Beer Man: Firestone delivers intoxicating anniversary ale
Beer Man is a weekly profile of beers from across the country and around the world.
This week: Firestone XVIII Anniversary Ale
Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, Calif.
It's that time of year to delve into some special beers for the holiday season. While not all the beers you'll be reading about in the coming weeks are technically holiday beers — i.e. no direct connection to Christmas or winter — they are still special releases that fill the bill of treating yourself or others to a very special drinking experience during the season.
I was not impressed earlier this year by a brewery that produces beers made by mixing different beers. Their offerings were muddled, not helped by the use of low-quality beer to begin with, such as mixing a mediocre wheat beer with a mediocre amber.
There is no such worry with Firestone Walker's 18th Anniversary Ale blended effort. From the very get-go, this beer screams quality and complexity. With a 13% ABV, it ranks in the upper tiers of the competitive field of high-alcohol entries.
Its blend consists of nine different beers aged in various bourbon, plain oak and brandy barrels. The beers are Parabola, a Russian imperial oatmeal stout; Helldorado barleywine with buckwheat honey; Bravo imperial brown ale; Stickee Monkee quadrupel; Velvet Merkin oatmeal stout; Hydra Cuvee dark ale; Wookey Jack black rye IPA; Ol' Leghorn barleywine and Double Jack double IPA.
The pour from the 750 ml bottle introduced a dark brown ale that formed a tan head that didn't last too long — not unusual for strong beers — yet maintained a thin sheet of foam on top. The aroma started off with an earthy and woody Belgian yeast character, with brown sugar and dates following.
The initial taste was of semi-sweet bourbon, molasses and brown sugar. The bourbon character was strong without being cloying or overpowering. Notes of vanilla, chocolate, toffee, dates and oak were secondary and complemented the bourbon.
The use of the small amounts of the IPAs — about 5% of the total blend — added enough hop bitterness to balance out the malt and other sugars without adding excess bitterness.
The mouth feel is solid and creamy, but not thick or syrupy, somewhat of a surprise for a beer of this strength. It even finishes somewhat dry, with the bourbon pleasantly lingering for a nice aftertaste.
Eighteenth Anniversary Ale is as fine a beer as you'll come across and even gives me some holiday blues with the realization that this exact beer will probably never exist again.
Firestone Walker beers are distributed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington; availability for the 18th Anniversary will be limited.
Many beers are available only regionally. Check the brewer's website, which often contains information on product availability by mail. Contact Todd Haefer at beerman@postcrescent.com. To read previous Beer Man columns, click here.