Firestone Walker 15 (XV)

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

A vigorous pour into my Lost Abbey Teku glass produces a four finger thick, pale amber tinged, tan colored head; as the head slowly subsides it leaves some patchy lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is a concentrated amber color that shows a clear, bright-amber hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of caramelized, toasted grain and pine-like / herbal hops up front. A second take sees me noticing some spicy, woody, slightly astringent / sharp oak character along with a supple buttery note, a fruity Bourbon-like character, soft nutty notes and a soft, supporting vanillin note towards. Between the hops and the Barrels, the nose picks up an almost holiday like spiciness as it warms up (cinnamon, and perhaps a touch of allspice).

The beer is a bit too cold to start out, but still has a nice nutty not up front, somewhat of a bitter hop bite, some lingering pine like hoppiness and a finish that has some Bourbon / Oak spice and warmth to it. The alcohol warmth and the hops mix in the finish to get a touch harsh, but this gets reduced as the beer warms up. A hoppy citrus character contributes a marmalade like flavor as the beer warms up; this is also accentuated by the deep caramelized character that makes up the malt character in this beer. Lots of barrel influenced flavors play the dominant role in this beer, especially as it warms; flavors of sweet, lightly toasted coconut, ample vanillin, richly caramelized character, molasses coated toasted-nuts. This beer is certainly a rich, sipping beer, it is not excessively heavy, or even cloying though; it hits the right balance of being rich, chewy and viscous, without being excessively heavy.

The hop character isn’t actually nearly as expressive as my description might seem, in fact it is less than I had been expecting, but it is noticeable and certainly an contributor to this beer. Really thought, the barrel character and malt play the more leading roles in this beer. At times this can be a bit hot & I bet this won’t peak for a year or two once the heat has had some time to mellow.

22 oz bottle, thanks to fear025. Slightly murky reddish/brown with a thin beige head. Aroma of vanilla, toffee, citrus, fruity bourbon and light bitter chocolate. Flavor is sweet rich caramel malt, boozy and vanilla oak, light hop bitterness and some chocolate and coffee. Medium body with soft carbonation and a smooth, soft mouth feel. Great beer, one of my favorite of the Firestone anniversary beers, the IIPA adds a nice touch.

22oz bottle. Near black brew with some off-white head that did not stick around long. I love how complex these FW blends are - nose of toffee, bourbon, vanilla, oak, caramel, and honey. Flavors are all over the place - chocolate, roast, wood, toffee, caramel, bourbon. Wow!

Another spectacular bottle from GT2, thanks very much! Very dark brown color, grayish white head. Aroma of vanilla, boozy coffee, whiskey. Taste is scotch whiskey, anise, Irish coffee. Too much stuff in this one. Artificial complexity.

651mL thanks to craftycarl21. Thanks bro! Clear deep amber to ruby red pour with thicker yellow foam. Settling quickly to a thin layer. Spotty lace to none. Nose is sharp celery seed, caraway, spiced tomato juice, sticky strawberry, mint. Taste is dark chocolate, rich bourbon, sharper alcohol, more bitter chocolate this might be the least integrated of the FW anniversary series: super bitter DIPA is evident in the blend. Chocolately stout proportion is way too low. Palate goes papery and dry rather than rich and oily. Ganache and butter are absent. More like an imperial red ale. Vegetal character is not helping. Boozy, bitter, disintegrated.

Bottle from lemonhead. Dark, clear ruby red pour with a small beige head. Oaky, bourbon nose with hints of candied sugar, vanilla, light roast and booze. Slightly hot. Flavors were bourbon driven, woody, sweet caramel, some earthy hop bitterness. Mouthfeel was medium, light carbonation. Booze bittersweet finish. Quite good.

Pours very dark bronze that’s fairly clear with a smallish tan head. The aroma has lots of the bourbon barrel showing though, but it’s not really boozy. There are notes that aroma that are more vanilla, caramel, roasted malt, licorice, some dark fruit (dates/figs), creaminess and a bit of warming alcohol. The body is quite thick with some fairly sharp carbonation. The flavor starts out sweeter and with more of an alcohol presence than the aroma. There is also dark toffee, chocolate, a bit of hoppiness, English barleywine earthiness and some oak showing through. The finish has a slick sweetness that is like a blend of honey and molasses along with alcohol and dark fruit. This is quite good, but looking over the description it looks like the more robust and assertive flavors overpowered the more subdued ones listed.

Huge bourbon aroma. Some oak and vanilla. The mouth is pretty creamy and smooth. Big bourbon taste. Aroma of chocolate, bourbon, vanilla & oak. Very well balanced for a Frankenstein beer. Small head with hardly any lacing.

Ever so slightly disappointed - but it’s still an excellent beer. I think this really needs some time to meld the flavours. Bourbon, candy floss, toffee apples - lots of childhood flavours. Hides 12.5% really well. Medium bodied and a bit oily.

UPDATED: MAY 21, 2012 Bottle, pours a pitch black with good sized creamy head, good lacing. Aromas of bourbon, brandy, fruit, oats, sugary yeast. Taste is chocolate, bourbon, raisin, cherry, apple brandy, vanilla, honey, coconut. This one was very boozey and hot. I did not enjoy this one nearly as much as the 14 and previos versions but still better then 80% of the barrel aged beers in my market.

Bottle at home, from my Minneapolis Town Hall glass. These last few ratings have been from backlog, from a tasting I held just before I destroyed my knee, and I realize now just how much I missed that glass... Pours clear ruby/cola brown; thin cream coloured head, spotty lacing. Nose is sweet bourbon, tobacco, red licorice, tar, cherry bark; Flavours of tea, cherry bark, oak, red berries, light roast... I could gush about this beer for a good deal longer, but I’ll leave that to those with a more poetic turn. Regardless, this is a lovely beer, and shines even among remarkably strong competition.