Firestone 14: What will it take

There are probably many reasons for the lack of hype, one of them being what writerLJBerg describes. It could be a domino effect starting with price, perceived value, increased availability, and critical initial reviews from outspoken or esteemed BAs all leading to a lack of cachet for the product. That's the way things go in the trade market though.

 

The FW Anniversary beers have always had pretty good hype. FW just doesn't over distribute like Founders and GI... Thus ample quantity combined with a high price tag allows them to sit around a while, which IMO, is precisely how it should be.

 

How are they with package inspections these days when shipping via APO? When I was stationed in England I used to be able to ship liquor back and forth with no problems. It is USPS, but I only had 2 packages opened in almost 4 years I was there. Of course that was a decade ago and things may be a little different now.

 

I agree with what you say, but I think we're using hype with slightly different shades here. Just to clarify, when I use the term in this context, I'm referencing the: "people are snatching it off the shelves and talking it up to make it even more desirable" aspect. It seems the talk has died down quite significantly on the FW Anniversary beers after FW XII (FW 10 and 11 were pretty highly sought after for awhile there, as I'm sure you remember.) when FW XIII was eveeeeerywhere. A lot of people liked XIII and its followers, but I haven't heard the praise for the blends that I heard 3 years ago.

 

Not too bad actually. I've shipped some bottles of beer and wine to my friends/family back home (only three separate times now) in the US and put down "beer mugs/glasses" on the customs slip and so far they've all made it.

 

Part of it might be the Firestone-doesn't-age-well-crowd, too. They're very vocal about these blended beers not lasting any time at all, & historically around here, beers that get regularly panned like that tend to take a hit in value as well. (For my money, they age great, I actually prefer them with 6-18 months on them over fresh). Anti-hype definitely plays a role in 'value' as well. Though in this case I agree, wide availability has much more to do with it in this case.

Fine by me, they're great beers, & I don't have to force my children into the salt mines to get them via trade.

 

I don't know why FW gets such a bad rap on the aging thing. It's pretty much the same deal for most barrel aged beers. They've already aged quite a bit by the time they are released.

 

What I've seen written repeatedly is that they're already blended, therefore there's already more oxygen mixed into the beer, ergo they'll oxidize like all get out, faster than your regular old beer.

Which I just don't really understand. I hate - HATE - oxidation, & much more than the barest of hints & I'm handing my glass to somebody else, or the sink. I've never experienced oxidation in even a three-year old Firestone Walker Anniversary beer. But hey, what anybody else experiences in a beer doesn't matter to me!

 

We just did the entire 10-15 vert and they were all holding up rather well.

 

I'm not sure I buy that... If they were opening bottles, dumping them out, and then blending, ok. But in a controlled environment when done properly, the blending shouldn't really matter. I've definitely found way more oxidization with age in many other barrel aged beers, such as KBS, which people seem to cellar with reckless abandon.

 

I made a mistake in co-ordinating a trade for a number of people. Subsequently I needed a 4 pack of regular Plead the 5th and had a second bottle of FW14, so i'm just in the middle of doing that trade. It may not have maximised my end of the trade as is the "need" to do now (it was done within 10 minutes of posting), but both parties seem pretty happy (well i am).