Firestone Walker 12

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Sampled on 9/2/2012 during an FW 11-15 vertical. This American Strong Ale pours a dark brown color from a 22oz bottle. Small to no head. The aroma is caramel. wood, boozy and sweet. A full bodied American Strong Ale. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are herbal and earthy. Nice balance. Lots of wood, sweet and bourbon. A little more bourbon and wood than the 11. Nicely balanced. Nice sipping beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and sweet. Aftertaste is slightly sweet. An interesting tasting. The group consensus was that the was not a whole lot of difference between the 11, 12 and 14, but that the 13 was thin and tasted so different from the others we wondered if they changed the recipe.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

2+ year old bottle. Holding up well, though you can tell a little bit of the flavor has faded. super-frikkin smooth, though. smells and tastes predominantly like a barreled stout, but FW makes complex barreled brews better than anyone, and this is no exception, though it is dominated by sweetness and a good dose of roast. i have a feeling my score reflects the age, but even then, still elite! Glad I happened to have a special beer for #2700 :)

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Twelve was an overly complex brew, really felt like there was a bit too much going on and it all wasn't dancing together. Very dry and somewhat acidic. Harshness in the after taste leaving a slow burn down the gullet. A lot of really nice components in here, but just slightly off putting after a handful of ounces.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This beer was brought back to me by a friend concerned that I should try this magical elixer before the beer gets retired. The beer poured a brownish-red with a light tan coloured head. The aroma was roasted malt, coffee, and hints of vanilla and alcohol. The flavour was a bit on the dry side, with hints of malt, fruit, and a soft bittering finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Bottled@omhper. Pitch black colour, not much head. Aroma is wood, some whisky and quite strong on both nuts and vanillaish notes. Also some mild burning alcohol is in there as well as liquorice and some caramel malts. Flavour is equal, but in a really pleasant and mild way. Easy to drink strong and complex beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sampled January 2009
A vigorous pour sneaks up on my and creates a bit of a foam over in my 25cl tulip glass. The head starts out a fat-three-fingers in height with a nicely browned, dark tan color. The beer is quite dark, but more of a concentrated brown than black color, when held up to the light the beer shows flashes of a brilliantly clear, ruby color. The aroma has a nice mix toasted coconut, a light barrel spiciness, lots of vanillin, butterscotch and a finish that has a touch of bourbon like warming to it. The aroma is incredibly smooth for showing so much barrel influence and is actually not quite as powerful as I was expecting. Notes of toffee, hints of dark fruit and some toasted grain notes provide a touch of character underneath the other more dominant notes.

This starts out on the cool side (high 40s to low 50s), but I plan on slowly consuming this over the course of the evening. Thick, viscous and heavy as it first hits my tongue, there is a solid prickle of carbonation as the bubbles struggle to release from the beer. The beer is sweet tasting, but this is balanced a lot by spicy bourbon notes, a lingering woody bite in the finish, a middle that has notes of toasted coconut as well as a roasted malt contribution that is sprinkled throughout. The finish also has a touch of cherry like fruitiness to it, though this quickly succumbs to a more dominant, spicy, bourbon heat (which can be a little too much at times). The sweetened coconut flavors are heightened by barrel influenced notes of vanillin and butterscotch.

As the beer warms up it looses a bit of the sweetness but remains quite rich. This is most definitely a sipping beer. While I was grilling some chicken I was noticing a bit more fruit in the flavor as it seemed to bring out notes of figs and raisins. Dark caramel notes, some solid toffee and some salty caramel start to become noticeable after my third pour of this beer. The flavor has some nice things going on, but it just gets too hot, almost phenolic in the finish because of the barrel spiciness and higher alcohols.

Perhaps not quite as much toasted coconut as the XI, but this certainly has quite a bit of it too. I really like this in strong, barrel aged beers, and it makes me wonder what are they doing / using that most other brewers are not. For some reason I am not quite enjoying this near as much as the 10 or 11, it is not bad, but just doesn't achieve the finesse of either of those brews.