Firestone 18 - Anniversary Ale
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Bottle from Albertsons, cellared at home until now. Worth the wait. Pours out dark brown/black with ruby tinges. Minimal airy head dissipates quickly. Aroma is whiskey barrel , quad, prunes, heady stuff, alcohol detectable in scent. Flavor follows at multiple levels, I’m picking up lots of Belgian quad, followed instantly by mild alcohol burn. All around enjoyable, I intend to savor this one slowly. Cheers!

22oz bottle into a tulip. Pours a deep rich mahogany with a thin khaki head.

Aroma is rich and complex, with notes of brown sugar, bourbon-soaked figs and dates, pipe tobacco, caramel, molasses, vanilla, leather.

Taste is equally impressive. Sweet bready malt, vanilla, charred oak, caramel, chocolate, dark stone fruits, booze. So much going on here but the balance of flavors is impeccable.

Mouthfeel is slick and full bodied, chewy.

Overall another outstanding anniversary beer from Firestone Walker, a masterful blend of some of their best barrel-aged beers.

 

22oz bottle shared by my brother, this one has maintained some incredible flavors and aromas still. The nose is strong, clear milk chocolate and some equally forceful earthy, piney hoppiness. Smooth caramel, vanilla, chocolate, oak barrel, molasses, dark fruits...hugely complex and well-integrated at this age. Just a phenomenal cellar pull, you can tell the work that FW puts into blending these brews.

 

 

 

 

2014 vintage; drank 8/26/16 on draft @ Northdown.

Brown/black appearance.

Nitro tan head; decent lace.

Blackberry, oats & milk chocolate notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Marshmallow & milk chocolate flavors up front; booze heat notes on the finish.

Some nice flavors lurking here, but a bit too boozy for me to love.

22oz bottle poured into 14oz teku. Poured a solid black color with over a half-inch of tan head that had moderate retention and light lacing.

Some roast notes at the front of the aroma, Some booze and wood were also apparent, with some fruit-like notes in the background.

Very similar on the tongue, with the fruity aspect coming a bit more forward, and the booze toned down.

The body is full, smooth, and rich with a medium finish.

Drinkability is very good, but a sipper for sure.

Overall, a great beer. A must-try if you get the chance.

 

 

 

 

Great barrel presence even with 5 years on it.

 

Bottle Date: 2014
Palate Contaminants: none

Color is very dark brown, and there is a little tinge of red toward the edges when in front of a strong light source. Fine, off-white head, but not much of it.

The smell is great. It's intense, but it's not particularly volatile. The main scent is lightly burnt sugar, all underlined by a pleasant vanilla. The sugar also lends itself to a scent somewhere between caramel and molasses. Over to the herbal, there are moderate amounts of cloves and cinnamon. Lots of great stuff in here, and enough of it.

The sugar is a bit more burned in the taste, and it's more intense. There's also a very heavy anise flavor. The vanilla has gone to the back. I usually don't associate bourbon with brew flavors as readily as some folks, but this has it. The sweetness/graininess/barrel... -ness is in the right proportions to trigger that for me. Cloves and cola come and go. So intense, man.

Medium weight for the type. Medium carbonation, but not prickly at all. Alcohol is detectable, which lends even more comparability to bourbon, but there's no burn. And the aftertaste seems almost as heavy as the taste. Anise still up front, and I might call the liquor more of a spiced rum during this part of the show.

I wish I had another bottle. Then another. Then another. Then ano—

You get the idea.

And it's also worth noting that this has aged extremely well. However, sometimes a strengthening cola flavor can be a sign of decline, so that's a consideration.

 

L: Dark brown with a thin tan head and light lacing fading slowly to a bubbly ring.

S: Sweet caramel and chocolate malts, lower roast, peat. Bourbon.

T: Dates dominate with notes of leather, oak, and tobacco. Milk chocolate, birthday cake, bourbon. Complex with decent balance.

F: Medium body with some perceptible viscosity and slightly lower than desired carbonation.

O: A wonderful brew, but still overpriced, a touch thin and underwhelming.