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Last year, Firestone Walker gave the humble L.A. Beer Bloggers group a grand tour of both their Paso Robles brewery and Barrelworks in Buellton.
That means more photos of the Paso Robles area.
Me against the bear. I am not trying to break into the truck. Nope. Wouldn’t do that.
The taproom menu board. Too many choices.
Young whiskey from the distillers Re:Find. Made from an 805 lager wash. Just for our group. Amazing.
My fellow blogger, Rich near the ride that Walker has made Wild.
Last year, Firestone Walker gave the humble L.A. Beer Bloggers group a grand tour of both their Paso Robles brewery and Barrelworks in Buellton.
I thought it was a one time thing.
I was wrong.
Last Weekend, they gave us another tour from a different angle. Starting at their future Venice Beach site, we went to Los Olivos and then to Paso Robles to bask in all things Bear & Lion.
I will put the words to this trip into another, separate post. First, some photos…..
Me at the STILL growing Paso Robles headquarters. Which probably needs more than one traffic cop..
Sitting by the fire with an experimental sour made in conjunction with Andrew Murray winery.
Yup, 805 in cans. Maybe Easy Jack too. Their cannery is a tech wonder to see.
Learning about off flavors and how age affects Union Jack IPA.
Lunch with their taproom only Hammersmith IPA.
Since I am in the middle of two posts about my trip to all places Firestone Walker and since I just reviewed a lovely, light IPA from Kona Brewing I thought I would review another lovely, light IPA (Session, in this case) from FW.
This SIPA pours a very yellow color with loads of bubbles. Looks more like a sparkling cider than a beer once the head fades down. I get both fruit and wine notes along a skosh of cat pee in the aroma. But the taste is delightful. A mix of citrus notes. I get orange and lime and lemon all mixed up. There is a bit of wheat and light grain notes as well but this is a very light drink. It is not watery but it is quite close. It is bubbly and sparkles on the taste buds. The bottles are date stamped so make sure you get a fresh one otherwise I fear that it may not hold that bright note for too long. It has a bit of white wine character too as it warms up. Delicious all the way through.
I know that the common perception is that if you write something positive about a brewery then you are just a shill and not a shrewd critical thinker that the brewing industry needs. But when I get a press release from Firestone Walker about a new beer, even one that is jumping on the good ship SIPA, I want to let people know about it.
Simply because they brew damn fine beer and without having a single sip of Easy Jack…
…their new Session IPA, I know that it will be above average (at least). If not awesome. And I can tell that by both past performance and by the notes that Brewmaster Matt Brynildson put together just on the hops used. Read on…
Bavarian Mandarina – Germany
“It’s real orangy, zesty, like a fresh orange off the tree, which I’ve never smelled in any hop before.”
Hallertau Melon – Germany
“As the name suggests, it has this melony, ripe tropical fruit characteristic that complements the citrus of the other hops.”
Mosaic – United States
“It’s a daughter of the Simcoe hop, which is in our Union Jack. It has a nice tropical vibe, with herbal and pine notes.”
Blend of New Zealand Hops
“We are using a blend of New Zealand hops to create this huge Sauvignon Blanc character, with a classic Sauv Blanc racy, steely fruit profile.”
Those notes make me want to try single hop beers of the first two (is it bragging to say that I have had an excellent Mosaic from Ninkasi?)
It seems that mixed packs are all the rage and I have yet to be really tempted, until now….
“Firestone Walker Brewing Company has you covered with the The Lion’s Share, a new mixed 12-pack featuring four distinctively different brews.
The Lion’s Share includes three bottles each of DBA (British pale ale), Pale 31 (California pale ale), Union Jack (West Coast IPA) and 805 (blonde ale).” (Which I still think they shouldn’t sell outside Paso, but that’s just me)
And id 12 FW beers isn’t enough then in March you can purchase the Bear’s Necessities mixed 24-pack!
Earlier this month, Firestone Walker pitched their plans for their Venice facility to the community. (I did not attend because two days earlier I had visited both their Paso Robles and Buellton locations)
This is what they presented…..
The reason why I brought up my visit to the other two locales is because they are classy spots. Both lie off the 101 freeway but once you step inside it is a beer and food wonderland. The open face turkey sandwich I had paired with a Tap Room IPA was excellent. My only request would be that they leave the 805 beer up north. Make that a beer that you can’t get here. Brew us Angelenos a 310 and 213 beer. (And for me an 818 beer) A great Christmas present for me would be swift passage of their plans.
Very lucky. That is what I am thinking as I slowly slip the re-incarnated Velvet Merkin (2013) that I received from Firestone Walker.
This is a near perfect beer. It falls into the category of beers that you could smell all day long. That you would bottle as cologne. A beautiful mixture of coconut and roast and bourbon and barrel melding together.
But you have to drink it, and it is velvety smooth. So that each sip lingers. It is under 9% in alcohol so you don’t get a burn in the throat. The bourbon really comes out in the flavor and just envelops the tongue. How Matt Brynildson does it, I do not know but this is simply a fantastic beer.
Thought # 1 – Now go find a craft beer bar that is doing a flight of anniversary beers.
Thought # 2 – I think it will make a nice cellar addition with 14, 15 and 16
Thought # 3 – I need to learn how to blend
On this Friday, September 13th at Culina inside the Four Seasons Hotel.
The Wheels of Firestone
“Join us for celebration of one of the world’s top craft breweries: Firestone Walker. This four course dinner takes place on Friday, September 13th at 7:30pm in the Private Dining Room at Culina, Modern Italian restaurant, located in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.
One of Firestone Walker’s Brewers has selected four unique offerings to pair with our signature crudo scallops, pork sausage, braised short ribs and of course, dessert. Plus, Firestone will be providing a SECRET tasting of a beer that BeerAdvocate judges awarded a perfect ‘100’ score. Don’t miss this!
The Wheels of Firestone Beer Dinner at Culina Modern Italian is priced at $65++ per person (not including tax or gratuity). Reserve your seat early and enjoy this beer-lover’s dream evening!”
Firestone events are reliably great so this might be a great way to get a leg up on L.A. Beer Week.
While I was whiling the beer hours away at various spots in Portland, some major SoCal news hit. Not that I would have scooped anybody but I would feel remiss if I didn’t weigh in on Firestone Walker’s announcement that they are heading to a location in Venice which depending on traffic may still be as far away as Firestone Walker in Buellton.
So it won’t be perched on the canals. Probably not enough parking for that. But this is where it will be, “The property is located on West Washington Boulevard near Lincoln Boulevard. Adam and David selected this site after more than two years of searching. It’s not a main street or restaurant row, but it’s still accessible.”
The goal being to “establish a third leg along the coast, complementing our existing locations in Paso Robles and Buellton.” I am all for Firestone being here but it wasn’t as if I felt neglected by them at all. Part of the joy of visiting them was the excuse to visit the majestic new BarrelWorks in Buellton or hit up Paso and the surrounding sights. Now will people take them for granted? To a certain extent, some beers like Solace and regular Union Jack and DBA get short shrift in the rush for barrel aged products and double this and that.
Best case scenario is this new spot becomes the hub for the off-the-wall events like Deconstructed or Walker’s Wild Ride that have been high points in my beer experiences in LA. Hopefully it can be a center for food and beer pairings. Sour seminars and the like would be great too.
The best sign about this move is that our fair city (adopted or native) is getting the attention of breweries.