Firestone 17 - Anniversary Ale
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Firestone 17 - Anniversary AleFirestone 17 - Anniversary Ale
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From:
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
American Strong Ale
ABV:
13.3%
Score:
99
Avg:
4.46 | pDev: 7.62%
Reviews:
135
Ratings:
1,446
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 04, 2022
Added:
Oct 30, 2013
Wants:
  186
Gots:
  494
30% Bravo Barrel-Aged Imperial Brown Ale
25% Stickee Monkey Barrel-Aged English Barley Wine
15% Velvet Merkin Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout
15% Parabola Barrel-Aged Imperial Russian Oatmeal Stout
8% Double Double Barrel Ale
4% Helldorado Barrel-Aged Blonde Barley Wine
3% Wookey Jack Black Rye India Pale Ale
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Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Cellared 9 (!) years. Had on tap. Pitch brown opaque pour, tan cap. So much going on in the taste: booze, dark chocolate, anise, many light and dark sharp oaks, dark fruit, red grape, caramel, barley, roasted malt, all finished by more booze with some oxidation, still really warm considering aging. Nose is more focused on the sweeter elements with the barrels, some faint vanillins in there. Very warm booziness, massive profile on the palate, chewy, oak cuts in, malty backbone. Even with all those years it is still pretty warm, complex but not as integrated as some other vintages in the series
Dec 04, 2022
 
Rated: 3.45 by QuintusHorace from California

Oct 01, 2022
 
Rated: 3.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Mar 17, 2022
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.45/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
With a barrel-aged blend of their most popular and stronger ales, Firestone celebrates their birthdays in big ways. Ways where sherry meets stout. Cellered now for seven years, Firestone Walker's seventeenth birthday rendition sees refinement and rusticity in the same sip.

With a deep brown, tawny bronze pour, XVII releases a dainty swirling espresso froth before seducing the senses of smell with a complex and appetizing blend of coffee, cream, dark fruit, coconut, whisky, smoke, char and port. With the very first sip, there's a dry and leathery sweetness that greets the tongue with dark chocolate, light cream, molasses and honey.

As the complexities evolve, the middle palate shows a shift to feathery dryness as the malts tighten into a toasty, roasty and smoky char of burnt toast, Greecian coffee and candies walnuts. As suggestions of leather and tobacco soon follow, so does a fruitier taste that swirls around fig, date, prune, raisin and plum. As hints of dark grape, cherry and berries evolve, the taste trends bitter, earthy and with a rye-driven grit and bordeaux wine in finish.

Full bodied but leathery-dry, the extended age of the beer has allowed more mature madiera, sherry and port flavors to come with dry malts as hints of fortified brandy mingles with a long linger of coffee and toast. Turning seventeen again has never tasted so good!
Dec 27, 2021
Photo of farrago
Reviewed by farrago from New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a weak head which barely covers the surface and siappears rapidly. Brownish liquid, transparent if held up to light, maybe a little orange at the rims. During the pour the aromas easily waft up and out of the glass, settles down soem thereafter, caramel, toffee, candied nuts, chocolate all in a dry manner, nothing here is overtly sugary or over the top, fig and date fruit scents, oatmeal, to me at this juncture showing some alcoholic heat, perhaps the richness faded too much. Full-bodied, mild carbonation so it moves at a snail's pace across the palate. Milk chocolate dominant then gets spicy, here the barrel aging of the components comes through clearly. Something like mineral water or quinine tightens it up. Vanillin finish. Still totally drinkable but I suspect it showed better with the exuberance of youth. (Bottled 10/7/13)
Dec 21, 2021
 
Rated: 4.34 by InfernoBoss from California

Jun 28, 2021
Photo of Kendo
Reviewed by Kendo from New York

4.4/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This one's been sitting in my cellar for years - finally getting around to it on January 24, 2021. Let's see how it's held up. . . .

A: Poured into a tulip glass. Body is dark chestnut brown with a wisp of a greyish-white head on top.

S: Still a big nose, even after all this time in the bottle: dried fruit (raisin, figs, dates), brown sugar, apple cider & cedar plank.

T: Booze-soaked dried fruits, toffee/caramel and brown sugar. Toasted coconut. Vanilla and oak and bourbon. Still has layers of flavor, which isn't surprising given the variety of beers that serve as the foundation/base that became this beer. Finishes with a bourbony booziness (not surprising given the 13% ABV), with booze heat felt in the belly.

