Firestone 24 - Anniversary Ale
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

 

 

 

Pours a dark mahogany brown and settles in the glass that color with a floating sediment that is warned about on the box insert after my very aggressive pour. Sitting atop this beauty of a beer is a luxurious, creamy tan head that sticks around for a bit. Absolutely gorgeous beer.

The nose is a head turner, with lots of rich cocoa, a significant oak component, a little booze (tequila), and stone fruit in the form of dark cherries. Wow.

The taste is a true amalgamation of all the aromas, with the cocoa, oak, and tequila most prominent, but a very healthy stone fruit flavor for a seductive twist to the flavor journey this beer takes you on, especially as it warms.

The mouthfeel is rich and voluptuous, fitting a beer of this gravity. I’m a fan of F-W in general, and a HUUUUUGE fan of their barrel program. This beer is a magnificent representation of their prowess in that arena.

 

 

I almost don't want to drink this beer it smells so good. The combination of cocoa and dark fruits is amazing. The dark fruits dominate on the tongue at first but then an amazing sweet chocolate hits at the finish. The barrel comes through mid-taste with a nice oak note then a small hit of tequila at the very end. Lovely beer.

 

 

The beer pours a nice and foamy dark brown head that takes a while to dissipate. The beer itself is a dark chocolate dark brown such that it appears black while the texture is fairly velvet like.

The smell is fairly delicious. It has a fairly strong caramel and vanilla note upfront that lingers through the whole experience while the other notes come out and gives off a graham cracker note as well. Underneath the vanilla and caramel are a sweet and lightly bitter chocolate alongside some molasses.

The taste is really really good. While the caramel and vanilla notes are there, the chocolate notes actually come out more than those to give a more bitter experience than the smell but no less sugary and sweet.

The feel is pretty good. It has a heavy body that is creamy and lightly thin. There is some carbonation but it was mostly a smooth ride down.

Overall, this was a pretty good and slightly indulgent beer to have.

12oz bottle. "BEER BEFORE GLORY". No dating information found on bottle or label. Included notes in single box has a date of 9-24-20.
Deep brown colored body with tiny garnet red back lit edge. Khaki head quickly dissipates but sticks around as a thin cap. Tiny spots of lacing left behind.
Aroma of bourbon soaked pecans, coconut, chocolate, oak, vanilla, caramel, burnt brown sugar, and dark fruit. The malts express as graham cracker.
Taste follows the aroma. The graham cracker malts are layered with bourbon soaked burnt brown sugar and chocolate, oak, vanilla, marshmallow, coconut, and a rich nuttiness. The dark fruit arrives later and coincides with the deepest depth of the bourbon barrel. Aftertaste is a mellow mix of what has come before, but a bourbon chocolate pops up last.
Thicker mouth feel. Alcohol is warming, not burning. Supportive carbonation.
Expert blending yields a rich and complex brew.

 

 

 

Bottle Date: 2020
Palate Contaminants: other beer

Lots of fine light brown head. It leaves a good bit of lacing, too. Opaque dark brown, as usual.

Love that scent of spicy molasses with cloves, but [looks at shelf] this is the tenth Anniversary Ale I've had, and there's a pattern. The spice is a bit stronger in this one. The way it combines with the dark sugar, it favorably compares with a high-end root beer.

This one has more smoky barrel in the taste, and it actually is somewhere between smoke and char. It's nice and earthy, overall. The heavy dark sugar as a standalone flavor is there, but it's in the background in comparison to the other annual brews. It's more herbal than spicy. I just wish I knew more herbs for the sake of description; the cloves and root beer are not nearly as present as in the scent. There's a flavor in there that I could best call crystalized ginger. Together, the whole thing is just so... sharp.

Weight is standard for the type, heavy. It's also sweeter than the taste seems at first impression. Alcohol is sharp, the carbonation is fine yet sharp, and the taste is sharp. This thing is both a hammer and claw.

12oz bottle. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of roasted malt, bourbon, oak, vanilla and dark chocolate. Sweet chocolate taste with bourbon, oak, vanilla, charred notes and toffee.

 

Brew: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. - Firestone 24 - Anniversary Ale

Intro: 12 oz. poured into a tulip glass. Shared with a friend.

Appearance: Pitch Black. Ample head, maybe 2 inches. Moderate lacing as I drank

Smell: Roasted malts, Chocolate, vanilla, maybe some graham cracker.

Taste: Oak, bourbon, mild tequila, dark fruits.

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel, medium carbonation.

Drink: Easy drinker. These are always a lot of fun. Kind of the best of everything Firestone

Conclusion: I’ve had several years of these offerings and am always pleased with the quality of brew. I never hesitate to grab one when I find them.

