Calling all Firestone Walker followers and barrel-aged beer lovers too busy to do their very own buying. Enrollment for Firestone Walker’s beer membership, the Brewmaster’s Collective, is stay till the tip of the month (apologies for the late discover). The deets:
Open enrollment within the 2024 Brewmaster’s Collective begins now at FirestoneBeer.com and ends on December 31, 2023 or till capability is reached.
“The main focus of the 2024 season is diving deeper than ever into our mastery of barrel-aged beers that push the envelope of aroma and taste,” stated Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “The membership has grow to be a strong level of creativity, collaboration and reference to our most passionate followers. Backside line, in the event you’re into barrel-aged beers, you’re going to like what we now have in retailer for you.”
The 2024 Brewmaster’s Collective beers will land in quarterly curated collections that embrace customized merchandise and pairing experiences. The annual pay as you go membership price is simply $399 plus tax and delivery (or $425 in installments) with non-compulsory pickup obtainable at Firestone Walker’s places in Paso Robles, Buellton and Venice.
Now getting into its fourth yr, the Brewmaster’s Collective has grow to be a fixture of creativity, collaboration and innovation at Firestone Walker, offering members with entry to the brewery’s most artisanal small-batch creations.
We obtained the autumn cargo for the 2023 assortment, which included three restricted launch beers and two extra which might be unique solely to membership members. To assist wash all of it down, there was additionally a choice of cookies from Brown Butter Cookie Co. We already reviewed one of many included restricted releases, one other rock-solid anniversary ale. Learn on for ideas on the remainder.
Firestone Walker Apple Jack Flash – Constituted of freshly pressed apple juice mixed with English barleywine earlier than fermentation and matured in Applejack barrels for 12 months. The beer pours a hazy, uncooked honey hue with a lightweight, tan head that dissolves shortly. The aroma isn’t as a lot applesauce as you may count on with loads of barley sugar and buttery Chardonnay-esque notes balancing aromas of baked and candied apple. Because it warms within the glass, extra cinnamon toast and darkish caramel notes emerge. The palate is clear and spherical, if a bit monotone, with mild flavors of apple butter and vanilla cream. The end is brief and a bit skinny with apple sauce notes and a lingering little bit of pie spice. A straightforward fall sipper, however at this abv, I anticipated a bit extra taste. 12% abv. B+ / $13
Firestone Walker Balaton Bones – A part of Firestone’s “bones” collection, this beer is a riff on the unique Krieky Bones, a Flanders-style Kriek beer made with contemporary cherries. This “bones” began life as an oak-aged Saison earlier than a secondary fermentation with cherries from Michigan’s King Orchards and a remaining seven weeks of barrel ageing. The beer pours a hue extra cranberry juice than cherry with a wholesome carbonation that shortly dissipates. The nostril showcases a pleasant mixture of contemporary, effervescent stone fruit notes and bready, saison funk. The palate is extra dominated by fruit, nonetheless, alternating between cherry juice and bitter, wine-inspired darkish berries. There’s nonetheless a little bit of doughiness within the basis and the tartness is well-balanced, permitting a number of the sweeter, creamier barrel-aged notes to emerge on the end earlier than dissolving into a mixture of bitter cherry and SweetTarts. 6.3% abv. B+ / $10
Firestone Walker Rip This Joint – An imperial stout brewed in collaboration with Facet Undertaking Brewing and solely obtainable to Brewmaster’s Collective members. True to its identify, this excessive octane brew was made with an unspecified number of specialty malts and aged for a whopping 18 months in Henry McKenna bourbon barrels. And it is likely to be the darkest stout I’ve ever seen, pouring like precise motor oil, coloration and texture, into the glass and abandoning solely a skinny and equally darkish, sizzling chocolate-colored head. The aroma is intense. Not precisely boozy, though there’s loads of that right here, however concentrated in a manner I’ve seldom encountered in a bourbon barrel-aged stout. Deep notes of darkish chocolate macaroons, gooey brownies, and heat fudge virtually ooze out of the glass. As intense because it all is, the sweetness isn’t overpowering, with notes of ginger and molasses providing some good distinction. On the palate, the depth continues with a boldly sugary entry, virtually further candy black tea, that transitions to cocoa nibs, baking chocolate, and raisin. The midpalate turns to chilly brew espresso, well-sweetened after all, earlier than a end of sticky vanilla bean, grape jelly, and darkish chocolate Raisinettes. Possibly essentially the most in-your-face beer I’ve had but from Firestone. Undoubtedly a enjoyable after-dinner sipper, however greatest to share the bottle with a pal or two. 13.9% abv. A- / $13
Firestone Walker Between Two Grahams – One other beer unique to the Brewmaster’s Collective, this imperial stout is comprised of a base of Parabola and Velvet Merkin that sees “recirculation” by means of cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. It pours an appropriately darkish chocolate coloration with a lightweight, cocoa head that lingers and leaves a wholesome lacing within the glass. The nostril is a lifeless ringer for s’mores made with fancy graham crackers showcasing plenty of heat, baked cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate notes which might be convincingly melted and toasted. On the palate, this dessert stout sings with a silky mixture of marshmallow and gently bitter darkish chocolate astride roasted malts and vanilla cream. Regardless of having a sugary campfire deal with as its loadstar, the sweetness is all up entrance, dissolving slowly into drier cocoa and malt throughout the sip till a simple, frivolously candy end of cinnamon toast, licorice, and vanilla shortbread. Be part of that membership, of us. 11.5% abv. A / $11
Firestone Walker Apple Jack Flash
$13
