Between Two Grahams
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Cellared a year. Black opaque body, plump brown head. Bourbon backed dark chocolate, vanilla, slightly roasted malt, and cinnamon in that order of intensity. Taste starts with baker's chocolate, lightly roasted malt, raisin, hint of toasted caramel before a giant and slightly astringent vanilla rains down with cinnamon on the finish. Feel is drier and full but not too heavy or sweet, warm poking through the cool vanilla, barrel character is very limited. Rare miss for one of my favorite breweries

 

 

 

 

 

Pours jet black with one finger of mocha head. Smell is vanilla, chocolate, and cinnamon. Taste echos nose but introduces rum, cake, oak, and char notes. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin for the ABV, moderate carbonation. Finish is rum-soaked cake and char. Very tasty.

Poured at fridge temp. Pours black with a very thin layer of head. The nose is vanilla, loads of cinnamon, chocolate, a bit of caramel, and a malty bread note. Very nice.

The taste largely follow the nose. Tons of cinnamon, which I love. Chocolate, some bitter roasted malts, vanilla, toffee, a touch of maple, brown sugar, and a slight roasty coffee note. Lovely beer overall.

 

L - Deep black with a light tan head that sticks around leaving a thin cap and a good amount of lacing
S - Cinnamon, bourbon, oak, vanilla, bakers chocolate . Marshmallow notes
T - follows the nose - cinnamon and graham up front and throughout, intermixed well with cocoa, vanilla, sweet bourbon, oak. Slight dark fruit.
F - medium, leaning on full bodied with moderate carbonation
O - a pretty solid s'mores BBA stout

Bottle:
Another fine big beer by Firestone Walker. I have liked almost all of their beer-based barrel aged offerings. Their cocktail-inspired offerings are a step down and hit-or-miss. But their stouts, barley wines, and other imperial beers that get barrel aged generally keep the base beer at heart, and just add to the experience.

That as an intro, I didn't expect much from this, with the additional ingredients. But it works dang well, as the additions are noticed without being overpowering. In the end, I am not sure they are needed, but I do like how they are handled.

For a barrel-aged, high ABV beer, the consistent presence of a frothy collar is nice to see. The nose is heavy on graham and chocolate stout notes, evoking a (I presume intended) s'mores impression. It is a little dusty and dry, perhaps. Opening taste brings a dark cherry edge to roasted malt chocolate. This buoys the vanilla and graham with a hint of cinnamon that follow. The beer dries out from their, being a bit more cocoa powder that rich chocolate.

I think the barrel only sneaks into the brew with that cherry note up front. the graham seems to drive the cocoa powder dryness in back that buries any barrel influence to my palate. Overall, the semi-sweet opening draws me in, with a more dry than bitter mid-to-late palate that could be a bit more balanced, if it were to go from a very good score to great.

 

 

 

L: Pours dark chocolate, forming a thin khaki head that is quick to fade, revealing a thin swirl of filmy retention and a robust ring of foam around the edge of the snifter. Held to the light, this beer has an opaque, thick dark chocolate/mocha hue.

S: Decadent and sweet aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, and lactose blend well with bourbon barrel, oak, and some dark cocoa. There is also a light char and malt towards the back end, fainter.

T: Starts off remarkably sweet, with cinnamon and the Tahitian vanilla beans really shining through. Dark chocolate, like brownie batter with sweet lactose as well. This sweetness pairs well with a strong bourbon base and oak, as well as some earthiness that hints of tobacco and a smattering of malt. Detected a light smokiness and some char towards the back-end. There is also a smattering of dark fruit, perhaps raisins or cherries? The flavor is one of the best I've ever tasted. It avoids being cloying but definitely leans sweet.

F: Medium-bodied. Slick, viscous mouthfeel. Doesn't linger too long. Finishes clean. Very drinkable.

O: If you don't like cinnamon, maybe steer clear. Everyone else - enjoy. Definitely one of the best American Imperial Stouts you will find.

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours jet black in color with a one finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring around the glass

S- rich dark chocolate, brownie batter and char up front, followed by vanilla bean, Cinnamon & milk sugars. Undertones of barrel gives oaky bourbon and enhances the vanilla into a marshmallow-like aroma

T- the intro gives equal parts cinnamon and fudge brownie batter. Mid palate brings out creamy vanilla and milk sugars, followed by the barrel, which adds oaky barrel juice that cuts through the sweetness. The finish gives rich chocolate, cinnamon, bourbon and a hint of dark fruit on the linger

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns slightly creamy into a warming finish

a neat blend of parabola and velvet merkin aged in heaven hill bourbon barrels and treated to cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. i again remain confused by the cinnamon being part of all these smore beers, the smores i grew up on used plain graham crackers, cinnamon was not part of it, maybe some regional differences, but ive always found it weird, and to me then, this doesnt hit like a smore, but i dont need it to, its amazing, i love what the cinnamon does with all the roast and the chocolate in here, seems to bring earthy bitterness out, even some smoke from the malt, yet it adds a neat warming thing with the alcohol too, its the first thing i smell and the last thing i taste here, but its not overdosed. shiny black from the tap with a short mocha colored head on it, some sturdy viscosity to this. the aroma is warming cinnamon, dry bitter cocoa, and luxurious vanilla, lots of it, making this sort of sexy for its size, some milk chocolate too, but on the dry side for what it is. the adjuncts dont overtake the base stout which is nice, and the bourbon is regal and forward in this, oak and vanilla abound, and i get hints of raisin, molasses, and unlit cigar as it warms. the extras come together exceedingly well, the cinnamon is awesome, the vanilla high end, and the cocoa keeping it grounded, its not overly sweet or desserty which is nice, and the body seems to come from grain not from sugar. smooth and long, pleasant and wintery. it was cool to have this on tap, but id love to track a bottle down because this seems poised to age extremely well. firestone always delivers on the barrel aged stuff, this is killer!

On tap at the brewery taproom in Paso Robles. The beer pours a dark brown color with excellent head retention and lots of lacing all around. This beer looks great. On the nose I'm picking up milk chocolate, light bourbon, cherry and vanilla. The sum total is an interesting rich Graham cracker aroma. Impressive. The flavor profile replicates the nose in this sweet, somewhat boozy ba stout. The finish is a tad rough, but this is otherwise a pretty tasty ba impy stout. Mouthfeel is fairly full, with a long, sweet, boozy finish. The beer is a tad bit boozy on the finish, but that doesn't detract much from the beer's drinkability.

Nice beer. Probably couldn't drink a whole lot of this, but it's a tasty ba stout overall.

 

Pours dark brown. Aroma is pure sweetness - vanilla dominates with cinnamon and chocolate. Taste follows nose - vanilla, cinnamon & chocolate. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side.