Monday, December 26, 2011

Firestone Walker XV 15th Anniversary Ale


I was fortunate enough to have Doug Hanson get me a bottle of Firestone Walker XV 15th Anniversary Ale, and he shipped it to me to try. For their 15th Anniversary, Firestone Walker blended a beer to the following proportions:

18% Helldorado (11.7% ABV) Blonde Barley Wine
17% Sticky Monkey (12.5% ABV) English Barley Wine
17% Bravo (13.5% ABV) Imperial Brown Ale
13% Double Double Barrel Ale (11.5% ABV) Double Strength English Pale Ale
11% Good Foot (14.3 ABV) American Barley Wine
10% Velvet Merkin (8.6% ABV) Traditional Oatmeal Stout
9% Parabola (13% ABV) Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout

The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan head that leaves no lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of raisin, fig, chocolate, caramel, malts, vanilla, oak, and bourbon. The taste is powerful and action-packed with chocolate, vanilla, caramel, cookie dough, fig, and raisin. It swiftly transitions into a bit of an alcohol burn with bourbon flavors before a dry oak finish that has hints of butterscotch and vanilla. The alcohol content is 12.5% ABV. The blend of this beer was rather excellent and rather intense. The bourbon really kicks out despite all of the other chocolate and dark fruit flavors, but I enjoyed it very much.

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