Firestone Walker Double Jack Reborn: Leo vs Ursus Doublus

Oh, yeah. I'm stocking up on this one.

 

Reborn again, re-reborn.

 

Well if it lives up to the memory as well as classics such as Hopslam , 90 Minute, and Nugget Nectar have....

 

This is my fear. DFH90 used to be one of my go-to's. Probably one of the beers that got me into craft. I hadn't had it in about 3-4 years because I could never find it fresh enough, but found some a couple weeks ago that was about 5 weeks old and was excited to spend time with an old friend. I'm not even sure I liked it anymore - beers and my palette have changed so much. It's going to be a sad day if I end up feeling that way about a DJ wannabe, as DJ was always one of my favorites. Here's hoping ....

 

DJ always seemed lighter in malt character that’ll a 90 minutes.

But that isn’t really relevant here. This Leo v Ursus series has been a huge success in my eyes. This won’t be double jack. This will be new school beer with classic C Hops that we loved in double jack.

 

Ah geeze, I finally saw Wookus six (?) months after it was released. Given that timetable I'll look for these in [checks calendar]... December?

 

Surprisingly wookus tasted great 2 months or so after release. Someone got me a 2 month old 4 pack and I had my doubts, but it seemed to taste nearly the same as fresh. Who knew! Excited for this one. Fresh Double Jack was soooooo good. Nothing like it in the market now.

 

DJ was a great beer if you could get it fresh, and that was a huge problem.

 

you are spot on with my experience. The leo v ursus series has been pretty hit or miss for me and reinforces my desire for firestone walker to focus on big beers, blended beers, and wild beers. Their hoppy beer game is mediocre to me and their price point turns me off of them unless I'm looking for something fit for a special occasion.

 

2 month old beer isn’t old

 

There's a few beers out there that are fading at two months. Beer on the shelf, it's warm, there's fluorescent lights, the are some hops that are more susceptible I think, some of the fruity hops fade more so than piney resins hops, heavy dry hopping plays a part IMO. There's lots there other than just a 2 month bottling date. But that's about my limit and I rarely buy over 30 days old, because I don't have to.

 

Maybe it was closer to 3 or 4.

 

Pivo is amazing, and Union Jack is great. Neither are big beers and both are hoppy. While pivo isn’t an ipa I was consider it a hoppy beer. Also, both beers in my area are @$8 a six pack.

Whenever I am at the brewery they always have some one off iPas and I have never been dissapointed.

 

i do like Pivo, forgot about that one, but I am not a big fan of union jack personally. Really just a matter of personal taste, they are certainly fine brewers who produce very well crafted beers I just don't often find a lot to bring me back to their IPAs. Their barrel aged stuff, blended beers, sour ales, etc... are pretty choice in those departments for me

 

I’m very familiar with how different beers age. I follow these things for a living.

FW beers are extremely shelf stable. Firestone is literally as good as it gets, alongside Sierra Nevada, in creating stable beer.

Cold storage is important. Obviously. But a beer that has been warm for a month and is only 2 months old should still be satisfactory. It might not be th beautiful masterpiece it was coming out of the bright tank, but it should still taste somewhat vibrant and have a pleasant nice aroma to it.

 

Different strokes, different folks.

FW walker ipa, to me, is about as quintessential as it gets. (Union Jack, Two Hearted, Sculpin) And I know in today’s ever evolving ipa world that might not mean much to some, but trust me when I say that FWs IPAs are as well made and thoughtfully disigned as anyone in the business. Matt Bynildson is one of the leading experts in hop evolution around the world. He’s a biochemist and helped create a team that has traveled the world assisting hop farms to produce the hops that are most likely in several of the beers you’ve consumed this year. So even if FW isn’t your thing, chances are their influence has improved your hop experience at some point.

 

Either way...

If it was 3/4 months old, then it’s that more impressive that it tastes great than if it was 2 months old.

 

Matt Brynildson could have created a breakfast cereal made of hops that fed all the starving children in the world, but my opinion is that Double Jack aged quickly, much as Hercules, Maharaja, and other high ABV DIPAs do.