Firestone 14 - Anniversary Ale
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

A: Pours dark brown with some deep ruby highlights around the edges, capped by a finger of frothy, pale beige head. Retention is decent for the style as it settles down to a thin layer of foam.

S: Wow...lots of lightly roasted coconut up front, bittersweet chocolate, toasted grains, vanilla, light coffee, some faint wood character, leather, some light tangerines around the edges. There's so much to smell here, I almost just want to sit and sniff it. Bourbon and brandy barrel notes are detectable, but certainly not dominant.

T: Starts with caramel and toffee before opening up into bittersweet chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla, light coconut and brandy. Some leather and wood come in towards the backend before a touch bourbon and alcohol heat come in near the backend, leading to a long, slightly warm finish.

M: Medium to full bodied with low, smooth carbonation...it could be just a wee bit thicker.

D: A sipper, but a sipper that I have to force myself to let sit for a few minutes between drinks. Absolutely stellar beer, I'm excited to see how this develops over time.

Bottle from 2010.

Pours dark brown with a short-lived head of tan. Minimal retention or lacing. Dark chocolate, espresso, toffee, bourbon in the nose. Fuller bodied with a slick, syrupy mouthfeel. Sweet malt, raisins, dark caramel, chipped toffee on the palate. Finishes slightly boozy with roasty undertones.

 

 

2010 vintage; drank 2/26/15 @ Harvest Hop Haus.

Rusty brown/orange appearance.

Minimal khaki head; no lace.

Marshmallow, milk chocolate & mild booze heat in the nose.

Medium thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Booze heat, caramel & faint pickle juice flavors.

Drinkable but not enjoyable; clearly past its prime.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a thin brown head that dissipates to patches with slight lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, molasses, dates, vanilla, oak and a little oxidation. Flavor is dark toasted and caramel malt, vanilla, milk chocolate, dates, a little coffee and whiskey. Medium bodied with light creaminess. As always with this fine ale, the stout and barleywine characters are dominant, but well balanced. I get clear notes of Sticky Monkey too. Age has mellowed everything into a dark and malty whole with lots dark fruit flavors. Probably aged this a little beyond the pale, but it has held up beautifully. I'm not sure there is any reason to age these any longer. I'm going to be digging out my 15 and 16 too in the next few months. This is one of the great blended strong ales anywhere.

Bomber into a snifter appears dark brown with khaki head.

The aroma includes caramel, vanilla, molasses, raison and booze. Overall mostly a sweet malty nose to this.

The taste is sweet caramel, vanilla, molasses, raison and slight papery oxidation in the aftertaste.

This is medium in body with light carbonation. Overall this was much better than I was anticipating.

 

Picked this up at Russell's in Amherst almost 6 years ago.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a nice deep dark brown almost black with a thin half finger fizzy mocha head that fades very quickly to leave a thin, thin halo and light wispy blanket.

S- Aromas of dark fruits, caramel, coconut, toffee, some light malt sweetness as well as some leather like aromas. Little bit of raisins. No discernible alcohol.

T - Taste is similar to the nose. Still a little hot alcohol wise. Sweet dark fruits, raisins, nice chocolate notes, like dark chocolate covered raisins. Some sweet caramel and toffee, almost sticky sweet. Maybe some coffee notes, I almost get a little flash of apples. Very little vanilla and oak.

M - Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, alcohol is light. Finish is a bit sticky.

O - Overall this was a solid beer. The age has really mellowed this beer out, but at the cost of it becoming very sticky and on the sweet side.

Serving Type: Bottle

 

 

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. "14th Anniversary"

I actually had this with David Walker at Capone's Restaurant in Norristown, PA on 13 April 2011. I can't remember if it was draft or bottle and it's not listed in my notes, but I believe it was on tap. He explained to me what was in the blend it was made up from but I wasn't aware of any of those beers at the time so it didn't mean anything to me. But I told him I was aware of Double Barrel Ale, and that I used to drink that quite often. "But how's that possible?" he asked, "They haven't been available until now" - it was the Firestone Walker release party as they'd just started distribution in PA. "Ah, when you're traveling." he said, beating me in answering his own question, but no, I countered, that wasn't it. I had to think about it - "Ah, yes, I used to have to go to Maryland to get it. State Line Liquors." Which was actually traveling, but not in the same sense he'd meant it. He remembered. Apparently, State Line was the only place in MD that distributed it back then. Anyway...

Appearance: Brown -black body beneath a short head of tan that holds fairly well and leaves some minor spots and splashes of lacing behind.

Aroma: Alcohol, caramel, oak, coconut, toffee, vanilla, chocolate and light dark fruits.

Flavor: Mainly malty with creamy coffee, bittersweet chocolate, dark fudge, milk chocolate, a touch of oak, and molasses. Some fruitiness makes its way through with apple, sweet red cherry, and some fig and prune. It finishes dry with some alcoholic heat and nuttiness. The flavor fades quickly but the heat goes on.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied. Moderate carbonation. Velvety. Creamy. But with some heat.

Overall: Impressive. Quite a rich beer. I can forgive the alcohol a bit given it's greater qualities.

 

 

6 years old. A gift from a generous pal.
look: very dark, nearly opaque ruby. A modest tan head on the pour that mostly dissipates. Some transient lacing. Tick, viscous legs.
smell: Rich, complex, decadent nose. Dark fruit, vanilla, chocolate, coconut, oak, a hint of booze.
taste: Holy shit. All the flavors of the nose but instead of the sipper i was expecting, it is paradoxically rich, decadent, but easy drinking and mellow. It's, well....perfect. I wouldn't change a thing.