M: Full bodied, carbonation is still there to some degree, but it's a little bit slick.

O: I'm really surprised how well this beer has held up. Excellent job, Firestone-Walker.
Jan 24, 2021
Photo of Orca
Reviewed by Orca from Washington

4.6/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
22oz into a tulip. Pours a deep rich clear mahogany with minimal head, just a thin collar of light foam around the edge.

Aroma is rich and sweet, oozing with Bourbon and rum-soaked dates, toffee, vanilla, caramel, pipe tobacco, leather ...

Taste is likewise rich and complex. Figs, dates, vanilla, coconut, toffee, chocolate, brown sugar, caramel ... on and on, layer upon layer. Truly nectar.

Mouthfeel is heavy and slick, laden with flavor and body. Goes does easy and smooth, so good.

Overall another truly outstanding anniversary beer from FW. Superlative. Hard to imagine how 7 years in the fridge/cellar could have done anything but improve it.
May 15, 2020
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.53/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
This is an old one that should be fun to drink.
Pours a small-ish tan colored foamy head with med-low retention, light lacing, decent sticky leg-like coating, very dark mahogany brown almost black

Nose is quite nice, loads of oak and dark malts, as well as the nice aged malt character, powdered cocoa, a bit of roast and coffee, dark chocolate, coconut, toasted oak and a bit buttery oak, plenty of vanilla, caramel. baking spices and light cookie dough nougat candy, hint of oxidation, cocoa, touch nutty, a bit of whiskey and some dark fruit alcohol like rum or brandy maybe

Taste brings lots of the same, complex and deep but soft, alcohol is very light, with a little warmth, lots of dark malts, some roast, caramel, heavy layered malt like a barleywine, touch of coffee with roast, dark chocolate, light malt-derived fruits, a little nutty, dark fruits like fig raisin but very light, a little complex aged winey character and port or brandy, a bit of whiskey, and touch of paper oxidation but otherwise nice, a touch of bitterness more from the roast than hops, powdered cocoa, touch of nougat and baking spice, plenty of vanilla and toasted oak, a touch of whiskey, baking spice, rich nougat, mild sticky finish with a bit more bitterness and mild alcohol warmth and tingle like

Mouth is fuller bod, rich chewy thick, med carb, light warming alcohol

Overall this was quite nice, I wish the barrel and whiskey characters came through a bit more, but age did nicely to this, nice mild oxidation characters, alcohol was very low, nice enjoyable sipper, great complexity of all the blends, wish I tried it fresh to compare, and wish I had more
Mar 09, 2020
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2013 vintage; drank 7/13/14 on draft @ Northdown.

Brown/black hue.

Khaki head; decent lace.

Booze, brown sugar & coconut nose. Too hot!

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Milk & booze, un-melded, up front (a la Velvet Merkin); caramel & oak notes emerge as it warms.

More palatable than my last try, but still not very good.
Jan 01, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by mtbdonn from Colorado

Dec 29, 2019
 
Rated: 4.28 by MDDMD from Pennsylvania

Dec 21, 2019
 
Rated: 4.35 by SadMachine from New Jersey

Dec 01, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by TLA from Pennsylvania

Mar 30, 2019
Photo of cjgator3
Reviewed by cjgator3 from Florida

4.39/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
22oz bottle poured into a snifter. XVII is a nice anniversary blend of seven different Firestone Walker beers (most notably Bravo, Stickee Monkee, Velvet Merkin, and Parabola). Brown sugar, dark fruits, and bourbon are well pronounced on the nose. The taste is incredibly rich, smooth and complex with a nice malty base creating a good deal of sweetness and a warming finish from the high ABV and barrels used in the aging process. Overall, XVII is a fantastic brew.
Dec 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4.36 by Dark_Scarecrow from Virginia

Dec 01, 2018
 
Rated: 4.83 by jason_nwx from Oregon

Oct 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4.68 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Jul 16, 2018
 
Rated: 4.23 by dbrauneis from North Carolina

Jul 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.42 by Gambyt20 from Illinois

May 05, 2018
Firestone 17 - Anniversary Ale from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 99 out of 100 with 1446 ratings