Firestone Walker Brewing
“Bright & in your face” Firestone Walker Bretta Tangerine debuts
There’s a new wild ale rolling out of Buellton, California – Firestone Walker Bretta Tangerine.
This new hybrid wild ale features 1,000 pounds of specially selected Murcott tangerines grown in Ojai, California. According to master blender Jim Crooks, the Murcott wasn’t just a geographical decision. “The aroma coming off the zest was so pungent, bright, and in your face. We knew that it was going to make this beer pop,” he said.
Bretta Weisse serves as the base for Bretta Tangerine, which has seen fruits like blackberries and black currants.
The Final Blend.
The Murcott tangerine concentrate as blended with 15 barrels for Bretta Weisse for fermentation and maturation. Additionally, Crooks took tangerine concentrate from Ventura Coastal and co-fermented it with another lot of Bretta Weisse. The two tangerine lots were blended together with a third lot of 18-month old Bretta Weisse.
Firestone Bretta Weisse is available in 375-milliliter bottles in all markets the Barrelworks line is sold starting the last week of February 2019.
Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Tangerines.)
Availability: 375ml Bottles
Debut: Late February 2019
6.2% ABV
Image: Firestone Walker
Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA may be the best hazy IPA we’ve had yet
In the wild west of hazy India pale ales, one of the best breweries out there is about to release one of their own after a year of experimentation. Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA debuts this month.
Firestone’s brewmaster Matt Brynildson recognizes this hazy IPA trend got its start on America’s East Coast, but according to him, he also sees it starting with Bavarian hefeweizens. This may help explain the flavor profile in Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA.
This can of hop-haze boasts a creamy mouthfeel and tropical-banana aroma according to the brewery. (Where the Bavarian influence comes into play.) The brewing team amplified the esters from the yeast and paired it with fruity hops.
Firestone Walker killed it. In the world of hazy IPAs, Mind Haze is immediately one of the best we have ever had. This beer hits all the high notes of a hazy IPA; it’s a tropical juicy hop explosion, that finishes soft and almost creamy. No weird vegetal or underfermented flavors that some poorly made hazys possess. Brynildson and the brewing team took their time perfecting this beer before releasing it and you can truly taste it. This is a hazy slammer of a year-round release that raises the bar for the style.
“We’re not relying on residual yeasts or starches for turbidity. The haziness and mouthfeel of Mind Haze are cultivated by more stable means, namely using 40 percent wheat and oats in the grain bill while nailing the timing and interplay of our hop additions,” says Brynildson.
It’s this hazy IPA meets Bavaria flavor that Firestone Walker hopes really puts their own “stamp” on the style.
Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA hits the brewery’s entire distribution footprint this week in 12-ounce cans and draft.
Style: Hazy IPA
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: January 2019
6.2% ABV
Image: Beer Street Journal
Firestone Walker takes beer & wine hybrid beers to a new level with “Rosalie”
Inspired by the wine country that surrounds the brewery, Firestone Walker Rosalie debuts year-round this month.
Paso Robles, California, the home of Firestone Walker Brewing Company is known to the rest of the world as a premier wine region. The brewery was even constructed on the Firestone family winery. If that influence isn’t enough, local winemakers are always asked to assist in creating Firestone’s annual Anniversary blend.
The path to Rosalie started in September of 2018 when Castoro Winery harvested 200 tons of wine grapes for Firestone Walker. Grape varieties included Chardonnay, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Muscat Canelli, and Orange Muscat. Chardonnay grapes were tapped to take the flavor profile lead, but brewmaster Matt Brynildson wanted other varieties. “The Chardonnay provides these crowd-pleasing textures and flavors. But we also wanted to weave in the other grape varieties to lift the aromas and add complexity,” he says.
The goal with Firestone Walker Rosalie is to create a beer with the body of rosé wine. A cross-over creation, that blurs the line between beer and wine. The acid profile of a rosé can’t be achieved with normal yeast and malts, so the brewery used some souring techniques to achieve this.
A lightly hopped, pilsner malt heavy wort was created, and blended with pressed grape juice. By co-fermenting the wort with the grape juice, the brewery is essentially making beer and wine at the same time.
Where hops would have been added whirlpool step of the brewing process, Firestone Walker opted to use hibiscus petals. This gives Rosalie it’s pink, rosé wine style coloring, with an extra touch of citric acid which brightens up the palate beer. The result of this complicated brewing process? It would seem like one of the most cutting edge beer and wine hybrids created yet.
Look for Firestone Walker Rosalie in 12-ounce cans year-round this month. Draft will launch in April 2019.
Style: Hybrid Beer (w/ Grapes. Hibiscus.)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Year-Round.
Debut: January 2019
5% ABV
Image: Firestone Walker
Firestone Walker Mocha Merlin is back in cans for fall
Firestone Walker Mocha Merlin is back in Paso Robles, California based brewery’s lineup again for fall.
In 2014, the brewery released a Velvet Mocha Merlin, an oatmeal stout is infused with coffee beans and cocoa nibs. That beer appeared as a part of The Winter Bundle that year. Assuming the beers are related, Mocha Merlin follows the same creamy, coffee path.
The brewery’s can lineup includes DBA, Pale 31, Union Jack IPA, Easy Jack IPA, Pivo Hoppy PIls, Luponic Distortion and new Leo v. Ursus.
Firestone Walker Mocha Merlinis available for a second time 12-ounce cans and draft.
Style: Oatmeal Stout (w/ Coffee, Cocoa Nibs)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft
Debut (Cans): Fall 2017
Latest Return: October 2018
5.5% ABV
PIC: Beer Street Journal
Firestone Walker Dark & Stormy
Firestone Walker Dark & Stormy
Style: (w/ Ginger. Lime. Barrel Aged. Rum.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
11.1% ABV
Firestone Walker teams up with Creature Comforts, creates ‘Mother’s Milk’
Firestone Walker debuts a new collaboration this weekend with Athens, Georgia based Creature Comforts in Paso Robles, California.
Every beer collaboration is born out of friendship and mutual respect for one another’s brewing passions. In this case, the fermented love spans 2,000 miles. Introducing Firestone Walker / Creature Comforts Mother’s Milk.
The base beer is a milk stout that has been aging for nearly a year in rye whiskey barrels – a very intentional move. According to Eric Ponce, Firestone Walker’s barrel program manager, the sweetness of bourbon barrels would have been too cloying. “We designed the base beer with the intent of aging it in rye whiskey barrels—we thought it would be the perfect marriage. The dash of salt just makes everything pop on the palate,” he explains in a recent press release.
Mother’s Milk will be available to all attendees of this weekend’s Firestone Walker Invitational. 12-ounce bottles will be available at the brewery on June 2nd.
Style: Milk Stout (w/ Sea Salt. Lactose. Barrel Aged. Rye Whiskey.)
Hops:
Malts: Two-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee, Crystal 45, Oats
Availability: 12oz Bottles. Limited Release
Debut: 6/2/18
11.6% ABV
Image: Firestone Walker
Firestone Walker Lager
Firestone Walker Lager
Style: Munich Helles Lager
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Year-Round.
Debut: Spring 2018
Image: Beer Street Journal
