Velvet Merkin
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Velvet MerkinVelvet Merkin
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From:
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
Oatmeal Stout
Ranked #17
ABV:
7.8%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,487
Avg:
4.28 | pDev: 8.88%
Reviews:
464
Ratings:
2,730
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 06, 2024
Added:
Nov 20, 2008
Wants:
  417
Gots:
  1,095
Our decadent Oatmeal Stout lovingly aged in Bourbon barrels. Beautiful chocolate, espresso and vanilla-bourbon aromas hold your nose hostage. Rich dark chocolate truffle, bourbon and espresso create a dangerously smooth and incredibly drinkable barrel aged Oatmeal Stout. Hoarding tendencies may occur.
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Ratings by AndyAvalanche:
Photo of AndyAvalanche
Reviewed by AndyAvalanche from Massachusetts

4.23/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
22 oz. batch No. 001 bottle poured into a Duvel Tulip style glass. Liquid comes out cola brown during the pour and gets darker as it rises in the glass. A little bit of light sneaks through on the sides at a deep brown/red, but not much. Tan colored head, small bubbles, and I'd say average lacing. The head sticks around for quite awhile though.

Smell is pretty good, not as big as I expected, but then again, this isn't a big beer like Parabola. Some sweet, dark, chewy malts, some vanilla and bourbon oak (blended together it almost provides a hazelnut characteristic), and there's some slight hints of dark dehydrated sugar coated fruit (raisons/figs).

Taste is a slight step up from the smell. Vanilla, oak, slight light cocoa mixed with a bit of dark bitter chocolate, and caramel. Nice dark roasted, close to toasted, blend of mostly dark but some paler malts as well. Sweet but not overly sweet, sort of like coffee with cream sweet (I prefer my coffee black, so I guess I'm a little bias). Overall everything meshes really well. It hits all of the desired components of a good barrel aged stout.

Mouthfeel is unique to many barrel aged beers and in my opinion the best part of this beer. Its only medium bodied, yet the flavor lingers longer on the palate than you'd expect based on how light it feels. There is a light airy carbonation and it really does have a light feel to it, like a barrel aged stout designed for a hot summer day. Barrel provides a dry bitter finish and really only a little bit of heat. Great drinkability and not too filling even if you finish the bottle on your own. Not my favorite, but Firestone Walker is still one of my top go to breweries for barrel aged beers.
Apr 30, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of dcotom
Reviewed by dcotom from Iowa

4.02/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at The Brass Tap, Cedar Falls, IA; served in a snifter. Motor oil in color, with a thin ring of off-white head. Sweet as expected, with notes of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. Bourbon barrel character is prominent but not overpowering. Medium in body, a bit lighter than expected. Overall, though, an excellent beer.
Mar 06, 2024
 
Rated: 5 by doctorgary from New York

Dec 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4.23 by not2quick from Missouri

Nov 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4.1 by Blogjackets from Ohio

Nov 16, 2023
Photo of ChrisCage
Reviewed by ChrisCage from Canada (AB)

4.39/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Picked this up from the fridge at Aces and Ales Tanaya Las Vegas! Great Selection of vintage btw!

A- Pours a very dark brown, almost black color, and shows off not a head, but rather a decent looking caramel colored ring of foam around the inside of the tulip that I am using. I can see a select few columns of carbonation rising to the top of the brew and the lacing starts out well, but then I watch it fizzle off so not sure what to think about that. Overall I find this to be an above average stout!

S- Oh right away I smell boozy charred bourbon barrel, of which this was aged in! Alongside whisky, rum, wood char and smooth alcohol, I find there to be aromas of rich dark chocolate, black French Press coffee, dry flaked oat, vanilla bean, blackstrap molasses and nuances of spicy root beer/cola on the finish. Muted hop presence as well.....overall it has a medley of aromas, and seems fairly smooth on the nostrils.

T- The flavors follow the nose fairly closely! Beautiful cola/root beer sweetness (sarsaparilla, licorice, cinnamon, slight citrus), dark chocolate, cocoa, creamy unsweetened coffee, fresh vanilla bean, and oh did I mention the bourbon barrel char? There is an oat flake dryness about it, but the aging has smoothed this out. I also detect some dried dark fruits such as prune/fig/raisin and the pits that would accompany these fruits too to add some bitterness/dryness. The finish has some astringent character and the woodiness lingers onto the next taste

M/O- Well it is pretty velvety I have to say, although the carbonation still has a bit of zing to it. The mouthfeel is medium fullness, and overall it is quite drinkable! I enjoyed this over the course of 90 minutes and it didn't disappoint....in fact I would pay the $35 USD again to just pour and have this again! A nice Oatmeal Stout and I'm willing to bet it gets better even over the next couple of years.
May 05, 2023
Photo of Herbabee
Reviewed by Herbabee from Pennsylvania

4.68/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
i'm here with an cellared 2018 version (and with a '17 remaining - so as to equalize my FW vintage cask o' 24 preciously-boxed vessels) and am so noting...

