Firestone Walker 15 (XV Fifteenth Anniversary Ale)
As a finished beer, XV is alive with amazing complexity and yet it is quite possibly the most integrated and seamless blend yet.
Looking at a blend of 8 beers on paper at first looks chaotic and potentially disjointed; however, a closer look reveals and interesting theme: 76% Barley Wine style beers, 19% Stout and 5% Imperial IPA. XV introduces our new blonde barley wine Helldorado with flavors of lavender honey liqueur. The well established DDBA delivers its signature American toasted oak, English caramel toffee and light leather nuances. 2010 vintage Sticky Monkey folds in brown sugar, maple, cinnamon, ginger and ripe figs. Parabola brings the familiar flavors of roasted dark coco, and chocolate covered cherries. Velvet Merkin carries silky milk chocolate, toasted coconut and creamy textures. Good Foot and Bravo add assertive barley wine warmth and lush barrel derived vanilla bean notes. The game changer this year is the addition of Double Jack to the blend. At just 5% its massive dry hop character brings citrus zest, tangerine and mango aromas making this a completely new beer.
The beer is unfiltered and unfined, so there will be a small amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. XV is best enjoyed poured carefully into a half-filled brandy snifter or wine glass. Allow it to warm to 55F to fully enjoy the pleasing and complex aromas. As the beer sits and breathes in the glass, a richer, orange zested, chocolate dusted, vanilla custard character is reveled, so take your time. If you wait to open your bottle later, store it in a cool dark place. I suspect that this beer will age well and change favorably for years to come. It was an absolute pleasure in the making and I truly hope you enjoy our Sixth oak-aged blend! Our journey continues and it’s just as fun and exciting now as it was back in 1996.
Looking at a blend of 8 beers on paper at first looks chaotic and potentially disjointed; however, a closer look reveals and interesting theme: 76% Barley Wine style beers, 19% Stout and 5% Imperial IPA. XV introduces our new blonde barley wine Helldorado with flavors of lavender honey liqueur. The well established DDBA delivers its signature American toasted oak, English caramel toffee and light leather nuances. 2010 vintage Sticky Monkey folds in brown sugar, maple, cinnamon, ginger and ripe figs. Parabola brings the familiar flavors of roasted dark coco, and chocolate covered cherries. Velvet Merkin carries silky milk chocolate, toasted coconut and creamy textures. Good Foot and Bravo add assertive barley wine warmth and lush barrel derived vanilla bean notes. The game changer this year is the addition of Double Jack to the blend. At just 5% its massive dry hop character brings citrus zest, tangerine and mango aromas making this a completely new beer.
The beer is unfiltered and unfined, so there will be a small amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. XV is best enjoyed poured carefully into a half-filled brandy snifter or wine glass. Allow it to warm to 55F to fully enjoy the pleasing and complex aromas. As the beer sits and breathes in the glass, a richer, orange zested, chocolate dusted, vanilla custard character is reveled, so take your time. If you wait to open your bottle later, store it in a cool dark place. I suspect that this beer will age well and change favorably for years to come. It was an absolute pleasure in the making and I truly hope you enjoy our Sixth oak-aged blend! Our journey continues and it’s just as fun and exciting now as it was back in 1996.
4
412 reviews
Paso Robles, United States
Community reviews
Merci à Philippe pour le partage. Comme tous les produits de cette brasserie que j’affectionne particulièrement, cette bière est estampillée du sceau de l’Excellence. Un liquide ambré profond qui affiche une robe trahissant une forte dominance de Sucaba. Je suis saisi par ces arômes de noix de coco, de caramel et de sucre de canne. Un alcool qui évoque des souvenirs Antillais se mêle à un malt riche en histoire. Saveurs riches et collantes de fruits confits, de gâteau à l’orange. Je décèle également la présence de quelques épices mais rien pour altérer le caractère agréablement léger de cette bière. Moi qui affectionne particulièrement les Barley Wine, me voilà servi!
Bottle at tasting. Dark color. Aroma of malt, vanilla, raisin, whisky and ripe fruit. Flavor of rich vanilla, malt, toffee, raisiny ripe fruit and some booze. Tastes like a barley wine or red port. Feels like it has been aged a little too long, still very good though.
22oz bottle pours a hazy brown with some cloudy, white head. Nose has brown sugar, bread crust, mild spice, fruit cake. Flavor is malty and sweet, brown sugar, dates, raisins, clove. Full bodied, boozy finish.
