Firestone Walker Bravo
Imperial Brown Ale.
The first beer brewed for the barrel aging program and has been brewed every year since. Originally named after an experimental variety of hops but now brewed with US grown Fuggles which are earthy and resinous. A lean, simple barley wine brewed to showcase barrel flavors with massive bourbon barrel notes that morph as the beer warms in the glass.
2017: 13.2% abv
The first beer brewed for the barrel aging program and has been brewed every year since. Originally named after an experimental variety of hops but now brewed with US grown Fuggles which are earthy and resinous. A lean, simple barley wine brewed to showcase barrel flavors with massive bourbon barrel notes that morph as the beer warms in the glass.
2017: 13.2% abv
3.9
255 reviews
Paso Robles, United States
Community reviews
Flaska från SB, vintage 2017. Mörk men kristallklar kopparfärgad mahogny med ljusbeige krona. Rejäl arom full av bourbondränkta russin, fikon, kolaremmar, tobak, jäst, kokos och vanilj. Stor kropp, rejält åtstramad av fatkaraktären. Smaken också den åtstramad i förhållande till arom. Rejäl fatkaraktär där värmande bourbon utgör förgrunden med tydlig hetta. Mjuknar till något när den varit i glaset en stund, men bourbonfaten spelar fortfarande huvudrollen med övermogna äpplen, råg och romrussin som uppbackning. Överlag ganska rå och åtstramad av fatlagringen. Kanske föredrar exempelvis Stickee Monkee över denna, men kan gilla råheten och överlag är det fortfarande väldigt gott.
Backlog, Bottle, pours an reddish brown color with a smaller beige head. Lasting lacing. Nose and flavor are brown sugar, vanilla bean, bourbon barrel, booze, dark grapes, and hops. Medium to fuller bodied with a warming finish.
Pours a cloudy, deep mahogany coloration with a medium, creamy head. Smells intoxicating of bready, caramel malt with a lovely sweet bourbon note and hints of toffee, vanilla, dark fruits and oak. Taste is a dominated by bready, caramel malt, a distinct but mellow bourbon presence and dark/red fruit: black/redcurrant, dates, fig, as well as hints of vanilla, toffee and an earthy oak note, with just a touch of licorice and peppery spice. Finishes bittersweet, with a light bitterness and some dark fruits, bourbon and toffee lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and medium carbonation. A fantastic Brown Ale with a lovely, mellow bourbon note that never feels boozy and a perfect balance of dark/red fruits, toffee and mild spice.
Truly great. Soft bready flavors with some spice and a mild sweetness. Heavy and smooth palate.
12oz bottle 2017 vintage pours dark chestnut brown with small head. Nose and taste have nice caramel, maple, brown sugar, tootsie roll, cocoa, toffee. Finishes with nice full body and some balanced sweetness and notes of oaky vanilla. Delish!
From 12oz bottle to snifter. Pour is a copper/brown color, thick off-white head. Nose is toasty, malty, slight coffee, chocolate, booze. Tate is heavy bodied, sweet with some bitter finishes. Very thick, oily mouthfeel.
Color is hazy brown, small foam ring. Aroma is sweet, vanilla, alcohol, dried fruits. Taste is very liqueurely, sweety bitterness. Too strong, too far from beer.
De craftbeer-shop. En copa Teku. Viendo Los 100 5x04-05. Bourbon y madera perfectamente integrados en perfil de brown ale. Elevado abv da cierta calidez pero muy oculto en general
Aroma: malt, toffee, dry fruits and bourbon.
Taste: sweet caramel and toffee from the start. Fruits with hints of sourness in the middle. Some chocolate and alcohol in the aftertaste
2017 bottle from We Brought Beer, Balham. Murky brown beer with a thin off white creamy foam head. Nose is yeasty, floral, chocolate liqueur, dark fruit, prune, cocoa dust, alcohol, slight yesst extract, bourbon cream, black coffee, cherry. Taste is coffee and chocolate liqueur, bourbon cream, roasted malt, dark chocolate, raisins, fig. Looks like a brown ale tastes like an imperial stout.
21.12.3018, 12 oz bottle (2017 vintage) @ home:
Nice slightly bubbly-creamy mediumlasting head. Aroma is slightly sweet, dark sugar, mild bourbon, dark malts, caramel, raisins, oak, bark, hay, fruit stones, chocolate. Taste is slightly sweet boozy, dark sugar, bourbon, oak, old rope, dark malts, raisins, fruit stones, caramel, licorice, bark, cocoa. Medium to longlasting bitterness, slightly sweet boozy mouthfeel. Nice.
2017er Zu braun, zu roggy, zu bobovanilla🌰🍫🍩im Sinne von BarrelAgedAbsolutePerfection🥜..355ml Bottle in der Pappbox...BevMo Stuff aus Sacramento...
Draught, 2017 Vintage Small brownish rim left, deep redbrown beer. Some Bourbon, lots of cookies - both old and Petit Beurre. Fusels, alcoholfumes. In the taste, Bourbon², chocolate malts, again cookies (though more Café Glacée). An extra sweetness (the dextrose??), difficult to relate. Veyr slick, viscously bodied, alcoholheat, sticky. More than interesting, but again very sweet - seems to be a constant in FW beers.
Rami Rami is drinking a Bravo (2017) by Firestone Walker Brewing Company at Powiśle
Malo orzechow, nieco beczki w sensie burbona a nie wanilii, karmel, w sumie to slodkie, chlalne, dibre ale nic specjalnego
bottle thanks to @Zlotta, thanks Jan, pours reddish brown with a licht head., aroma of caramel, butterscotch, malts, Taste of dark fruits, raisins, butterscotch, caramel, brown sugar,alcohol, vanilla, plums, bourbon, average body, granular.
