Let’s see here: Limited Release, selectively fermented in one of the only oak union systems in the world, aged in bourbon and new oak barrels for 10 months, fancy-pants packaging in a box, and oh, it’s Firestone Walker. If my calculations are correct, my saving throw against purchasing this is a 21. And this die only has 20 sides, people.
Firestone Walker Double Double Barrel Ale – Pours a deep brown amber color with half a finger of quickly disappearing head. Smells fantastic, plenty of bourbon, vanilla and oak, but not overwhelmingly so. In fact, I’m getting a nice noble hop character out of this, which is quite nice. Taste is filled with sweet, rich caramel, vanilla, toffee, a nice noble hop kick in the middle, and that bourbon oak aging really asserting itself towards the end and into the finish and aftertaste. Mouthfeel is well carbonated and smooth, not exactly dry, but not very sticky either. It’s a rich sipping beer, but it’s not heavy. A little booze pops in to say hello and warm my belly, but you know, in a pleasant way. Overall, this is a supremely well balanced beer, as I’ve come to expect from Firestone Walker, and it’s got a very nice depth of flavor, enhanced significantly by well blended barrel aging. Superb, but not quite as impeccable as Sucaba, Parabola (which I appear to have underrated), or XV Anniversary… I feel like I’m grading on a curve here, but let’s give it a strong A-
Beer Nerd Details: 12% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip on 11/17/12. Bottled on: 6/14/12.
It looks like this is actually a concentrated version of Firestone’s “flagship” Double Barrel Ale (a sessionable English Pale ale), which I’ve oddly never seen before. If I didn’t know better, I’d have pegged Union Jack as their flagship. Anyways, I’ve been chomping at the bit to get me some Firestone XVI Anniversary ale (saving throw: 30 on a 4 sided die), but it does not appear to have shown up here yet. Local beermonger seems to think they’re coming soon though. Firestone Walker is a force to reckon with. Really looking forward to trying some Velvet Merkin next year too.
I have this one downstairs and may drink it this weekend. I had a small sample at Capone’s one time and liked it but am curious how a full bottle will treat me. I love, love, love Parabola so you should definitely give it another chance. One of my favorite beers ever.
DBA is decent and easy drinking. I like Union Jack better but it doesn’t surprise me if DBA sells better as it is less hoppy.
I’m also looking forward to trying Velvet Merkin next year. Can’t wait to check it out in bottles.
Oh and with certain bonuses, you could definitely roll a 21 with a 20 sided die. But that depends on what you are playing.
I could have sworn that I rated Parabola an A (instead of an A-), but then I didn’t have it in ideal conditions, I guess. I snagged a bottle of it though, so I’ll revisit it eventually.
Haha, yeah, I suppose in extreme circumstances, I could have made the saving throw for DDBA. But not XVI or Velvet Merkin. Heh.
I liked this one…a lot. I thought it was one of the most tastefully done barrel-agings that I’ve had.
Yeah, “Tasteful” pretty well encompasses the brand of Firestone Walker…
Been reading your blog for a while now and definitely enjoy the reviews and finding beers I haven’t heard of before.
I’m from around the area too and if you haven’t found the XVI yet, I was able to get a bottle tonight at the Wegman’s in Cherry Hill. Ask at the register though, because it’s not on display.
Thanks for the kind words… It’s nice to know that my toil does not go unnoticed (and that at least some folks find it useful). And thanks for the XVI tip too. May have to hit up Wegmans and bug them for a bottle or two. Regardless, one of my local beermongers seems confident that he’s got a case or two coming his way, so I’m pretty sure I’ll get my grubby hands on a bottle.
Yeah I think I came across someone’s link to it on Beer Advocate a few months ago. There’s sooo many beers you have on here. I have a list of some of the more interesting ones that I’m hunting for. Found quite a few, but there’s some that are tough to get.
Tonight after work I took the long drive up to Troegs and picked up a case of the Impending Descent. Hoping I might be able to trade some of it for something good. I’m starting to think about venturing into the trading market because I can’t seem to find a way to get a bottle of The Abyss without doing so. This is the 2nd year I’ve been trying to find a way to get it without success.
Glad to be of service! The Troegs Scratch stuff, especially popular styles like the imperial stout you picked up (hoping to snag a bottle or two this weekend myself), seem to go over reasonably well in trading boards. I’m really pretty new to the whole trading scene though, so I don’t have a great idea about it, but that seems to be a popular one. Good luck hunting down the Abyss, a beer I haven’t managed to wrangle yet either.
Just tried the Impending Descent. One of the reviewers on BA said to drink it warm. Turns out he was right. It’s gets even better once it warms up. Lots of dark chocolate and roasty malts. I give it a 4.5/5.