Having our good friends from the Central Coastal wine community back to the brewery to blend this beer reminds me of the long strange trip it’s been to this point. When Adam Firestone and David Walker first conceived this brewery, they were determined to incorporate barrels into the process to create their flagship Double Barrel Ale (DBA). The notion of barrel-fermented ales seemed natural for a 3rd generation winegrower like Adam. Their idea was to repurpose the used Chardonnay barrels from Firestone Vineyard and use these vessels to ferment beer. What they soon realized was that these barrels contained yeast and other microflora from the winemaking process, which created while and, at that time, unwanted flavors in their beer. They were forced to scrap the used wine barrel idea and instead turned to new oak barrels to ferment DBA. For 23 years, week-in and week-out, we have stayed true to that process and as a result, oak barrels have been at the core of our beer making program. Ten years after this all began, we introduced the world to our first spirits barrel-aged beer, 10 (or X)—the first generation of the flavor development of beer. These early experiments in barrel aging and beer blending connected us with distillers, coopers and the barrel merchants who support their art. It opened up a whole new universe of beer-making possibilities and created an avenue for us to acreage big, bold beers outside of our core range where we didn’t need to worry about expense or time. Our mantra: If it is possible to be achieved – then we should go for it. Knowing that we needed a number of components to present to the winemakers each year gave us the space to create beers that might not need to stand alone and allowed us to take great risks. After getting more comfortable with leaving beer in barrels for extended periods of time, we were naturally led toward secondary fermentation techniques, being inspired by the Belgian traditions of Lambic production, which includes the use of fruit, wild yeasts and bottle conditioning. Seven years after the first Firestone Walker barrel-aged beer was released, our Barrelworks wild ale facility was born and our next barrel aging and blending program was introduced to the world. Since this program is based on utilizing used wine barrels to incorporate the terroir of our region through the expression of naturally occurring microflora housed in these barrels, we had in fact come full circle to the original notion Adam and David had back in 1996. More recently, we have taken this connection to our local winemaking region even further through the incorporation of wine grapes in the brewing process, creating hybrid, co-fermented beers culminating in what we call the Terroir Project, which is an international brewers collective encouraging other brewers to explore and share their local connection with the surrounding winegrowing community. It’s been an incredible 23-year journey and in some ways I feel like it has only just begun, and there is still so much to learn. For me, carefully putting a well-constructed beer into a barrel and allowing the beer to mature and develop is beer making in its purest form. Developing the intuition to know when the beer needs attention, a change of temperature, a topping up or knowing simply that it needs to be left alone requires patience and experience. We are 23 years in and still fascinated and obsessed with this art form. I hope you enjoy this chapter of the story as much as we do.
In 2019 we continued with the format of asking the winemakers to combine forces and work in collaborative groups. In the end, Sherman Thacher and Daniel Callan of Thacher Winery and Terry Hoage, Phil LaMontagne and Will Freeman of TH Estate Wines, along with our good friends Arie Litman, Pete Slosberg and Steve Donohue, put together the winning blend. This is the second year in a row this tea has taken top blend, and the third time Thacher Winery has been crowned as the top blend creator.
The Blend. This year the winemakers created a blend that is elegant and seamless. In fact, I don’t recall a year when a blend stood so apart from the others in terms of texture. Whether it is the crème brûlée of Helldorado connecting with the smooth milk chocolate of Velvet Merkin; or the mortar-like quality of our tried and true Bravo keeping the Bourbon-soaked cherry notes of Parabola and the vanilla-caramel bricks of Stickee Monkee tuckpointed and aligned—these beers just flow together into an incredible way which no single beer could have accomplished. I will let you pour and discover the rest. This beer is unfiltered and unfined, so there can be a small amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. XXIII is best enjoyed when poured carefully into a half-filled brandy snifter or wine glass. Swirl and allow it to warm to 55F to fully enjoy the pleasing and complex aromas. As the beer sits and breathes in the glass, the true complexity of this blend is revealed, so take your time. If you want to wait to open your bottle later, store it in a cool dark place. Like our other Anniversary offerings, this beer will age well and change favorably for years to come. Truly hope you enjoy our 14th oak-aged blend!