0.355 l bottle from 'Braufactum', 2017 vintage, bottled in December 2016. Clear, deep ruby with a thin, frothy, slowly diminishing, off-white head. Sweetish-malty, gently fruity aroma of molasses, caramel, raisins, prunes and vanilla. Medium sweet, slightly bitter, malty, moderately fruity taste of molasses, caramel, raisins, vanilla, bourbon and a touch of chocolate, followed by a long, gently bitter, fairly warming and quite boozy finish. Medium to full body, gently effervescent mouthfeel, average carbonation. Nice sipper, just a little too hot and too much effervescence for such beer.
Poured from 12oz bottle 2017 vintage reddish brown with a tan head. Aroma is toffee vanilla oak bourbon. Notes change as the beer warms in the glass. Taste is toffee vanilla bourbon oak. Hard to believe this is 13%!
Bottle. Vintage 2017. Color: Dark ruby, very thin beige head. Aroma: Caramel, Bourbon, sweetish. Taste: Caramel and toffee, malty sweetish with stronge but not overwhelming Bourbon and vanilla taste. Hints of coconut, liquorice, wood. Over medium sweet, lightly bitter. Warming mouthfeel. Full body, soft carbonation. Hints of molasses. Great beer.
Pours dark brown with a compact head that doesn't hold well; tobacco and chocolate and vanilla on the nose; bitter, oily palate with pleasant alcohol burn in the finish.
Hazy brown with average head. Malty, sweetish, toasted, sticky, some toffee, caramel, earthy, raisins, wood, boozy, very nice.
MBCC 2017 Red session. Hazy copper brown body with a tiny head. Aroma of burned caramel, bourbon, biscuit and dried fruit. Taste is wooden with bourbon and brown malt, earthy with a resinous sting. Solid!
1 finger light beige head. Dissipates quickly.
Semi-clear, dark ruby with a maroon hue coloured beer.
Aroma is butterscotch, vanilla, bourbon, some dried dark fruits and a dark nutty ending.
Taste is more of the same but more intense. Also adds leather, slight rye and tobacco notes.
Mouthfeel is rather light and drinkable even though alcohol taste is pretty prominent. Medium body. Low bitterness. Medium carbonation.
Overall: Great Imperial Brown/BW. Gets pretty heavy on the alcohol and it could have a better finish tastewise. Not that type of alcohol that makes you shiver, instead it has a tasty straight bourbon taste but it's still a bit too much. Could be heavier in terms of body too. Otherwise a great sipper by the masters of big beers.
Brown color with a medium light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Caramel, vanilla, wood, raisins, resiny wood, light booze.
@MBCC2017S03
Pours orange with a small head. Fruity aroma with caramel. Tastes of caramel, fruity with nice barrle notes. Medium body
Bottled 12/07/16. Pours murky copper brown color. Off white head. Aroma is lots of bourbon, toffee, caramel, burnt sugar. Flavor is oak, bourbon, caramel, toffee, chocolate, vanilla. Very barleywine-Esque. 8/3/8/4/17
12 oz boxed bottle, 2017 vintage. Aroma is coconut, wood, earth, licorice, bourbon, toffee, raisin. Pours hazy brown with a dissipating beige head. Taste is sweet and boozy, not overly so, with flavors that match the aroma; finishes slightly bitter with lingering alcoholic astringency. It's good, but it seems to work better as just one component within their anniversary blend.
12 oz bottle (from Whole Foods Bowery, NY, if I remember correctly), 2017 issue. Deep ruby-brown color, with particles sediment floating in it - I didn't think it was fermenting in the bottle, or unfiltered? Off brown to light beige head with some retention. Aroma's of caramel/toffee, red fruit, wood, vanilla, bourbon, all wonderfully balanced, just as I'm expecting from FW nowadays. Retronasal it's sweet, toffee, vanilla, woody, boozy bourbon. Flavor is above moderate (to heavy) sweet with fruit and wood. Alcohol is warming but not too sharp. Body is medium (not as full as I expected). Good carbonation. Long finish with toffee and some woody notes, light bitter. Great stuff, as always with FW's BA beers.
355ml bottle from Systembolaget, vintage 2017. Pours hazy rusty copper/amber, some particles floating in the glass. Dense white tobacco stained head, some lacing. Oak barrels for sure in the aroma but not all about bourbon, red wine cherries and port in there also, sweet chocolate, dark dried figs, green grapes and a mild pleasant roast. Full bodied, sweet and silky mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Toasty caramel malty taste, warming bourbon, dark dried fruits, chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar and fruity red wine. Long warming finish.
Draught @ MBCC '17 [ Red Session ]. - Mikkeller Beer Copenhagen Celebration 2017, Øksnehallen, Halmtorvet 11, 1700 København V, Danmark.
[ As Firestone Walker Bravo ].
Light unclear medium amber colour with a small to average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting to diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, bread, caramel, sweet malt, alcohol - bourbon - oak - vanilla. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet with a long duration, caramel, bread, dried fruit, alcohol - bourbon - oak - vanilla. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light alcoholic. [20170513]
7-4-8-4-16
Bottle, 355 ml from 209 Station, Brooklyn. shared with JFK10000 and Max. Pours dark orange, small off white head head. Caramel, sweet, nutty, toffee, wood, some bourbon. Medium sweetness. Warming. Smooth and balanced.