Backlog. 2012 bottle ->mini snifter from Churchkey Vintage Vault event. Dark brown with small tan head. Caramel malt, molasses, toffee, sweet vanilla, booze. Tasty.
Bottle at the main DC December Gathering. Poured a dark brown color with a light tan head. Aroma was lots of malts, molasses. Boozy notes. Lots of toffee, vanilla notes. Roasted malts. Chocolate finish.
Bottle at the DC December Gathering #2. Dark brown with beige head. Aromas of bourbon, caramel, dark fruit, booze. Tastes of dark fruit, caramel, bourbon, booze. Medium-full body with a dry finish. May be past prime.
22oz bottle in a tulip. Pours deep brown with a beige head. Aroma of caramel and sweet malts, some chocolate, bitter hops, hints of roast, oak and boubon, and some dough. Flavor the same. Smoother texture. Would have liked this way more back in the day, but not now.
On tap at Brouwers alongside 18. Pours rich dark brown color without any head. Aroma is huge caramel and bourbon, rich malts, sweet brown sugar. Wow. Flavor follows closely with lots of vanilla marshmallow behind sweet rich caramel malts, a light hint of chocolate, and big bourbon sweetness, with a hint of oak in the backdrop. Big bodied, sweet and rich, low carbonation. Absolutely beautiful.
Bottle to glass. Pours a deep brown color with a creamy light tan head. Aroma is thick malts, molasses, hint of booze. Flavor brings out more of the barrel character, with a nice toffee, vanilla, molasses. Solid, but probably my least favorite of the anniversaries so far.
Bottle. Pours very dark, almost black. Small layer of foam. Smell has notes of bourbon. Taste is nice and intense bourbon, over dark malts and an oak-intensified taste. Very nice ! High on bourbon, intense but rather balanced.
August 27, 2015 - bottle that I probably picked up from Binny’s. Celebrating another wedding anniversary and excited to try this as the mix is predominantly barley wine. Dark brown pour with some head. Aroma was a nice blend of bourbon, brandy, caramel, vanilla and light citrus hops. The wood came out in the aroma as it warmed. Taste was very smooth and had a nice bourbon flavor / heat throughout that was spot on. Taste also had the caramel and chocolate early and vanilla came out late and in the finish. The brandy characteristics came on late and a very mild citrus bitterness was in the finish. Another fantastic blend from Firestone to celebrate one more year of marriage.
It doesn’t get much more complex than this right here - a beautiful blend - chocolate, bourbon, roasted characteristics, oak, maple, ginger, cinnamon, doesn’t need much else.
On tap @ Brouwer’s. Pours heavily dark reddish brown with thin oily mocha head. Aroma is somewhat thin, boozy malt with roasty oaky chocolate and coffee notes. Taste is rather thin bodied malt, heavily roasted caramel notes, lots of coffee, caramel, and chocolate. Big oaky barrel notes throughout. The Double Jack does add a hoppy note not present in previous Anniversary blends. Not sure it contributes much though, against all the other big flavors here. I dunno, something just didn’t work for me in this one. Really tasted more like the constituent blends mashed together rather than a melded blend. Some great favors, just didn’t come together.
Draft pour at Brouwer’s Firestone anniversary vertical, dark brown almost black pour, a lot of these are going to sound the same will try a and keep it different as best as I can(other then this part) this one has more bit to it then the 14 different blend each year, more chocolate and rost in this one just as awesome.
Bottle. Mostly clear dark brown with a well-formed and lasting tan head. The aroma has toffee, roast, sticky caramel, whiskey, and maple syrup. The flavor is great, as usual. Somewhat sweet and very complex. Sticky tasting, chocolatey, some oak and booze. Medium-full body with soft carbonation and some heat. Great beer as usual!
Bomber: Chouffe glass.
Robust beer with beautiful tones like bourbon, cinnamon, white wood, almonds, chocolate, prunes, bitters and a soft buttery massage...
Good carbonation, subtle full body experience and good rich mouthfeel.
Great beer!
Poured from bottle that I received in a trade a few years ago, finally getting around to open it, good night with the Badgers winning, pours a murky dark brown with a pretty thin light tan head, dissipates very quickly, aroma was of mild bourbon with some oak and vanilla coming through as well, the flavor has a slight chocolate front end with some bourbon and oak in the finish, sleigh dark fruit, lighter mouthfeel than I was expecting, honestly kind of past it’s time and I’m kicking myself for not cracking this one sooner.
