Tonight's beer: Firestone Walker XV
Smell opens up with bread, caramel, toast, and vanilla. Some dried/candied fruity stuff just behind that, and maybe a whiff of spices, earth, peat, and grass.
Wood comes forward in the taste, a lot; the bread, vanilla, toast, and caramel are still present, along with a touch of butter. Fruit still present, but back a bit. Way in background, some chocolate emerges, and maybe some toffee. A hint of smoke, ash, maybe a possibility of some earth and peat and grass. Distinct impressions of spirits--whiskey, rum, and brandy mainly.
The beer is surprisingly light-bodied, if a bit on the syrupy side, with some prickle that feels like mostly carbonation but almost certainly has some booze in it. For 12.5% ABV, not a lot of heat. Long and lingering finish. Not all that drying, but very satisfying and (almost) manages to be refreshing.
A very complex beer, but I'm not sure at this point it isn't being dominated by wood (lots of barrel-aging going on here, and it's that up-front). They put a lot into this beer, in terms of time and assets, and it seems as though I've had similarly complex beers that came from a much simpler process; in other words, I believe the Law of Diminishing Returns has kicked in here at some point. It's a tasty beer, and a drinkable one, but I suspect it'll taste better with more time in the bottle (and less stress in my life).
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| Firestone Walker XV |
Smell opens up with bread, caramel, toast, and vanilla. Some dried/candied fruity stuff just behind that, and maybe a whiff of spices, earth, peat, and grass.
Wood comes forward in the taste, a lot; the bread, vanilla, toast, and caramel are still present, along with a touch of butter. Fruit still present, but back a bit. Way in background, some chocolate emerges, and maybe some toffee. A hint of smoke, ash, maybe a possibility of some earth and peat and grass. Distinct impressions of spirits--whiskey, rum, and brandy mainly.
The beer is surprisingly light-bodied, if a bit on the syrupy side, with some prickle that feels like mostly carbonation but almost certainly has some booze in it. For 12.5% ABV, not a lot of heat. Long and lingering finish. Not all that drying, but very satisfying and (almost) manages to be refreshing.
A very complex beer, but I'm not sure at this point it isn't being dominated by wood (lots of barrel-aging going on here, and it's that up-front). They put a lot into this beer, in terms of time and assets, and it seems as though I've had similarly complex beers that came from a much simpler process; in other words, I believe the Law of Diminishing Returns has kicked in here at some point. It's a tasty beer, and a drinkable one, but I suspect it'll taste better with more time in the bottle (and less stress in my life).
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