Pours a very dark, nutty brown with a murky transparency to it. Head is a finger of khaki foam that bubbles away quickly. Aroma is toffee, raisins, fig, molasses, caramel, candied sugar, and chocolate. It's a candy bar of notes, but despite that descriptor, it refrains from leaning into dessert territory. Some barrel character smooths out the back, adding just a dash of char and bitterness. Flavor profile is caramel, molasses, toffee, raisins, fig, candied sugars, and chocolate. It tastes a little bit sweeter than it smells, with the barrel character working a little less to balance out the sugary start. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a decadent, creamy texture that offers up just a sprinkle of grit. Balance here is good, forming an endearing sipping experience with just a little texture. Overall, decadent and heavy, this one is loaded up with stout and Belgium strong ale notes in a way that works to compliment one another.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 12oz bottle.

 

 

On tap at Moor Pat in Williamsville, NY.

This one pours a mostly dark brown/black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like roasted malt, smoke, walnut, oak, vanilla, spice, caramel, and dark chocolate.

I always absolutely look forward to this release each year. There's a wonderful barrel character here - vanilla, graham cracker-esque oak spice, caramel, and bourbon. That hint of smoke from Imperial Walker's Reserve is really nice, as well as that candied caramel note from Stickee Monkee/Bravo/etc. It feels mostly stout-ish, with lots of dark chocolate and a nice roast character.

This is medium bodied, with no real booziness, and a really nice drinkability.

This feels like one of the better blends in recent memory.

 

 

Incredibly rich: milk chocolate, cream, French Roast coffee. Just a hint of the smoke on the aftertaste.

As with every FW anniversary ale, the blend can really be picked apart. Compared to earlier recent iterations, the bourbon influence is a little smoother and restrained; the smaller amount of Helldorado shows; and any time Parabola is used as a complementary beer instead of a base beer, the result is a reined-in roasty bitterness. Here, the Velvet Merkin and Stickee Monkee without question carry the day; everything else contributes to the blend, depth, and complexity.

As always, an absolute treat.

One of the favorite annual releases, please keep being different FW! Very dark brown opaque body with a tan head. Oak backed lightly roasted nuts, brown sugar, caramel, raisin, chocolate ganache, various booze and vanillins make up the aromas bouquet. Taste has the bourbon and tequila distinguish themselves in a gentle way, with all the elements from the nose plus molasses and toffee, overall much sweet than expected. Body is bright for style, still plenty thick and warm with booze though. Strangely an easy drinking strong ale. Not as deep as recent years but still worth your time. The wife liked it

12 oz bottle. Pours dark brown with a medium bubbly tan head that quickly goes to a thin layer that leaves little lacing.

The aroma is sweet malts, dark fruit and lots of boozy bourbon with a little coconut.

The flavor is sweet fruits and vanilla with bourbon and a balancing bitter roast finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation.

Overall, a nice big beer with a lot going on.

 

 

L- Mahogany color......mocha head 1/4 inch......opaque.... moderate lacing

S- Caramel, brown sugar, barrel, sweet booze, mix of rum and bourbon.....faint notes of coffee and chocolate

T-Similar to the nose..... chocolate ly bourbon ......caramel....burnt brown sugar.....barrell notes.....finish is sweet

F-Medium body......low carb......boozy but not hot

O- Sum is greater than the parts.....good brew on a chilly spring day.....complex.....

FW brews little of what I most like (Belgian table beers), yet I love FW. Maybe some day I will figure out why.
But for now, I summarize this recent revelation as my hypothesis: FW is dedicated to the craft like few others.

This is my first Anniversary Ale from them (after anniversaries counting 15 oak-aged barrels before.... so, please excuse my lack of experience.) Never have I seen a better presentation of an ale. Never.
A refined box is rare enough. But then, I also get a foot long scroll; detailing what went into the bottle... double-sided ! And in small type ! Never has such care and thought gone into a brew and recorded in such a disciplined and intelligent way.

And it shows. 24 certainly Looks decent against its nondescript competition of this rubric style. But Smells are close to off the charts for complexity and awe. Tastes are the same. But I must say that I detect a curious -- and interesting -- back-taste of mole... although that is not in this blending. At any rate... Bravo ! A Master-stroke !

I'm beginning to understand why Duvel, in their genius, bought FW. Duvel was not constrained by the Belgian Way; they wanted to buy the best and let them do what they do best. 24 will be one of many pleasures in the long line of achievements growing from that decision.

12 oz bottle, drank at about 55 F

Pours extremely dark brown but not quite black, thick creamy tan colored head. Excellent head retention, a thin layer stays to the bottom of the glass, leaving lacing. Heavenly barrel aroma - soft oak, touch of smoke, cocoa, graham cracker, molasses. Similar flavors in the taste, great depth yet super smooth. Fuller bodied, slick feel. Overall its excellent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours cola brown with three fingers of ecru foam; excellent retention and streaks of lacing

Smell: Caramel, graham cracker, chocolate, vanilla, coconut and date tones merge with the various barrel tones - mostly Bourbon but I do detect some Tequila

Taste: The Bourbon caresses the caramel and graham cracker with the date flavors building; chocolate, vanilla and coconut emerge, as well; somewhat boozy, after the swallow, with the Bourbon and Tequila tones lingering into the finish

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with moderate carbonation; warmth in the gullet

Overall: A lot of complexity here both in the malt elements and the barrel treatment