750 mL bottle. Dark with just a ring of head. The aroma is still big, with vanilla and coconut from the barrel, some resin from the hops, some caramel from the malt. The flavour lives up to the huge aroma, bringing some booze into the mix. Truly outstanding.
Bottle: Poured a dark hazy brown color ale with a medium size off-white foamy head with OK retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of woody whiskey notes with some light residual sugar and toffee notes is extremely satisfying. Taste is also dominated by woody notes with some whiskey notes and toffee and caramelized sugar. Nice balanced between the sweetness of some of the base beers and the dryness of the whiskey barrels. Body is pretty full with good carbonation and warming notes. Very well put together with some good complexity.
Faint alcohol and malt smell. Malty taste with some bourbon and alcohol taste to it as well.
From shared large bottle.
Body is smooth but a bit too thin and, despite plenty of aging, there is more alcohol harshness than ideal
The multiple brews used to compose this blend nicely yet leaving lots of subtle omplexities. Tasty and not challenging, with a nice component of dark fruity.
Draft at brouwers. Ugly sweater time. Deep caramel pour, white head. Aroma: toffee, raisins, plums, molasses, oak, vanilla, oxidation, coconut. Taste: moderately sweet with oxidized drying finish. Slick, sticky texture. Full body, soft carbonation, alcohol on the tongue and warmth in the belly. Overall: really nice.
Rating #900, 3 yr old bottle. Pours a dark, opaque mahogany with a small sand colored head. The aroma is very complex, with vanilla bourbon barrel notes leading the way. Lots of chocolate, figs, rum raisin, sherry, toffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, toasted marshmallow, some alcohol of course, and a hint of hop resins (like you get from an old double IPA or hoppy barleywine). The flavor is just as complex, if not more. Bourbon and sweet citrus (honey) upfront, with lots of chocolate and stone fruit, some candi sugar in the middle. The wood slowly builds long after the beer is swallowed, with a nice toasted character cutting through. Full bodied and sweet, but not overly so, wood and alcohol finish this one out nicely. One of the best beers I’ve experienced.
Barrelly, with a lot of different malts going on here. Finishes a little on the sweet side, and too syrupy for my tastes. Pours maroon with ok head and lacing. Different malts mixed in here. Some citrus. Comes together ok, but not the best anniversary beer I’ve had from Firestone. Bottle pour at Churchkey’s 5th anniversary.
Bottle @ Churchkey. Amber pour with a tiny head. Nose of caramel and raisin. Cinnamon toast crunch. Vanilla sundae. Taste is lovely, nice sweet/hot profile that’s not too aggressive. Full body. Oily. Nice caramel flavor. Pepper. Lovely.
Bottle big thanks to Bruce. It pours deep mahogany brown with a small tan head. The nose is rich, woody, toffee, banana bread, fruit cake, leather, light vanilla, plum, cherry and candy. The taste is smooth, wood, leather, toffee, fruit cake, date, raisin, booze, wood and light bitterness with a slick finish. Full body and fine carbonation. Very drinkable for the style. Well balanced and quaffable.
Pours a deep dark brown, almost red with a thin brown head. Initial sweet tones of cheery with a heavy, strong oak aftertaste
Pours dark brown, mahogany. Bit of foam. Aroma is quite soft, has hints of strong liquor - bourbon? Taste fails to surprise me at first - but this is because I am not ready for this, the beer is so complex and doesn’t reveal itself already after the first sip. Slowly sipping the beer while it is warming makes the experience more and more memorable, there are hops biting my tongue - or are they alcohol bites? Vanilla, bourbon, whiskey, oak barrel - whole array of different sensations going on there. It has a solid body and the beer is a slow sipper - although 12% ABV is still nicely hidden. Very glad I got to taste this one.
Bottle, thanks Jonno. Aroma is sticky, toffee, bourbon barrel, booze!
Taste is good, bourbon, dark fruit, black treacle, stickiness. Long long finish. Nice.
Bottle thanks to Dave. Pours a cloudy amber with paperthin beige head. The aroma is vanilla, raisin, wood. Slick mouth, nice oak, sweet vanilla, hides alcohol well, very impressive.