The Propagator brewery is starting to pay off some dividends as Firestone Walker is creating more hoppy beers outside of their Leo V Ursus and Luponic Distortion lines. If I had to choose, the Ex-1 would be the first to try.
Sean Suggests for November 2017
Christmas beers are coming but let’s sample some of the diversity of beer styles this month, Sour-Spicy and Fiery.
~LIGHT
Ska Brewing/ Sour Apple Gose5.1% ABV
“The scent of sweet apple blossoms give way to honey and a lemony tartness from the Citra hops and souring. Tastes like you’re sipping on a crisp apple juice with a bright tartness that’s refreshing, not drying.”
~MEDIUM
SoLArc/ Sunset Cleanse6.4% ABV
“Hoppy Pale ale with lemon, Cayenne pepper, and ginger. Brewed in celebration of 6 years of Sunset Beer Co.”
~DARK
Firestone Walker/ Leo vs Ursus Inferos8.2% ABV
“Inferos is a rye imperial IPA that is fiery in color, hellacious in hoppiness and bursting with spicy rye goodness. Forged with 25 percent rye grain and loaded with more than four pounds of hops per barrel, Inferos is ultimately a big, lively beer that will keep the soul warm as summer transitions to fall.”
All of these beers can be found at Sunset Beer Co. (unless they got bought up real quick)
XXI
You know it is the holiday season when the Firestone Walker anniversary beer drops. It is one of the few beers that I buy without even looking at the price. And I suggest you do the same.
2017 brings us XXI. Local winemakers Jordan Fiorentini and Kyle Gingras of Epoch Estate Wines along with Anthony Yount of Denner Vineyards created the winning blend which is made up of….
The result is an inspired blend of five distinct beers aged in spirits barrels: Velvet Merkin (oatmeal stout, 42%), Parabola (Russian imperial oatmeal stout, 18%), Stickee Monkee (Central Coast quad, 17%), Bravo (imperial brown ale, 14%) and Helldorado (blonde barleywine, 9%).
According to FW, “XXI represents the first time that Velvet Merkin has set the pace for the Anniversary Ale blend.”
Look for special back catalog tastings of past anniversary beers. Those are fun events.
Meet the new Propagator
Firestone Walker has a new R&D brewer in Venice, Evan Partridge. And if you would like to meet him and see the brewhouse, well, your chance is coming soon….
FW Lager
More canned beers coming are way from Paso Robles with Pivo Pils getting a lager cousin….
From the simple color scheme and light shadowed Firestone Walker lion and beer, one could make the guess that the beer inside will be simple and light as well. The question being, did this one get hopped or not?
Not Infernal
We head to the underworld for the third release of Leo V Ursus series from Firestone Walker. This beer began at the R&D pilot brewery in Venice and now is headed to draft and cans.
Inferos “is brewed with 4.7 pounds of hops per barrel and with a malt bill consisting of 25 percent rye.” Making for a spicy and roasty not-quite black IPA and a bit of a departure from the previous two entrants Adversus and Fortem.
Distortion… Luponic Distortion
Luponic Distortion from Firestone Walker is back for their 7th revolution and 007 is headlined by three hop varieties from Australia.
Per brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “The primary Australian hop is loaded with this bright, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc character, and the other two hops round it out with classic Southern Hemisphere qualities.”
The other “new” is that the IPA will also come in 16oz cans.
Remember – it is up to the savvy customer to keep track of which number we are at, to get the freshest.
Two for the Weekend
Two special events are going down this weekend to take note of, first is…
Three Weavers meets Firestone Walker – Venice and a new rye lager collaboration named Elevator Music. It will be released on Saturday at the Propagator in Venice.
Second is…
Cloudwater Brew Co. are coming to Mikkeller – DTLA, all the way from Manchester, England. This will be a beer geek bonanza (probably some beer snobs to avoid too) because of this tap list:
NW DIPA Citra Amarillo
Session IPA Amarillo Citra
NE DIPA Simcoe Citra
Pilsner Mandarina Bavaria
Fool For You
Belgian Propagation
Beer dinners seem to be making a comeback. I have seen an uptick in e-mails about them in the last two weeks But what has caught my eye out of that recent group is a Belgian Beer Dinner with Sour Jim at Firestone Walker’s Propagator in Venice (adjacent). It is currently scheduled for Thursday, August 24th but no other details have leaked yet. Keep it in mind though. Seems off the beaten Firestone path.
Adverse Affects
ombining the aggression of North American hops with the tranquility of traditional pilsner malts, the next release in Firestone Walker’s Leo v. Ursus Chronology achieves the improbable: a big, bold beer made for summertime sipping.
Adversus—an unfiltered double IPA—is set to be unveiled at all Firestone Walker locations this Saturday, and will roll into Firestone Walker’s national markets for a limited time starting next week.
“We’ve always wanted to use a light European-style pilsner malt for brewing an IPA, and this was our opportunity,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “Some of the more delicate malt nuances might be lost because we are hopping the bejusus out of this beer, but the pilsner malt still provides a certain palate levity that is fitting for the summer season.”
Adversus marks the second release in the Leo v. Ursus Chronology that was launched in late February. The chronology is composed of limited one-off beers released on a quarterly basis. Adversus will land in different Firestone Walker markets at variable times this June in both draft and 16-ounce can (four-pack) formats. It will be available for a short period before yielding to the next release in the Leo. v. Ursus Chronology.
High and Dry
“Adversus is high on aromatics, balanced in bitterness and relatively light in color owing to the pilsner malts,” Brynildson said.
Adversus is prodigiously dry hopped with a blend of Pacific Northwest hops, with an emphasis on Ekuanot—creating an intriguing aroma profile of stone fruit, pineapple, mango and pine resin. There is also a pungent element that creates a suggestion of, in Brynildson’s words, “dank piña colada.”
The hoppy character is balanced on the palate with a sense of dryness rooted in pilsner malts from Gambrinus Malting, a small malt house in British Columbia managed by Matthias Haaben.
“For me, it’s the most authentic pilsner malt malted in North America,” Brynildson said. “Matthias is a classic German brewing school graduate, and everything they do is very artisanal in style and method.”
He added, “The touch of dryness is what distinguishes Adversus. From the nose, you might expect something stickier, but instead you get this soft, refreshing finish.”
# # #
Firestone Walker Brewing Company is a pioneering regional craft brewery founded in 1996 and located on the coast of California. Firestone Walker’s main brewery in Paso Robles produces a diverse portfolio ranging from iconic pale ales to vintage barrel-aged beers. The Barrelworks facility in Buellton makes eccentric wild ales, while the Propagator pilot brewhouse in Venice specializes in R&D beers and limited local offerings. For more information: FirestoneBeer.com.