Firestone XX Twentieth Anniversary Ale by Firestone Walker

15384465_10103789156182600_7001657447950250330_oRating: 7/7

Firestone XX Twentieth Anniversary Ale by Firestone Walker is a 13.80% ABV World Class Strong Multi-liquor Barrel Aged Style Hybrid Blend Ale.

Description: (Please Click On The Strategy Guide/Letter From Firestone Walker and the Box)
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==Introduction==

The time has finally come for another review of some of the best World Class beers out there. Each year, I wait in anticipation for these releases. Many know Firestone Walker for being one of the best breweries when it comes to their barrel program and have maintained that status for many years. Their ability to brew barrel aged beers and create delicious Cuvees has been outstanding from release to release. They celebrate 20 years in business bringing many awesome beers like Double Barrel Ale, Double Jack, Parabola and Velvet Merlin just to name a few. Today I bring their anniversary beer to the site and it is with damn pleasure to see what this 20th year brings. Cheers to many more years!

Aromas:
Rocky road ice cream, almonds, walnuts, hazelnut nectar, rich marshmallows, chocolate smores, oatmeal cookies, oreo cookies and cream, flan, chocolate chip cookies, whiskey, brandy hints, dark fruit raisins, plums, figs, dark cherries, currants, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, prunes, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, Belgian Chocolate, German Chocolate, Chocolate milk shake, bananas, clove spice, honey comb, waffle cone, vanilla, dulce de leche caramel, bourbon, rich oak, toasted coconut, almond joy chocolate, Irish Cream coffee, Danish Cream cookies, capirotada raisin bread pudding and Chocolate Banana Sundae.

Flavors:
Dark fruit raisins, plums, figs, dark cherries, currants, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, prunes, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, Belgian Chocolate, German Chocolate, Chocolate milk shake, bananas, clove spice, honey comb, waffle cone, vanilla, dulce de leche caramel, bourbon, rich oak, toasted coconut, almond joy chocolate, rocky road ice cream, almonds, walnuts, hazelnut nectar, rich marshmallows, chocolate smores, oatmeal cookies, oreo cookies and cream, flan, chocolate chip cookies, whiskey, brandy hints, molasses, anise, leather, tobacco, sweetened condensed milk, port wine, Irish Cream coffee, Danish Cream cookies, capirotada raisin bread pudding, Chocolate Banana Sundae, cinnamon, coriander hints, stone fruit peaches, dragon fruit, passion fruit, pecan pie, hazelnut nectar and earthy hop notes.

Aftertaste:
Finishing with a grand variety of complex flavors ranging from dark chocolate, dark fruits, oak, marshmallow smores, rocky road ice cream, flan, fruit cake, bourbon, banana split, maple syrup, earthy hop notes and wine notes. No alcohol in the taste, crimson pitch black body, silky smooth, creamy, velvety, chewy and slightly syrupy mouthfeel with and easy to moderate drinkability despite the ABV.

Overall:
For being in the business 20 years, they got their stuff down and hands down, this is ridiculously delicious! They have Cuvee experts for years and even getting winemakers to assist with their creations to make something that is nothing but legendary. The best part about this beer and any of their other anniversary beers is that they have sold them to the public in many quantities for many to enjoy. Now it is your turn, seek this one as it is a must experience!
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Anime Corner:
Gainax and Trigger Studios Crossover characters were all used to represent all the flavors and all the beers used in this beer but in general all the years of blending awesome beers. Moreover, really for celebration in general. Some of the best characters in Anime are in this pairing.

Sources:
http://cdn30.us1.fansshare.com/image/mahoromatic/ogza-fanservice-1437649123.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ywcJbAA.jpg

Proprietor’s Vintage No.001 HellDorado by Firestone Walker

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Proprietor’s Vintage No.001 HellDorado by Firestone Walker is a 13.2% ABV Imperial Blonde Barleywine/Wheat Wine Ale

Label:
Since founding our brewery in 1996, we have specialized in the rare art of fermenting beer in oak barrels. In the fall of 2006, we embarked on a program to barrel age a series of vintage strong ales that would later be used as components of a blended beer. That blend would become our first Anniversary Ale, “10”.

