Parabola
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. "Parabola 2015"
$10/10 oz. on tap @ Falling Rock Tap House, CO on 6 October 2019

Notes: Labeled at 14% ABV. Very dark brown-black body beneath a short head of tan. Malty in the nose with notes of dark malt, Bourbon, roastiness, charred oak, vanilla, and coconut. The flavor is intense. It's malty, sweet, and a touch "hot" from the alcohol with notes of coffee-like roastiness, Bourbon, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, plum, molasses, charred oak, caramel, vanilla, and coconut. It's full bodied on the lower end and remarkably smooth and creamy. There aren't too many beers like this one.
Review #8,682

 

 

Poured from the bottle into a cool tulip glass. 2023 vintage. Consumed at approx. 50 degrees F.

L: Solid, jet black. Very slight desaturated brown head.
S: Strong sweet chocolate nose, a bit of something like caramel and even some coconut. A bit of booze.
T: Dark coffee and chocolate brownie, not terribly sweet. Again, something akin to lightly toasted coconut flakes. Surprisingly there seems to be some more acidity than I was expecting. Big boozy finish.
F: A bit lighter than expected, but still fairly heavy. Slight carbonation. Moderately warming.
O: A brighter stout than I was expecting, but still fantastic. Just the right amount of warmth, and plenty of rich, dark and sweet flavors to play with. One of the best stouts I've had.

 

 

 

2021 Vintage. Pours a very dark cola brown, half-inch tan collar of head that leaves wisps of lacing. Nose is big on whiskey and rye, along with wood, vanilla, char, licorice, molasses, brown sugar; aromas really gel and round at as it warms. Flavor is equally complex - lots of spice from the rye, sweet molasses, wood, Canadian whiskey, light vanilla, sugar in the raw. It manages to avoid becoming an overly boozy nightmare while still highlighting the spirit barrels, all without loading up on sugars and adjuncts. Mouthfeel is thick and chewy, though not so much as BCBS; there's also some light carb as well. Pretty exceptional.

12 ounce bottle poured into a snulip.
2023 release

L: Clear dark brown and oily, has legs, half inch of red-hued light brown head recedes to a tight creamy foam ring.
S: Bourbon barrel, fairly strong alcohol, as it warms notes of fig and molasses-like dark sugars come out.
T: Bourbon barrel and alcohol, roasted malt, bitter dark chocolate, notes of dark fruit, finishes with a woody hop tang
F: Medium-full body, medium carbonation, smooth and creamy, small viscous oat feel, finishes with some heat.
O: A big sipping RIS, a little hot, the alcohol character dominates, still really good.

2023 release:
L: as you'd expect motor oil
S: Big bourbon & cherry nose with a little coffee.
T: Taste follows with chocolate vanilla & oak. The malts are subtle and tannins from the barrels
provide a pleasant counterbalance. Cherry flavour lingers a long while, but does not dominate.
F: neither thick nor thin
O: always love a Parabola.

 

L: Poured from a 12oz bottle into a sniffer - Jet black pour with a decent head appearing. About 3 fingers length to be exact. No lacing left behind as the foam dissolves back into liquid form.
S: Getting a sweet bourbon cherry aroma from the first sniff, can definitely smell some coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and oak in there. Very well done on the nose! It hit all the marks that they advertised and it was very noticeable/ well balanced. This deserves a 5/5 for me.
T: Tasting bourbon, cherry up front as the nose indicates. Getting some big coffee, chocolate, vanilla and oak as the nose followed. It's rare the nose is tasting the exact same in a similar order to the nose.
F: A good sipper - easy to sip in my opinion, full bodied, medium acidity.
O: I can see why this is a world class beer. this big 13.5% beer showed us what we can expect on the firestone walker website and this is exactly what we got. I tried to look for more flavors and one can argue it can have some dark fruits but I would say it's pretty rare a beer company hits it spot on and actually tastes good. Good job firestone, I applaud you for this one.

 

2022. It didn't taste like a Russian Imperial Stout to me, too sweet, in fact I think Rasputin is a better representative. And forget about comparing it to Sam Smith's RIS. I was thankful the bourbon still came through strong which did a lot for the taste. I think the most noticeable things about this beer are its ABV of 14.1% and it's "weight", both of which put it in the one-and-done category...and that's if you can finish the 12 oz bottle, which I was barely able to do after about 2 hours from the time I poured it. The ABV and the weight really work against the enjoyability of this beer.

 

Drinking a 2017, which I've had in the cellar. I am not an expert on the true evaluation of the RIS but I fell in love with this one after my first trip to Firestone/Walker in El Paso de Robles about 12 or 13 years ago. This started me on RIS style. F/W have a cellar room where you can buy the good stuff. I recommend a visit, as the wine country out there is fabulous and F/W is affiliated with many of the wineries (sourcing casks, mixers, etc). The beer is complex and has so many taste notes to it that I won't try to guess them all. It should satisfy almost anyone. I highly recommend putting one away for a few years. I have a few more. Tonight my wife is celebrating her 60th, and I will be having a 5 year old Deschutes Abyss or two after the Tomahawk Ribeye BBQ tonight. But for now, nothing better to set off this great celebration than my all time favorite, Parabola!

2021 vintage 12 ounce bottle, poured at 53° into a Firestone Walker snifter.
Perfect brown head rises above a deep black sea and leaves a nice ring inside the glass. Drizzly lacing.
Smells wonderful - dark malt, chocolate, coffee, prune, licorice, barrel char.
Drinking like a millionaire. All of the aromas spill forth into the mouth and everybody takes a bow. Multiple barrels makes for a taster’s experience. The peppery spice of the rye barrel carries long, which helps cut into the sweet elements of this Russian Imperial Stout. Vanilla. Fudge. Barrel.,. on and on.
Feel is not overly dense, which I appreciate. Medium carbonation.
Overall - World Class Stout and totally worthy. The art of the craft!

