Firestone Walker 11 (XI Quercus Alba)

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Bottle at STL bbbb, thanks for the taste! Pour is brown with minimal tan bubbles. Aroma and flavor loaded with sweet caramel malt, light funk, faint spice, and some oxidation. better than the 10 but still past prime i think. There is just a little tartness in this that im guessing is not intended but is still nice. Glad to have tried this.

Pours light brown and gets dark as it pools in the glass. The head is super thin and quickly becomes bubbles around the rim. The nose is coconut, vanilla, wood, caramel, molasses and hints of chocolate. The taste is super sweet with a smidge of bitterness in tact. Still delicious. Mouthfeel is soft and creamy. The body is heavy and the finish is long. Still drinking great! ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Sampled on 9/2/2012 during an FW 11-15 vertical. This American Strong Ale pours a dark brown color from a 22oz bottle. Small to no head. The aroma is caramel, fruity, sweet and woody. A full bodied American Strong Ale. The malts are fruity, sweet, boozy and woody. The hops are earthy and floral. Nice balance. Slight touch of oxidation, but mostly wood and bourbon. Very smooth. Nice sipping beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet. An interesting tasting. The group consensus was that the was not a whole lot of difference between the 11, 12 and 14, but that the 13 was thin and tasted so different from the others we wondered if they changed the recipe.

Bottle shared by Lunch. Thanks Paul! Firestone Walker tasting, including FW 10-14, Abacus, Parabola, Walker’s Reserve, Black Xantus. Order of preference and notes: 13, 12, 11, 14, 10 Abacus and Parabola still shined. Along with FW 13, these were my three favorites of the lineup, with FW 12 not far behind. The beer appears dark brown, transparent to a certain degree when held to the light. The head is a thin beige cap that fades within a few moments, leaving sparse lacing. The aroma is of roasted malt, toffee, booze. The flavor in FW 11 is certainly better and more palatable than FW 10. Everything is more balanced, and the heat is toned down a notch. The finish still brings a boozy kick, but thankfully, lacks any harsh burning sensation. Overall, a solid beer, good representation of the style, and worth a try if you have the opportunity. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 05-27-2011

Shared by Daknole. Pours hazy brown with a tan head. Aroma of has some oak, vanilla and chocolate. Taste is very malty with some chocolate and some resin hops and an alcohol bite. Good stuff!

Bottle shared by Aledude at his birthday. Pours hazy dark brown with a thin beige head. Grainy barleywine nose with slight chocolate and hop along with some dark fruit. Malty and grainy flavor with chocolate and slight hop before a boozy finish.

Excellent use of barrels on this beer. Everything really comes together here and makes for an interesting experience. The finish has this dry bakers chocolate that makes me want to keep drinking and drinking.

Sample at Kurt’s 49th birthday party. The beer is a very dark reddish-brown color with a medium light tan head with large bubbles that evaporates steadily. Short strings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of oaky bourbon, hops and vanilla. Rich body with flavors of caramel malt, bourbon, dark chocolate and hops. The finish is oaky with a lingering burnt sugar and malt aftertaste. Another solid anniversary beer from Firestone.

Big thanks to clockworkorange for bringing this one to Stakem’s Fish Fry. A - Pours murky brown with a small half finger tall off-white / tan head leaving very thin streaks of lace down parts of the glass. S - Smells of brown sugar, caramel, toffee, bit of chocolate, vanilla, oak and a touch of bourbon. Some definite oxidation creeps in at the end of each sniff but that is to be expected. T - Starts off with lots of sweetness - mostly toffee, brown sugar and caramel - slowly giving way to hints of chocolate, vanilla, dark fruits, oak and some light bourbon warmth. Little to no booze and only a marginal amount of oxidation present. Finish is a little sweet, lingering on the pallet for only a short period of time after consumption. M - Full body with a nice mild sweet flavor and moderate carbonation. Very little, if any alcohol is left and only a marginal amount of oxidation. O - This one has held up surprisingly well. It still had all of the flavors I was expecting and the oxidation, while present, wasn’t overpowering. Glad I finally got to try this one.

Had it during a 10-15 vertical on 11/20/11. Pours dark brown/black. No head. Aroma was complex with a sweet coffee smell. Warming alcohol taste with hints of sweet. Slight vanilla. Very smooth.