Firestone Walker 10

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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Sampled March 2007
This produces a very thick head that starts out at about four-fingers in height. The head is a light brownish to dark tan color and the beer is quite dark. It sits an almost black color in my glass, but showed, a clear, dark chocolate color as I poured it. The aroma is definitely influenced by the barrel character, but by barrel aged beer standards it is fairly subdued. At least it is not so big that it is obnoxious, which so many barrel aged beers can be. Spicy oak notes, soft butterscotch, vanillin and some whisky-like notes mix together to form the most noticeable aromatics. Underneath this is a nice malt character; leaning towards the dark side of the spectrum notes of toasted grain, browned soda crackers and even some notes of chocolate are noticeable if you dig for them.

Served lightly chilled, this beer is definitely rich and chewy. It has a palate coating mouth feel to it without quite being syrup-like. Again the flavor profile is most noticeably influenced by the barrel character, but again it is fairly well kept in check. It is interesting that a beer that so heavily relies on barrel aging for its flavor profile is so easy drinking. Prior to this I would have said that a beer that predominantly relies on the barrel for its flavors would be undrinkable by me, yet this one is quite drinkable and even enjoyable. Somehow the barrel character seems subtle here, despite being the most noticeable thing about this beer. Don’t get me wrong though, the flavor of this beer has a lot of other things going on besides pure barrel character. First off the barrel does contribute spicy oak notes, a touch of butter-like character, some whisky or bourbon flavors and a definite tannic edge. The tannic note in the finish intermingles with a solid hop bitterness, both of which linger on the tongue after the beer has left my mouth. This beer is quite hoppy all the way through; fresh hop character up front (notes of pine, menthol and even lots of big, yet subtle because of the wood influence citrus character) as well as a herbaceous note that moves to a lightly astringent bitterness in the finish. The malt is what coats the mouth up front; it is sweet, yet not sticky, with notes of chocolate, toasted malt and even touches of medium roast coffee.

This beer is certainly multi-layered; notes of leather, tobacco, cherry, and even something like coconut (I would not have expected that here) compliment the other noted flavors as well as all sorts of facets that I can’t quite describe. This beer is a great example of why you should blend; nothing is too strong or unbalanced about this beer, yet it seems to be missing that certain something that would make this mind-blowingly good. It will just have to settle for being great, but I certainly hope that more brewers get into this multi-brew blending, because this is a great start to that. The blend of flavors here is just so interesting and there is such a depth here. The more you dig, the more you find; quite an interesting brew, I will certainly enjoy seeing how this beer ages. My biggest question though is if this thing is bottle conditioned. It does not seem so, and I fear that this would have much better aging potential if it was. Still, it is 12% so it should hold up for some time.

@HallingHansen tasting, thanks for sharing. Pours cloudy brown with a small beige head. Aroma is caramel, raisin, plum, oak, vanilla and alcohol. Flavour is is caramel, alcohol, raisin, plum, vanilla and oak.

At HallingHansen Grand Tasting, thanks for sharing. Pours an unclear and dark brown beer with a weak beige head. The aroma is malt, fruit, dried fruit, sweetness, vanilla and wood. The flavor follows the nose with additional alcohol. The palate is sweetness and alcoholwarmth. Overall a really good beer.

Near black with ruby highlights, small off-white head. Malty aroma with a bit of caramel, notable oak and bourbon, and a touch of fruitiness. Sweet malty flavour with a complex oak character, and quite a bit of alcohol

Bottle @ Hallinghansens US Tasting, Odense. Pours murky dark brown with a small off white head. Sweet nose and flavor of oak, caramel, prune and a slight oxidation. Sweet and vinous. A bit of warmth. A sipper!

Bottle. Mud brown body with a tiny offwhite head. Aroma is raisins, dark fruit, alcohol notes, roasted malt, bourbon and vanilla. Flavor is dark fruit, alcohol, raisins, chocolate notes, vanilla, bourbon. Tha alcohol thickles in the mouth. Great beer.

Bottle at hallinghansen grand tasting. It pours dark brown with some floasties. It has a medium off white head. Loads of bourbon notes in the aroma. Sweet toasted caramel, vanilla, booze, light chocolate and tobacco. The flavour is vanilla, toasted caramel, booze, light roast and fainted hops. Nice and smooth. Long sweet dark dried fruity finish. Thanks hallinghansen for sharing!

Thanks to Mike Dash G!! Appearance: pours a dark brown with no head and no bubbles.

Aroma: Dark fruit: fig, raisin date. Apricot. Not any booze.

Taste. Dark chocolate alcohol cardboard, hazelnut, coconut.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied modest carbonation. Overall: Nothing like it was 6 years ago, obviously. I would suggest doing your "vertical" now.

Had during a 10-15 vertical on 11/20/11. Slightly cloudy, dark brown. Hardly any head at all. Sweet chocolate coffee smell. Really complex aroma. Tasks slightly sweet and very smooth. You can taste the alcohol come through almost like a bourbon. May be past its prime. But was still incredibly enjoyable.

Pour is a deep dark coppery brown with little gray head. Smell is deep molasses light figs and butter resin. Taste is brown sugar buttered caramel popcorn vanilla great smooth silky mouthfeel. thanks drowland.

651mL thanks to drowland and the Tally beer crew at Proof for sharing this rarity!. The pour is a clear, deep maroon with bubbles. No head formation. Nose is starchy, red fruits, tart berries, umami soy character, quite savory with saving graces of bourbon and maple. Taste is spicy, decent alcohol heat, mild ash and chalkiness. Big kick of alcohol in the mid. Chalk and mint in the finale. Big oxidized/minty quality. Not bad...probably not worth cellaring any longer.