel and bready malts with a hint of Belgian yeast ester. The taste is a muddled boozy and malty combination in which neither seems to take control and play well with others. Fruity and twangy around the edges but I really wanted the Rye Barrel to shine more on the palate. The mouth feel is chewy and slick, warming with a tannic finish. Ends up just okay after such a promising start, sniff.

On draught as guest beer at Dark Lord Days 2008. Pours a semi-clear coppery amber brew with a creamy beige head that has some good retention and spotty lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, some vanilla, raisin a touch of brown sugar and light spice. Taste is medium bodied, light carbonation with flavors of caramel malt, yeast, a touch of brown sugar and raisins with apples. Finish is semi-sweet with some raisin aftertaste at first and then a mild bitterness.

FoBAB 2008. Poured a clear dark brown color with an off white head. Smelled of hay, husky grain, and hay. Eh. Medium bodied and semi sweet with husky grain, light booze, and toffee flavors. There was also a hint of dog food, which was a nice touch...if you like dog food.

16th Beer of the Beer Spot Tasting Sunday March 30th, 2008. 12oz handbottle via Thekegergator. Pours reddish with a tan head. Nose is sweet and nice. Taste is sweet, nice, tasty, can’t complain.

Draft. Bronze beer with a dark cream colored head. Low malt, caramel, light spice, dark fruit aroma. Caramel/toffee flavor with light yeast and light playdough components. medium bodied. Lingering malt, playdough, yeast, and raisin.

In short: Caramel and juicy and fruits abound in this sweet Belgian Ale. Good beer.
How: Tap at Dark-Lord-Day 2008
The look: Clear amber body with a long-lasting medium beige head
In long: Rather sweet beer with rich fruity caramel covering a fruit salad. A nice kind-of-oak flavour nicely complements the complex fruity notes of raisins, prunes and more. Carbonation is very lively, even a bit too aggressive. Short finish. I would have like something to dry it out a bit (hops, dusty yeast, something…) cause this could have been excellent. Very good nonetheless. They had the tap lines mixed-up at DLD 08 and for about two hours this was served to people ordering the Russian River Compunction. This Firestone Dubbel is a good beer but really not what I was expecting from the Compunction. I was relieved when I heard that this beer wasn’t the Compunction and the real Compunction was being served. I haven’t gone from hopeful to disappointed to hopeful again so quickly since the day my girlfriend told me “I think you friend Annie is hot, not that I wanna do a threesome with her, although maybe in the right circumstances…”.