Beer of the Weekend #2: Firestone Double Barrel Ale
This week has been “happy happy time,” so it may be fitting I end on another “happy.” Happy Friday, everyone. On with the beer tasting.
The beer this weekend is Firestone Double Barrel Ale brewed by the Firestone Walker Brewing Company of Paso Robles, California.
Today is the second anniversary of my decision to move to California, so I thought another Golden State beer would be appropriate.
I bought the six-pack of bottles at the BevMo! on Beach Boulevard. I was hoping to pick up some Pabst, too, but once again their PBR stock was sold out. That’s the third time and the second consecutive Friday I’ve gone there and Pabst has not been available. I suppose it’s a good thing — that is if it’s out of stock for the “best for business” reason. While all the other stacks and fridge lanes are full the Pabst spaces are empty.
Here’s a lesson, something not to do when you’re trying to chill beer. The sixer I bought was sitting on a shelf at room temperature in the store so I immediately put the bottles in the fridge when I got home. Later, when I cooked diner, I put two in the freezer, accelerating their cooling. I thought, “I’ll take them out in 10 minutes.” A while later — probably about an hour, long after I had eaten and washed the dishes — I remembered the bottles of Firestone DBA lying next to a carton of my roommate’s ice cream. I ran into the kitchen and took the bottles out, examining each to see if any ice had formed inside. A few weeks ago I accidentally did the same with bottles of Moosehead. The water inside had frozen in a layer along the edges, so I left them out until it liquefied. I couldn’t see any solidification through the brown glass, but I let both bottles sit on the counter for 10 minutes.
Lesson: You don’t want to drink your beer ice cold, as I said last week. You want to let it warm a little so it’s above the temperature of the fridge. Each beer, depending on style, has it’s own unique serving temperature. As an amber ale, Firestone’s optimal temp is 50°-55°F.
Yep, another amber ale. I haven’t been very diverse the last two weeks, but what can I say? I popped the bottle cap off the first Firestone and smelled the bitter, rusty metallic of an amber ale. But this time I think it was all cap. I smelled the bottle and got a much smoother, softer aroma, and the same from the poured glassed. I fucked up the first pour so there wasn’t much head, but my second bottle created a thin, effervescent foam that dissipated quickly, leaving a white ring around the top.
The taste is surprisingly smooth and fresh. Very crisp and clean, flavorful and full of hops. Yet, despite that, it finishes very even and nothing lingers on the palate. It’s slightly bitter and slightly spicy, and the balance is perfect. This is undoubtedly the best amber ale I’ve ever had.
Because it isn’t featured in Kenning’s “Beers of the World,” I went to the Firestone website to learn more about it. DBA is brewed in the British pale ale tradition, namely from Burton-on-Trent. According to the site, they use “patented Firestone Union oak barrels” in the brewing process, which gives the beer “a mild blend of vanilla and toasted oak flavor touched with an elegant hint of English noble hops.” (Since I’m the connoisseur here, I guess I’m the one who should be recognizing these traits. But I’m not. Oops.) Is there a hint of oak in the beer? I don’t know. I’ve never sucked on oak bark before.
Interesting Firestone facts:
-The theme at Firestone is fresh, fresh, fresh. One of the brewers interviewed on the website said beer “should be handled more like milk than bottled water.” Even the carrying case has storing instructions, as if beer drinkers were dumb enough to leave it unrefridgerated.
-Funny quotes from the website videos: “We’re all in the business of social lubrication. I mean, we’re making a mood altering substance.” “It’s not like a crack lab or meth lab or something like that, like we’re stringing kids out on drugs.” “You can only go so far with hard alcohol. It gives you a hang over. You end up getting messed up beyond where you wanted to go. Beer, you can keep a steady flow. You can keep drinking.” “Showing up at the party with a 24-pack of set industrial lager, you’re just bringing the crack, not the love.”
-On one side of the label is the lion of England and on the other side is the bear of California, raising their fists as if about to box. Box!
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
The beer this weekend is Firestone Double Barrel Ale brewed by the Firestone Walker Brewing Company of Paso Robles, California.
Today is the second anniversary of my decision to move to California, so I thought another Golden State beer would be appropriate.
I bought the six-pack of bottles at the BevMo! on Beach Boulevard. I was hoping to pick up some Pabst, too, but once again their PBR stock was sold out. That’s the third time and the second consecutive Friday I’ve gone there and Pabst has not been available. I suppose it’s a good thing — that is if it’s out of stock for the “best for business” reason. While all the other stacks and fridge lanes are full the Pabst spaces are empty.
Here’s a lesson, something not to do when you’re trying to chill beer. The sixer I bought was sitting on a shelf at room temperature in the store so I immediately put the bottles in the fridge when I got home. Later, when I cooked diner, I put two in the freezer, accelerating their cooling. I thought, “I’ll take them out in 10 minutes.” A while later — probably about an hour, long after I had eaten and washed the dishes — I remembered the bottles of Firestone DBA lying next to a carton of my roommate’s ice cream. I ran into the kitchen and took the bottles out, examining each to see if any ice had formed inside. A few weeks ago I accidentally did the same with bottles of Moosehead. The water inside had frozen in a layer along the edges, so I left them out until it liquefied. I couldn’t see any solidification through the brown glass, but I let both bottles sit on the counter for 10 minutes.
Lesson: You don’t want to drink your beer ice cold, as I said last week. You want to let it warm a little so it’s above the temperature of the fridge. Each beer, depending on style, has it’s own unique serving temperature. As an amber ale, Firestone’s optimal temp is 50°-55°F.
Yep, another amber ale. I haven’t been very diverse the last two weeks, but what can I say? I popped the bottle cap off the first Firestone and smelled the bitter, rusty metallic of an amber ale. But this time I think it was all cap. I smelled the bottle and got a much smoother, softer aroma, and the same from the poured glassed. I fucked up the first pour so there wasn’t much head, but my second bottle created a thin, effervescent foam that dissipated quickly, leaving a white ring around the top.
The taste is surprisingly smooth and fresh. Very crisp and clean, flavorful and full of hops. Yet, despite that, it finishes very even and nothing lingers on the palate. It’s slightly bitter and slightly spicy, and the balance is perfect. This is undoubtedly the best amber ale I’ve ever had.
Because it isn’t featured in Kenning’s “Beers of the World,” I went to the Firestone website to learn more about it. DBA is brewed in the British pale ale tradition, namely from Burton-on-Trent. According to the site, they use “patented Firestone Union oak barrels” in the brewing process, which gives the beer “a mild blend of vanilla and toasted oak flavor touched with an elegant hint of English noble hops.” (Since I’m the connoisseur here, I guess I’m the one who should be recognizing these traits. But I’m not. Oops.) Is there a hint of oak in the beer? I don’t know. I’ve never sucked on oak bark before.
Interesting Firestone facts:
-The theme at Firestone is fresh, fresh, fresh. One of the brewers interviewed on the website said beer “should be handled more like milk than bottled water.” Even the carrying case has storing instructions, as if beer drinkers were dumb enough to leave it unrefridgerated.
-Funny quotes from the website videos: “We’re all in the business of social lubrication. I mean, we’re making a mood altering substance.” “It’s not like a crack lab or meth lab or something like that, like we’re stringing kids out on drugs.” “You can only go so far with hard alcohol. It gives you a hang over. You end up getting messed up beyond where you wanted to go. Beer, you can keep a steady flow. You can keep drinking.” “Showing up at the party with a 24-pack of set industrial lager, you’re just bringing the crack, not the love.”
-On one side of the label is the lion of England and on the other side is the bear of California, raising their fists as if about to box. Box!
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
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