Parabajava
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Black color, thin white head. Dark chocolate, bourbon, and coffee in the aroma. Coffee and roasted bitterness dominate the taste. Warming finish with strong coffee notes.

12oz bottle courtesy of @CarolinaCardinals
Poured into an Imprint Belgian-style tulip

2022 release

O really solid BA coffee stout; great coffee and barrel presence; full review to come

Review date: 01.12.24
Bottle date: 2022

 

A - Pours black with a fizzy tan head. The head fades into a thin ring leaving

S - Aroma is dark roasted coffee, vanilla and heavy bourbon barrel.

T - The taste is big black coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, charred oak and some nice bourbon heat.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a soft slick finish.

O - Really top notch coffee stout.

 

Appearance - The beer was deep black color with a mocha head crowning the glass.

Smell - So much coffee in the nose, accompanied by rich dark chocolate.

Taste - In the initial taste, there was a big wave of coffee. The coffee ran parallel to roasty dark chocolate. There were hints of cherry and coconut. The finish came with dry hints of the barrel.

Mouthfeel - With little carbonation, the beer was very smooth.

Overall - This was elite.

Rounded up to 4.5 based on general drinkability.

Poured at 53°. Creamy light tan head with some rocks; good cap retention; heavy ring; sudsy lacing on agitation; medium thick legs; black body with ruby see through and good clarity. Bourbon and some mild roast coffee in nose; oak takes over as beer warms. Taste is bitter roast coffee, bitter sweet dark chocolate and oaky bourbon; a smidge of oaky vanilla in middle; black peppery oaky close. Medium body; silky feel, not adjuncty; alcohol burn on tip of tongue, warmth in mouth from 13.8% abv; dry wooden tongue coating/finish. Overall the beer tastes good but it’s too oaky for me; the coffee is bitter and the barrel notes push aside the base, i.e., oak dominates the whole and leaves a dry popsicle stick linger in my mouth.

This is drier than most of its peers with a seemingly darker roast coffee as well. There really isn't much here besides bittersweet chocolate and intensely deep, dark coffee notes. The bourbon barrels are mellow but a welcome addition. Well incorporated bourbon and some oaky bite at the end. So damn good.

 

2022 vintage, Drank 08/31/23
Pours a jet black with little carbonation. Strong aroma of morning coffee with chocolate syrup. Palate is choc covered espresso beans soaked in bourbon barrels. Great mouthfeel, with a gentle sweetness that’s not overpowering and very smooth given the ABV. Absolutely perfect and easily the best BA coffee stout I’ve had.

Received as a gift from a kind friend - poured from a crowler (filled on 7/31/23 - enjoyed on 8/20/23) into a snifter.

Clear seal brown liquid rests beneath a beige crust, receding to a thin ring and surface slick. Gentle lacing; slick thin sheen of tears.

Chocolate, fine tobacco, molasses, black licorice, cherry pits, black coffee, and brown sugar in the nose - stupendous.

Boozy, oaky, toasty, lightly charred, with perhaps even more flavor (following the nose) in the finish than on the palate. Wave after wave of malt and barrel complexity. Bittersweet and almost but never quite smokey/spicy. Mild bitterness throughout, earthy/woodsy medium-dry finish with hints of black tea and bourbon.

Slippery, almost oily mouth-feel, with some residual tannins.

Forgot how good the base beer can be, and the coffee adds another layer of roast/fruit/bitterness without distracting from the character of the stout. Wonderful example of the style.

12 ounce bottle into a snifter. 2022 edition, had 4/13/23.

Pours a mostly opaque dark brown, with a half inch foamy head and some foamy lacing. Aromas of coffee, bourbon, roasted malt, chocolate, oak, some char and cocoa, a hint of cherry. Flavors of intense coffee, roasted malt, bourbon, chocolate, oak. Smooth, a solid full body, appropriately carbonated.

The coffee is prominent, bold and outstanding. The barrels show well, the base is solid, the feel is great. Will buy this anytime it is available.

2022 vintage

When I first tride OG Parabola I quite enjoyed it, but honestly had higher expectations. And I think coffee would improve upon the base beer, so I’m hopeful for this one. Let’s crack open this legendary variant of a legendary beer and see what it’s all about

Pours a very dark brown with 2 fingers of frothy tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing

It’s definitely punchy in the nose, somewhere between roasty and bitter white still presenting a nice sweetness. I’m picking up on aromas of cacao nib, earthy hops, roasted espresso, molasses, burnt toast, toasted oak, vanilla, light brown sugar, and tobacco

It trends much more bitter in taste, but that underlying sweetness helps things from getting out of hand. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting molasses, earthy hops, cacao nib, dark roast coffee, plum, rye toast, burnt caramel, light vanilla, and brown sugar. The swallow brings notes of cacao nib, dark roast coffee, burnt toast, toasted oak, black cherry, caramel, earthy hops, light plum, and molasses

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes dry and roasty

Yeah, this is definitely better than the original, the coffee is just the kick it needs. Maybe I’ll get to try some other variants some day

 

Look - love the thick blackness with a nice thick tan head great rimming and lacing
Smell -roasted malt and coffee, barrel slight dark fruit
Taste -roasted malt coffee dark chocolate barrel, slightly bitter
Feel -creamy full body light carb
Overall - pretty great

Aroma is boozy bourbon with a bit of classic chocolaty stout -- jammy molasses and plum. Body is strong with bourbon followed shortly by roasty coffee, and the two combine to make something like a mounds bar with a swig of strong black coffee. One of the best examples of a good barrel aged stout out there.

 

04/27/23 bottle @ home