It is that time up in Paso Robles….
First of all, just give me the gin barrel Helldorado now. Second, rum and gin? Wow. Those might have to be mutually exclusive. But I am anxious to hear what percentages is the latest winning blend. And more anxious as to when Firestone Walker will release it.
Terroir Firestone
Seems like Firestone Walker is cornering the high-end festival market. From the Barrel, Pils & Love and of course the super popular (rightly so) Invitational to the new Terroir.
There are rules to this earth driven event though. Each of the breweries making their way to the vineyard-y area of Los Olivos would be making their own beer but:
1. same grain bill
2. same maturation period in barrels
3. same co-fermented percentage of wort & wine grapes
AND “all grapes had to be grown within 100 miles of each brewery”
Beavertown – London, England
Garage Project – Wellington, New Zealand
Jester King – Austin, TX
Side Project – St. Louis, MO
Sierra Nevada – Chico, CA
Trillium – Boston, MA
+ BarrelWorks – Firestone Walker too.
Oh and there will be more beer (and wine). With Firestone Walker, there always is:
“This event will also feature five guest breweries who are not part of the 2018 Terroir Project but who are pushing boundaries & exploring new realms of wild ales. Also in attendance are four wineries whose grapes have been used in beers before.”
All for just $65 plus you will be far away from the madding LA crowd and amidst agriculture.
Ommegang Zen
I would have been sitting by the barrels, whispering “Open, open” but Blenderie Ommegang sat still with their 002 wild release. I did not see 001 on shelves due to delays on the late May release but maybe due to FW’s participation, more bottles might be seen.
FW Invitational – 1 Week Out
Now, let’s talk about this year’s collaboration beer for the fest….
This year’s beer started at the festival, last year as Creature Comforts and Firestone Walker came together to brew up what would become Mother’s Milk, a barrel-aged imperial milk porter.
Mother’s Milk is a bigger beer at 11.6% ABV. It was “aged for nearly a year in rye whiskey barrels inherited from a premium spirits producer” with added oats, lactose sugar and sea salt.
12-ounce bottles ($10.99) will also be available for a limited time at all Firestone Walker locations starting on June 2. A mere 300 cases (12 x 12-oz bottles) were produced.
Review – Lion Claaws from Los Angeles Ale Works and Firestone Walker
This milkshake collab between Los Angeles Ale Works and the Firestone Walker – Propagator pours like a grapefruit juice. The aroma is pineapple mixed with coconut. First taste unveils a lot of lactose. A lot. This is sugary. Only little over a week old and the hops of a DIPA are just not to be found. There is some orange juice but that just creates a creamsicle effect.
As it warms some of the bitterness starts to peek through but by then the battle has been won by the lactose. Strong fun flavors but the balance is off to me.
Double Digit Distortion
There is a new look to the 10th Luponic Distortion from Firestone Walker.
Now don’t go running to your beer shoppe. 010 is slated for the July to September window. Go try the Public Domain 009 and ready yourself for the next cycle.
Love Me Some Pils
There are few beers that I will bypass new or hyped beers for but the Pils from Birrificio Italiano, Tipopils is one of them and now they have teamed up with Firestone Walker at the Propagator for the Pils & Love event on July 28th.
From 11am – 4pm, over 40 breweries from around the world will be pouring Pilsner. Nothing but Pils. Brewery list to come.
Tickets on sale Tuesday, April 24th at 9am and will cost $65 per person with “food plates from Chef Justin Lewis available during the event for additional purchase.”
#FWIBF18 – The Breweries
Firestone Walker chose April Fool’s Day to announce their brewery line-up for their 2018 Invitational Beer Fest and SURPRISE!, the list is great…
For those lucky enough to snare tickets to this sought after event, here are my recommendations of booths to visit….
Fonta Flora was my favorite last year and got a lot of positive press, so hit them up early. New this year are Jack’s Abby from the East Coast and there beers will be perfect for the summer sun of Paso Robles.
WeldWerks had a hella’ long line at the Beer Advocate fest so I would head to another newcomer, Oxbow instead.
The foreign tent has some big names. Thornbridge being the one that I would run to. (Oh how I love to watch the beer snobs run) Also hit Beavertown and Garage Project before their lines grow.
Lastly The Rare Barrel and Sante Adairius should be on your must visit list for at least one beer.
F-Wow
On top of the Firestone Walker Lager news, there are two other big tidbits that you might not have heard of from their Buellton based Barrelworks.
1. Barrelworks has been draft and bottles only but is hoping to roll out cans in 2018.
2. A coolship is being assembled at Firestone co-founder David Walker’s vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. Imagine the yeasts and microbes that are in the air in that area!
Kudos to San Luis Obispo.com for the news.
Lup9
We are coming up on double digits for Luponic Distortion from Firestone Walker and 009 will feature a blend of six “public domain” hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest and Germany.
Here is the press release info of import: “The lead hops in Revolution No. 009 include two public domain varieties from the Pacific Northwest—one that provides exotic tropical fruit and coconut notes, and another that offers a balance of earthy pine and citrus qualities. The German hops round out the blend with a dimension of bright fruitiness.”
I like that FW has found new and different themes. Not just Australian hops or NW hops but also deeper cuts of the bine.