Tag: Firestone Walker

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The Prop is 3

The southernmost arm of Firestone Walker’s California empire will be 3 years in Venice / Marina Del Rey and are throwing a ticket-LESS party.

Here are the details…. “Enjoy live art & photography from our friends at Venice Arts, as well as outdoor games, amazing beer & food specials! No tickets necessary, just stop by & join us for the fun. Anniversary Special: two beers & one small plate of food for just $15!”

There will be live music and a commemorative logo’d Klean Kanteen re-usable cup for your beer (while supplies last). Plus some really good FW beers.

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New Union Jack

Breweries are taking the switch to cans as an opportunity to refurbish their label design….

Firestone Walker has Clash-ed up and Anarchy in the UK’d their Union Jack. I think it works with the fighting poses of the Lion and the Bear.

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Rose v Rose

Rose styled beers are not one unified flavor profile. This point was vividly driven home by a recent side-by-side of two California regional breweries exploration of the style.

First up is Sparkale from 21st Amendment. This one boasts apples an cherries in the recipe and that is pounded home. This is what a Martinelli’s Sparkling cider would taste like, in beer form. Apple up front with cherry notes at the back. It pours a much darker red which puts it out of rose pink range.

Second is Rosalie, which I have effused about on this blog before. The difference in color is striking as is the flavor. This is a wine-beer hybrid. With a dry but effervescent character.

I have also tasted the Eagle Rock effort in this sub-style and found it in taster size, to be cloying with a lead note of sweetness.

Whether or not this category settles on a recipe or not, I believe the more sweet may rule but they are too close to juice boxes for me.

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New from F-W

Firestone Walker continues to add new SKUs to their portfolio in two of the popular categories (IPA and Coconut). 

Side note: is it just me or is coconut practically everywhere.  I mean more than usual.

The Cashmere XPA, thanks to the luxe name of the new hop is one I expect to see more of.  Three Weavers has one out currently as well.  Will this hop take-off? And is it better in lighter, sessionable or bigger with DIPA and TIPA?

Since I am a F-W fanboy, I am looking forward to both.

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Ecliptic California Collabs

Ecliptic Brewing of Portland, Oregon is turning 5 years young and will be releasing 5 special beers throughout the year called the 2019 Cosmic Collaboration Series.

John Harris, Ecliptic Brewing’s Owner and Brewmaster has reached out to Brooklyn Brewery, Breakside, Bell’s and two California breweries too.

Here is the full line-up:

Ecliptic Brewing + Brooklyn Brewery: Tangerine Farmhouse Ale (February)
Ecliptic Brewing + Firestone Walker Brewing Co.: Galactica Hazy Double IPA with #692, Idaho 7 and Kasmir (April)
Ecliptic Brewing + Breakside Brewery: Nectarine Sour Ale (June)
Ecliptic Brewing + Bell’s Brewery: Juicy IPA (August)
Ecliptic Brewing + Russian River Brewing Company: Hoppy Belgian Strong Golden Ale (October)

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Old Hands – New IPA’s

The Mid-Majors of the California brewing world are aware of the trends big and little but they all seem to give the trends a shot.  Just in different ways….

Matt Brynildson from Firestone Walker approached a Hazy IPA via the Weizenbock making their Mind Haze with 40% wheat and oats in the bill and by precise hop additions.

Karl Strauss head brewer Sean Albrecht used their Small Batch program along with a trip to the East Coast as inspiration for their nautical themed Boat Shoes Hazy IPA.

Lastly, Figueroa Mountain used a trip to Yakima Chief to create a new IPA that they named after California geography with Point Conception IPA.

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Beer Media Propagation at FW-Venice

The newly re-branded L.A. Beer Media had their first meeting of 2019 and thanks to the generosity (excellent as usual) of Firestone Walker, we learned quite a bit about the creation of the newest year round beer that the brewery will be releasing, Rosalie.

The company is branding this as Beer Rose and after remarks from the Lion himself, David Walker, Evan Partridge the Propagator brewer and the soon departing Rob Emery from what I will just call “the lab” gave us the full rundown of how this beer came to be.

They started with (3) components that they wanted the finished beer to have:

  1. Acidity – light but noticeable
  2. Color – a reddish hue
  3. Wine – to connect with the wine region of Paso Robles

The process started back in January of 2018 and Partridge and Emery walked us through acid spiked versions of the Firestone Walker lager to show what they were looking for in component # 1, then we tasted a mixture of water and hibiscus to show the color aspect and then lastly, they gave us a sample of wine/grape juice as well as a sample of wine created with the grape blend that they filled a silo with.

Firestone Walker had teamed with Castoro Cellars to provide them with a blend that included Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat and Viognier.  Once the grapes were in place the recipe honing process could begin.  We tasted four of the steps along the way as well as the finished product and it was fascinating to see how the blend went from tart to less tart but still wine forward, to pilsner with hibiscus, to finally a blend that truly mixed beer and wine AND had the right color.

Rosalie comes in the Sixpoint 12oz skinny can and I found it to be tilted to the wine side of the fence but the acidity comes through just enough to make this unique.  Plus it actually looks Rose and not just red.  It really worked for me.

Considering last year’s Terroir event that was a blend of wine and beer hybrids and the fact the BarrelWorks has been toying with it as well with ZinSkin among other creations, this seems like a no-brainer, gateway hybrid that will draw those curious as to how wine and beer mingle. And using Paso Robles grapes as part of the equation really makes it unique as the Rose style becomes more Brut sized.

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Mo Mordred

There are not too many sour stout based beers out there. But now Barrelworks from Firestone Walker is adding a dark sour to their range. Here is the backstory on this new beer “…Velvet Merkin which was then given our treatment and transferred to French, American and Hungarian oak barrels thus transforming one amazing beer into something inconceivable. Mordred offers a depth of dark chocolates, espresso and spices of nutmeg and clove.”

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Featured Review – Firestone Walker Anniversary XXII

I sipped on 17 first, but now let’s try the latest modelFirestone Walker Anniversary blend.

The White box is a color departure for the Anniversary packaging. I tasted this beer on draft at The Propagator in the wise amount of 6oz. This blend seems lighter than the others by a large amount. Not boozy in either aroma or in the flavor. Little is the operative word 22 is a little smooth. There is a little alcohol burn at the edges. During the same sitting, I tasted the new Old Nan Hattan beer which shined with a holiday spice profile that made me buy a bottle in the store. Maybe it was too cold, maybe a warmer and aged bottle will show of hidden (now) complexities.