After the release of “10”, we released limited amounts of the component beers on draft only. Many of these beers gained a cult following that craft beer fans raved about and begged for us to put in bottle. Helldorado was one of these beers.

We present the 2015 vintage of Helldorado, an Imperial Blonde Ale or Blonde Barley Wine. Helldorado has the lightest color of any of the beers in our barrel program but carries a great deal of interesting barrel character: vanilla, light char and amazing lavender-honey notes.

Rich boozy honey liqueur character and loads of smooth sweet toasted malt to finish. The El Dorado hops dance in the background without playing a dominant role in the flavor profile. This Blonde Barley Wine is a one-of-a-kind sipping beer built to last and will reward careful aging for years to come.

==Introduction==

One of the many components that have been used in many of the Firestone Walker Anniversary ales, they finally released this one out to the public. While it is limited, you should definitely try to get one as who knows now a days when they will release this one again. It goes without saying that such brews stay around for much longer unless they have a cult following. Even so, who really knows because now that Firestone is under the wing of Duvel, we will probably see even more and more beers come to fruition and more readily available than before. Quantity does not really seem to affect the quality of the beers especially when well handled. Take Ommegang for example, world class in Belgians for example, owned by Duvel. So yeah, this maybe a positive thing. Beers like PNC however, are harder to get as they were brewery exclusive. Anyways, let’s take a look at this one, shall we? Cheers!

Aromas:
Caramel, Vanilla, Banana, wheat, Banana sundae, white chocolate notes, stone fruit apricot hints, peaches, white raisins , lemon peel, coriander spice, cinnamon, Danish cream, flan, sweetened condensed milk, honey comb, dark fruit cherries, plums, raisins, bubble gum hints, coconut, bourbon, butter pecan ice cream, marshmallow, graham crackers, waffle cone, passion fruit, dragon fruit, piney and floral hop hints, honey dew melon, citrus, raw orange like the sun, rocky road ice cream, citrus flower honey, almond joy, pralines, apples, raw oranges, rocky road ice cream and pecan pie.

Flavors:
Rich Rich Banana sundae, caramel, rich vanilla, white chocolate, dark fruit cherries, plums, raisins, bubble gum hints, coconut, bourbon, butter pecan ice cream, marshmallow, graham crackers, waffle cone, passion fruit, dragon fruit, piney and floral hop hints, honey dew melon, citrus, raw orange like the sun, rocky road ice cream, pecan pie, stone fruit apricot hints, peaches, white raisins , lemon peel, coriander spice, cinnamon, Danish cream, flan, sweetened condensed milk, honey comb, tangerine candy, citrus flower honey, almond joy, pralines, apples and cookie dough.

Aftertaste:
Rich coconut, Flan, Leche Nestle/Sweetened Condensed milk notes, oak, white chocolate, milk chocolate, almonds, bananas, flowers, citrus and oak. Slight alcohol in the taste but not detracting from the flavor. Gold Crimson light to medium body, silky, smooth, creamy, velvety and syrupy mouth feel and a sipping drinkability.

Overall:
One of the best Wheat Wines/ Blonde Barley wines ever! Along White Chocolate of course. Damn over the top as always with these Firestone Reserve beers. Why does every bottle of a reserve or proprietor’s series taste so exceptional? You really have to pick any of them out to really understand it. For this, yes!! Damn right it is worth the pick up. So much luscious flavors and the scary thing is that the color of it is so misleading with it’s light body. It boggles my mind how this bottle can be the way it is. The devil really is in the details, or in this case, the liquid.

Anime Corner:
Awoken Hera from Puzzle & Dragons was used in this paring as I wanted to pick a character with a class like I chose for the other reserve and proprietor’s series. The pairing was easy, just find a golden shiny devil character as HellDorado pretty much translate to Golden Hell. Easier said than done as many of the characters I looked for did not fit the bill until I found the “Awoken” version of Hera. With her Golden shine and Red Devilish looks, how could I go wrong with this pairing. She looks like a major bad ass which represents the alcohol and complexity of the beer but the sweet flavors and golden body are clearly on how “Hot” she appears in this pairing.

Sources:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLZgtnBUsAAH-Fo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5FIHXDU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Wv87exg.jpg