Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Paso Robles, CA
Available: CA, NV, OR, WA, AZ
Firestone Walker is one of only two breweries in the world that still utilizes oak barrels for primary fermentation. Walker’s Reserve is a blend of 50 percent oak barrel-fermented beer and 50 percent stainless steel-fermented beer. Walker’s Reserve is bottle conditioned.
ABV: 5.9
ABW: 4.7
Color: 75
Bitterness: 45
Original gravity: 1060
This 5.9% beer has a deep ruby-red color with a custard cream head—that’s a British type of cookie. The aroma has a rich cappuccino coffee note with powerful hints of oak, smoked grain, liquorice and burnt fruit. Rich roasted grain, dark fruits, coriander, dried herbs and peppery hops fill the mouth. The finish has smoked malt, bitter hops, rich dark fruits and coffee notes. It’s amazingly complex and beautifully crafted.
This dark brown beer raises a sustained tan foam. The aroma is a fine balance of chocolate, bread, light citrusy hops and a tantalizing whiff of cigar box cedar. On the palate, the carbonation is light and the bitterness is gentle as the beer insinuates itself. The center is silky, juicy, malty and smooth, everything in place and not a single misstep. It dries into the finish and signs off cleanly. Not a very roasty version of porter, but a delicious and masterly job. Rib eye, dry-aged, medium rare, not less than an inch thick. Why mess around?
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.
