Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin Stout

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

Draft at Bigwood 09. Coffee, coconut, roasty almond, oatmeal. Light to medium body but good feel. Great balance of oat, coffee, roasty nuttiness, slight chocolate, and a mellow burnt flavor. Solid oatmeal stout that I would revisit at any time.

Holiday Ale Festival... Poured deep brown with a thin tan head. Aroma of oats and malts. Light, easy going palate. Oats and wood-like flavors. Creamy, mile hop, and overall a low bitterness to this near, sessionable stout.

Sampled on 12/1/2009 at the brewery. This oatmeal stout pours a very dark black color from the tap. Small sized tan foamy head, with decent retention and nice lacing. The aroma is A medium to light bodied Oatmeal Stout. The malts are chocolate and roasted malts. The hops are herbal and a touch citrusy. There is perhaps a touch of wood. Very smooth tasting. Nice stout. Good carbonation. The mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

On tap at Firestone. Deep mahogany with a one finger beige head, fair retention. Roasted coffee and dark chocolate dominate with some light coconut and caramel. Flavor follows suit with some dry light pine, bitterness at a 3. Light prickly carbonation with a medium-light body. Good stout.

On tap at Firestone night at Stone Bistro. Brown pour, light tan head. Roasted malt, coffee, oak, bourbon, and some cream. Tasty beer, somewhat light, although I did try it after tasting Parabola, so it’s relative.

Draft at the brewery tasting room. Nose of coffee, coffee, and more coffee, with hints of oak and bourbon. Black with brown edges and a medium tan, glass lacing head. Flavor is lots of expresso and caramel, finishing with more coffee.

FoBAB. Lots of people were talking this one up so I had to try it. Pour is pretty much black with a thin tan head. Aroma is bourbon, sweet cream, chocolate, and a light fruitiness. The mouthfeel hurt this one for me as it was rather thin for such a rich looking beer. Very easy to drink though. Flavors were pretty standard bourbon, vanilla, chocolate malt, and light wood. Not a bad beer, just wish it had a fuller body.

FoBAB tasting. 2nd beer of the event. A dark nearly black stout with some head. Smells of sweet malts dominate this beer. Taste is roasty, creamy chocolate, wood and wiskey. Didn’t balance too well but was still a good beer.