Firestone Walker Bravo
(2017 Vintage)
Tonight, I decided to reach out to the West Coast and sweeten things up after enjoying a couple pilsners during a tough Patriots loss! Anyhow back to the sweet part of the night brought to my glass from one of my favorite breweries. It was Firestone Walker that was part of my barrel aged beer enlightenment many years ago and they haven't stopped producing delicious beers year in and year out. We were lucky enough to get a short stint of distribution here in Maine just as they changed their format from 22oz barrel aged beers to 12oz bottles and luckily I squirreled away a few bottles of some of those releases and Bravo was a sleeper in the bunch! Billed as an Imperial Brown Ale that checks in at 13.2% abv this beer is not one to be taken lightly!
Bravo pours a deep mahogany color with a finger of gaseous thick eggshell foam. The nose is robust with bourbon soaked caramel malts, vanilla, brown sugar, warm booze and pecan pie. The palate is silky and has amazing barrel integration from start to finish. The balance between viscous sweet flavors being accentuated by warm alcohol and a touch of bitterness creates harmony and drinkability you rarely find in a beer with this amount of alcohol.
Salted caramel, medjool dates, graham cracker, bourbon soaked vanilla beans, creme brûlée, tootsie rolls, bitter walnut, pecan pie, raisin.
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