The Paso Robles brewery now has this year's Brewmaster's Collective available, providing 21 rare and exclusive beers delivered in four quarterly shipments, plus a welcome beer. The hand-curated collections by Head Brewmaster Matt Brynildson features an array of barrel-aged offerings from Vintage and Barrelworks programs in small-batch creations. The collection allows the brewery to continue to push its creativity, innovation, and traditions.
The cost for the entire year of the Brewmaster's Collective is just $399 plus tax, or $425 with five installments of $85. Enrollment is open now and will continue until capacity is reached. You can find out more here: https://www.firestonebeer.com/brewmasters-collective/.
The brewery was kind enough to send me a handful of the new selections. They are:
XXVIII Anniversary Ale - Blended Barrel-Aged Ale
This is the 18th edition of the Anniversary Ale, which this year celebrates the 27th anniversary of the brewery. The blend mixes five distinct ales which were aged in bourbon barrels.
Brynildson says this Anniversary Ale is the most eclectic. He calls it a "testament to the blending skills of our winemaker friends." The blend is created each year by a collaboration between the brewer and local winemakers. He figures, who knows more about blending than winemakers?
Brewmaster's Tasting Notes: "The finished blend is deep dark mahogany in color and expresses decadent up-front barrel aromas with notes of toffee and cocoa powder close behind. The mouthfeel is smooth and silky with rich caramel flavors complemented by toasted nut, vanilla and coconut accents. An absolutely stunning barrel-aged beer and a true testament to the winemakers' skill in blending not only for aroma and flavor, but also for texture."
The five ales:
33% - DDBA Batch 10k – Aged in Wheated Bourbon Barrels - Imperial Special Bitter
29% - Dividing Time – Aged in Wheated and Rye Bourbon Barrels - Munich Wine Made in Collaboration with Private Press
13% - Bravo – Aged in Bourbon Barrels - Imperial Brown Ale
13% - Rip This Joint – Aged in Bourbon Barrels - Imperial Stout Made in Collaboration with Side Project
12% - Velvet Merkin – Aged in Bourbon Barrels - Milk Stout
This beer has alcohol at a wine-like 12.5% abv.
This dark brown beer has a beautiful nose, full of rich coffee, chocolate and bourbon notes. A nice light brown head dissipates over a few minutes. The palate is simply amazing. Smooth and creamy, this looks and drinks like a stout, but with much merrier flavors - mocha, espresso, a hint of anise and nutmeg. It is a wonderful thing to have around the holidays.
The rest of the sampler:
Apple Jack Flash 2023 Vintage
This is an English Style Barleywine Ale. The brewers say they sourced "freshly pressed apple juice from Gizdich Ranch in Northern California and combined it with English Barleywine before fermentation." They then "matured the beer in AppleJack barrels for 12 months."
I am told that applejack is basically an apple brandy, a beverage which was produced and consumed by the American colonists as early as the late 1600s. Alcohol sits at 12% abv.
This beer has a chestnut color, with cream colored foam made up of fine bubbles. The nose gives nutty coffee notes and sweet caramel, like a custom-made candy bar. The palate has great acidity and a fruity edge to the malty flavor.
Rip This Joint 2023 Vintage
This is an Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels, which pretty much tells the whole story. Alcohol is even loftier here, at 13.9% abv.
This brew is as black as night. Almost no foam, and what is there dissipates quickly. The nose offers notes of strong, black coffee, chocolate, anise and vanilla. The palate is thick and malty. Those chocolate and coffee notes are here as flavors, too. This is one amazing stout.
Between Two Grahams 2023 Vintage
Another Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels, this one has chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon in the blend, with alcohol at 11.5% abv.
The wine is dark brown, with a head that dissipates quickly. The nose and palate both offer a mix of spice and sweetness. The flavor makes me think of a cross between a Vanilla Coke and a cup of strong coffee.
Balaton Bones
This is an American Wild Ale fermented with Balaton Cherries. This type of cherry has a sweet-tart flavor and is said to be an exceptional fruit. Alcohol is much lower in this one than in the other beers in the sampler, at 6.3% abv.
This unusual beer pours up looking cherry-red, but after the pour is complete it has more of a raspberry tint. The nose offers what wine people might call a foxy aroma, rather like a wine made from North American grapes. The more I sniffed it, the more it reminded me of a Muscadine wine. As for the palate, sweet-tart is a good descriptor. It tastes a lot like the candy of the same name. Whether that is a good thing or not depends on your tolerance for Sweet Tarts. This was my least favorite beer of the five in the sampler, but I am not a fruit-in-my-beer guy in the first place.
The other four beers I tasted were astoundingly good, good enough to justify springing for membership in the Brewmaster's Collective Beer Club.
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