I'm reviewing the 2021 3 barrel aged release because it's my new favourite parabola release ever.

Pours how you would expect for a big stout. Motor oil on the pour itself then dark black in the glass.

Smells amazing. Tons of roasted malt coffee notes, subtle chocolate, big whisky barrels on the nose, the rye barrel gives a distinct note which is sort of like burnt rye bread (big surprise). I'm not getting any cherry but maybe some faint hint of fig. Zero ethanol on the nose.

The taste is really good. The rye barrel shines here as it balances the bourbon sweetness. Lots of roasted malt, some coffee notes, some sweet bourbon mixed with subtle rye spice, good oak that gives a touch of vanilla character. The finish is long and is very barrel heavy, which I like.

Mouthfeel is like 2% thinner than I'd like but I think that might be a carbonation thing rather than the actual gravity. It's still nice and full bodied for me.

This is actually my favourite beer right now. I love what the rye and wheated whisky barrels did for the balance of the flavour profile. This is probably the most balanced big stout I've ever had, especially among barrel aged stouts. I think this is well worth the price. 2021 was a great year for parabola.

 

 

Parabola is dark as night like melted chocolate with a nice mocha colored head. I smell molasses. I taste molasses, strong and semi sweet. I get some woody alcohol in the mix. What a blend. The different whiskey barrels are very amazing. The alcohol is well hidden and you can take big bites and chew on this beer. The alcohol settles to the bottom and although that's science, the flavors also sink there and are more pronounced in strength too, gives a different aspect of the beer. Including the smell. You study that and you may find the different barrels. Overall very remarkable and worthy of reconsideration. 2020 Vintage. Lions, Bears and Beers!

 

 

 

2021 variant. Good viscosity on this. Great barrel. Just something missing on the back end. The beer pours very dark, with modest head, more than I was expecting. Nice aromas of chocolate, coffee & vanilla. I'd rate this above average, but expected more based on the ratings on here. Wouldn't run out to buy this again the way I searched this one out, but would gladly drink it if I was out and it was on tap or happened to be a bottle in the cooler.

This beer is nearly black in color. There is a modest head that persists, and there is a little bit of lace.
Aroma of cherry, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and a little booze.
Cherry taste, but taking a back seat to chocolate fudge and espresso coffee. Some vanilla in the taste, and some bourbon.
A big, slow-sipping beer.

 

Pours a cola colored dark amber; lighter still that one might expect. A full 2 finger frothy mocha head. Nose is roasted malts, bitter coffee, and chocolate. Taste follows suit. Not much barrel character to speak of. Overall, average. 2022 vintage.

Just opened a 2017 vintage.
Dark brown, almost black. So dark it absorbs the light! Thin head but maintains a lacy ring around the rim. Bourbon and coffee aromas, with flavors of dark chocolate, coffee, Bourbon, vanilla and brown sugar. Slightly oaky, but not overdone at all. Very thick and lingering finish. Good stuff.

 

2021 bottle:

Appearance: Black, thin head.

Smell: Rich, chocolatety, boozy, wood, vanilla.

Taste: Really thick and coating right away. Big vanilla barrel note that transitions to rye spiciness. Chocolatety and mild sweetness. Kind of separates into beer and barrel factions before coalescing again by the end of the glass.

Overall: Sort of a whale for me, I've been wanting to try for years and finally FW sent some to MN. Very thick stuff, tasted great then kind of had an awkward phase of “here's beer” and “here's barrel” before coming back together as a unit. Tasty stuff!

 

 

 

A: Inky black
S: brown sugar, coffee, chocolate, oomami (soy sauce?)
T: brown sugar, coffee, chocolate
M: thick
O: well it's not a Bourbon County but it's still pretty good.

 

Picked up a few a while back - opened the first on a special occasion.

L - Nice pour, head not so thick, but hung around long enough to look nice and chewy.

S - Nothing noticeable.

T - Exquisite. Truly delicious. Deep, some sweetness, and excellent complexity of flavors. As compared to many other RIS, no bitterness at all, and not too sweet. Really great. ABV extremely well hidden.

F - As expected, smooth and easy to drink.

O - Definitely a world class beer.

Growler filled at Half Time in Mamaroneck on 3/26/22, 2022 vintage

Hooooooo boyyyyy. Parabola. Finally. We don’t see much FW here in Mass, but thankfully a trip to Philly found me at Half Time on the way back, where I ended up with this gem, as well as Perennial Abraxas! I’m so hyped to try this so let’s just get into it

Pours a very dark brown with a finger of creamy tan head that fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

This beer relies heavily on the bourbon barrels in the nose, with most of the complexity coming from them. I’m picking up on aromas of spicy whiskey, toasted oak, sweet vanilla, dark cherry, toffee, smoky tobacco, plum, milk chocolate, and toasted coconut

It is a bit less complex in taste, but I still think it’s just as good. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting dark cherry, dark chocolate, toasted oak, brown sugar, and sweet bourbon. The swallow brings notes of spicy whiskey, plum, toasted oak, coconut, roasty coffee, tobacco, and toffee

A medium full body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a thick and oily beer. Finishes mostly dry with a decent heat

This wasn’t mind blowing by any means, but it is pretty great. I grabbed a bottle from Half Time as well to cellar. Let’s see how this is holding up in 2 years