Favorite Firestone Walker Vintage Series?

While I have enjoyed nearly every Firestone Barrelworks offering, XIX blew my mind. Consisting of 1/3 Parabola, 1/3 Stickee Monkee, and the last 1/3 made up of Bravo & Velvet Merkin; it brings the best those beers together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The best blended barrel-aged offering I have ever had. Period.

 

XVIII was one of the best beers I've ever had. So there's that.

 

I had XVI, XVII, XVIII and XIX on draught. All delicious.

But I voted Parabola, because I am not a huge BBA Imperial Stout fan (I like it okay, but not like ZOMG)... yet Parabola really blew me away with how complex it is. Only had the 2016 though.

 

Stickee monkey is my favorite. Because it tastes the best.

 

Anniversary, Always.

Haven't had anything prior to 15.

They are all honestly a tie for me. All great in their own way.

However, I seem to remember enjoying 18th anniversary the most.

 

Bravo needs to come to the lineup, by the way.

Love that huge liquor forward taste it has. It made itself known in XIX.

 

I voted for Parabola, because it's the only one on the list that I've had

 

Can I vote on all of them? Ugh, I'm sure a Firestone fanboy it's not even funny...

I have to go with Sucaba as my #1 Firestone special release, though Parabola is right on it's heals.

 

Mine went to Double DBA and I miss it dearly

Sucaba and Velvet Merkin come in close behind though. Don't get me wrong, I do love me some Parabola but the above mentioned are better beers IMO cheers!

 

Have only had the Parabola, Velvit Merkin, and DDBA.
But Parabola blew me away. And it was at a beer fest!

 

Firestone 13 was unreal.. I think that's my favorite.

I adore Parabola, and buy it every year, but it's just too damn thin.. Breaks my heart every time.

 

Have only had Parabola so can't really compare. Sitting on a 2016 Stickee Monkee that I was advised to let age and waiting to open a Sucaba and Velvet Merkin on a our planned Firestone Vintage Day! Will posted update after that.

 

Yes. My answer is yes.

 

19 was the perfect blend, 18 was close as is parabola.

 

Sucaba > Parabola > Double DBA > Stickee Monkee > 19th Anniversary > Helldorado

I have a Velvet Merkin but haven't cracked it yet. The first 4 are delicious. 19th Anniversary was just okay. Helldorado was sickly sweet and not for me.

 

I've had all 4 of these fresh/less than 6mo. age and here was my rank order:

Sucuba - best Barleywine I've every had and nothing is even close to it (that I've had so far)
Stickee Monkey - probably one of the top 2-3 quads I've ever had and definitely the #1 quad in USofA
Parabola - found it way too heavy on bourbon flavor, although still a very good BA stout. Had several better though
Velvet Merkin - Solid and chocolately but not quite at the level of Sucuba or Stickee Monkey

 

Mine used to be Parabola....I'm not sure if it's fallen off over the years or if my palate has changed and I'm just drinking better beers. I used to think Parabola was amazing but now every year it seems thinner and lacking flavor.

Now I would say in order:
1) XVIII - Stout flavor of parabola but a little thicker and more complex.
2) Rye Double DBA - I loved Double DBA but the rye adds more complexity and balances out the sweetness.
3) Parabajava - Didn't love this beer when it came out. Tasted a little thin, but it's developing quite nicely.
4) Stickee Monkey - My current favorite of the regular proprietors releases. Nice, thick, creamy beer.
5) Bravo - I know they don't bottle it, but every time i have it on draft it's been quite tasty
5) Double DBA - Wish they would just bring this back
6) Parabola - Used to be my number one, but this is where it currently falls on the list
7) XIX - Pretty good blend, not nearly as good as XVII IMO though
8) Helldorado - It's interesting. It's good. Wouldn't go out of my way to stock up on it, but I like to pick up a few bottles
9) Velvet Merkin - A little too thin for my taste. I'm glad they added lactose last year to give it a little more mouthfeel though
10) Imperial Walkers Reserve - Was not a huge fan of this one. Interesting to say the least. Not bad by any means, but ....different.

Damn.....I really want to open an XVIII now.

 

Never seen Helldorado or Velvet. Abacus is to me profoundly mediocre, I preferred Double DBA. Hard to pick between Stickee Monkee (which is for all intents and purposes an English barleywine with some Belgian sugar, and a damn good one if you have three or more people to spread the sugar around) and Parabola (in my opinion one of the few genuine rivals of Bourbon County).

I don't bother with the anniversary beers both because of the price and because I don't see the point if they don't bottle all the component parts separately so you can really judge their blending prowess.

 

You're really missing out if you pass on the anniversary beers. All of the wonderful qualities of their normal barrel aged beers make the mix even better.

Yes they are expensive, but a world-class barrel aged beer for $25 is a pretty nice deal any day.

Besides, it's almost standard to find local/ smaller breweries doing barrel aged stuff for $20+.

Do I even need to bring in The Bruery charging $30 minimum???

Cheers!!