Uneventfully unpried into 6 fl oz snifter, the pour issues a reliably mostly-opaque body with most resilient tan-color pinky-finger capper, inevitably reducing to a misty film on surface flanked by gauntlet of micro-bubbly tan ring. I'm always looking for that "fiddle-faddle" nuance in the nose and taste, and methinks it's still got it. Nice, grainy, woodsy, nuanced bittersweet from palate to swallow, but not at all overbearingly. Always enjoyed this within their repertoire, and i'd be overjoyed if they offered a new batch of the ol' recipe.
Mar 01, 2023
 
Rated: 3.88 by MDDMD from Pennsylvania

Nov 26, 2022
Photo of ReDave
Rated by ReDave from California

4.23/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2015 Vintage! https://photos.app.goo.gl/t6ZzVhqimb6CyV2B6
FOUND, back of the 3rd fridge
Pretty darn good!
This has aged well
Nov 10, 2022
Photo of atigerlife
Reviewed by atigerlife from Hawaii

4.49/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2017 Vintage.

Pours black with a small brown head that dissipates quickly leaving a brown collar.

Aroma of Molasses, dark chocolate, coffee, bourbon and dark fruit.

Taste is coffee up front with malt, dark chocolate, prunes, vanilla & molasses.

Mouthfeel is medium to heavy and coats the tongue.

Overall, very nice. Well worth a try.
Sep 10, 2022
 
Rated: 4.31 by Taenim from Maine

Aug 25, 2022
 
Rated: 3.35 by Resistance88 from California

Aug 19, 2022
 
Rated: 4.68 by Buannaich from Colorado

Jul 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.35 by Bruno74200 from France

May 25, 2022
Photo of DoctorZombies
Reviewed by DoctorZombies from Florida

4.22/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Vintage 2016, bomber. Poured at 55°. Dark brown/ruby with excellent clarity; two fingers of creamy khaki head with a few rocks; ok to good cap retention; solid plus ring; sudsy lace; medium legs on swirl. Nose is decidedly bourbon with nuanced chocolate right behind. Taste follows nose; oaky vanilla middle; no coffee or much of anything else; bourbon balls finish. Medium minus body, light carbonation; light silky feel; no warmth from 8.5%; dry barrel finish. Overall, tastes good after 6 years; no perceived oxidation; but, drinks light/thin more like a porter than an imperial oatmeal stout; tasty but not particularly complex.
Mar 23, 2022
Photo of Roy_Hobbs
Reviewed by Roy_Hobbs from Connecticut

3.94/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
2017 Vintage. Cola colored on the pour with a thin beige head. Decent legs. Aroma is rich, with some nice vanilla notes still present. Taste is chocolate and some vanilla. Feel is surprisingly thin. Good, but not great beer. Distinctly possible the age didn't help.
Mar 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.43 by Capn_Colbeer from Texas

Feb 27, 2022
Photo of 40ontarget
Reviewed by 40ontarget from Colorado

4.55/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Dark cola colored with a 1/4 inch tan head. There are fresh biscuits, mocha ice cream, pecan Sandies, vanilla, and bread pudding with bourbon sauce on the nose. The taste is pecan pie, dark corn syrup, bittersweet chocolate, cafe au lait, cherry cola, and bourbon lingering constantly in the background. Vanilla, oak, and a bare hint of char are on the finish. The nose here is magnificent. It is a great opening like the introduction to the Scarlet Letter. Everything about the nose makes the anticipation of drinking almost unbearable. The actual drinking of this beer slows the grandiose of the nose to a slow afternoon on a porch watching the sunlight filter through the trees. Very calming and satisfying, a bit hot but relaxing nonetheless. Sweet but not cloying. Rich but not heavy. This is as good as an oatmeal stout gets. ( Found old notes on this one)
Feb 22, 2022
 
Rated: 4.04 by Humanusfermentum from Virginia

Feb 06, 2022
Photo of lketchersid
Reviewed by lketchersid from Texas

4.4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Not as much bourbon as I remember from previous years (this was a 2016 that I've kept around) - certainly not as much as a Parabola. But a great cold weather evening brew.
Feb 06, 2022
Velvet Merkin from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 2730 ratings