This beer is dedicated to the Firestone Walker Technical Leadership Group, making brewery sabbaticals possible. – Matt
Since founding our brewery in 1996, we have specialised in the rare art of brewing beer in oak barrels. In the fall of 2006, we released a limited-edition, oak-aged strong all called “10” to commemorate our 10th anniversary. This beer was blended with the help of our local winemaker friends, and the experience was greater than we could have ever imagined. We now present XXIII, our 14th release in what has become an annual autumn rite at our brewery.
About The Blending
Every late summer, right before the wine harvest gets rolling, our local winemaker friends come to the brewery to help blend our annual Anniversary Ale. Winemakers are practicing experts in the art of blending, and we realized early on that they could provide valuable input for creating a seamless beer out of numerous barrel-aged component ales. The winemakers come for both the challenge and the camaraderie. They split up into small teams and create their own preferred blends from the provided components Each of the resulting trials is then blind tasted by the entire group, and votes are cast for the winning blend. The victorious team walks away with bragging rights—and with a set of coveted cardboard crowns.
Final Blend
Stickee Monkee (10.4% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (28%)
OF = 27P FG = 10.4P IBU = 56 Color = Deep Brown / Round and full bodied Quad brewed with Belgian Candi Sugar and Mexican Brown Sugar
Parabola (14.4% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (28%)
OF = 33.5P FG = 10.4P IBU = 56 Color = Black / Massive amounts of Roast Barley hopped with Syrian Golding and Hallertau Tradition
Bravo (11.5% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (20%)
OG = 24P FG=4.0 IBU=28 Color=Deep Brown / Strong and lean imperial brown ale hopped with Bravo and Hallertau Tradition
Bourbon Barrel Helldorado (11.5% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (15)
OG=26P FG=2.5 IBU=17 Color=Deep Gold / Lean and focused to express barrel character, hopped with Syrian Golding
Velvet Merkin (9.0% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (5%)
OG=20P FG=5.2 IBU=22 Color=Black / Brewed with Oats and Milk Sugar / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggle
Tequila Barrel Helldorado (11.9% ABV) Aged in Tequila Barrels (4%)
OG=26P FG=5.5 IBU=175 Color Deep Gold / Lean and focused to express barrel character, hopped with Syrian Golding
Distinguished Winemakers and friends who came together for the 2019 blend
Terry Hoage, Will Freeman & Phil LaMontagne – TH Estate Wines (Winning Blend)
Sherman Thacher & Daniel Callan – Thacher Winery (Winning Blend)
Arie Litman – Bread maker and Friend (Winning Blend)
Pete Slosberg – Pete’s Wicked Ale (Winning Blend)
Steve Donohue – Santa Clara Valley Brewing (Winning Blend)
Matt Trevisan & Neal Losey – Linne Calodo
Justin Smith – Saxum Winery
Mark Adams – Ledge Vineyards
Jordan Fiorentini & Kyle Gingras – Epoch Estate Wines
Candice Reinerton – Riverstar Vineyards
Steve Martell – Kaleidos Wine
Alex Kemp & Paul Lopez – Denner Vineyards
Kevin Sass – Halter Ranch Vineyards
Riley Hubbard – Hubba Wines
Kyle Jury & Pete Turrone – Booker Wines
Russell From & Kyle Clement – Herman Story Wines
Brock Waterman & Nicki Fabian – Brochelle Vineyards
Tim Bluhm – Musician and founding member of Mother Hips
Kellen Coffis, Jamie Coffis, Kyle Poppen & Aidan Collins-Smith – The Coffis Brothers
Bobby Fox – Friend
Sally Buffalo – SLO Tribune
I know, “This project is all about creating flavors through blending, and no one knows blending better than a winemaker. The blend of fruity notes and aged notes in this beer works, and have fun reimagining the flavor possibilities,” says brewmaster Matt Brynildson.