Beer News: Nitro Merlin Milk Stout

Black Magic:  Velvet Merlin Transformed into Nitro Merlin Milk Stout

Paso Robles, CA:  With a new ingredient and a bit of wizardry, Firestone Walker's Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout has been transformed into a mindblowing mouthful known as Nitro Merlin Milk Stout, to be released starting on January 6, 2016.

"We've experimented with Velvet Merlin as both a milk stout and as a nitro beer, but this is the first time we've married the two styles." said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson.  "This combination is really magical, to the point where you can't imagine one without the other once you taste it."

Nitro Merlin Milk Stout marks Firestone Walker's first broad-market foray into nitro beers.  It will be available in draft year-round across Firestone Walker markets nationwide--starting with a series of "Milk & Cookies" promotions in collaboration with Brown Butter Cookie Company, a beloved family operation located in Firestone Walker's backyard of California's Central Coast.


Milking It

Nitro Merlin Stout is brewed exactly the same as Firestone's winter seasonal Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout, but with one critical twist; the inclusion of non-fermentable lactose sugar (a.k.a. milk sugar), the ingredient that transforms the beer into a milk stout.

"With a traditional dry stout like Velvet Merlin, you're using these roasted barleys that add astringency, with a fairly high hopping rate that adds bitterness," Brynildson said.  "But when you add milk sugar into the mix, you counterbalance those more astringent qualities.  It's a lot like adding cream to your dark roasted coffee."

He added, "The result is a stout that is still roasty, but with this mellow sweetness and a roundness of body that is only enhanced by the nitro format."

More Velvety

Nitro beer was originally popularized as a way to mimic the classic British cask ale experience, which is known for delivering a thick creamy head and an ultra-smooth mouthfeel with less carbonation.

"The challenge with cask ale is that you're dealing with a live fermentation, and a lot of things can go wrong," Brynildson said.  "Nitrogenating a stable beer is the solution for capturing a similar head and mouthfeel while bulletproofing the process."

When a nitro beer is poured, it is pushed through a dedicated "sparkler" nozzle on the tap that sheers the liquid and knocks the nitrogen out of the solution.

"You get this cascading waterfall effect in the glass and this temporary visual whiteout of the beer," Brynildson said.  "That's the nitrogen coming out of solution, and then it migrates to the top to create this beautiful foam.  The presentation is just fantastic.  Nitro isn't just about head retention and palate smoothness, it's also about the theater of the pour."

He added, "With Nitro Merlin Milk Stout, you've got this dark, roasty beer that looks really ominous, yet on nitro it's so smooth and creamy and drinkable.  It's a visual mindf***, and a complete transformation on the palate--especially with the added dimension of the milk sugar."

Milk & Cookies

The release of Nitro Merlin Milk Stout coincides with a series of "Milk & Cookies" promotions to be held in select markets, with the beer being served with cookies provided by Brown Butter Cookie Company.  The company's signature shortbread cookies are made with browned butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with a touch of sea salt.

"Brown Butter Cookie Company is a hometown favorite created by two sisters here on the Central Coast," Brynildson said.  "This is a pairing of local flavors that taste really awesome together."

Details on upcoming Milk & Cookies pairings will be forthcoming at FirestoneBeer.com.

Resources:

Nitro Edu:  www.firestonebeer.com/beers/nitromerlin/nitro-wizardry.php

Milk Stout Edu:  www.firestonebeer.com/beers/nitromerllin/milking-it.php

Brown Butter Cookie Edu:  http://www.firestonebeer.com/beers/nitromerlin/milk-and-cookies.php

Firestone Walker Brewing Company's Helldorado Debuts July 18th, 2015

Inaugural Bottling of Barrel-Aged Blonde Barley Wine

Set for July 18

Paso Robles, CA: You’ve been warned: Helldorado may be blonde in color, but if you take it lightly, you’ll get gunned downed by a blast of barrel-aged flavor at an ABV of 12 percent.

Indeed, after years as an occasional draft rarity, Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s iconoclastic Helldorado—a blonde barley wine aged in retired spirits barrels—is set to make its bottled debut on July 18.

“The idea behind Helldorado was to create a super blonde barley wine that could still carry the strong barrel character imparted by these intense spirits barrels,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson, “You’ll want to expect the unexpected with this beer.”

Naked & Unafraid

Helldorado was originally brewed to fill a stylistic gap in Firestone Walker’s barrel-aged Anniversary Ale blending program, which is composed of eclectic component ales.

“A few years into the program, we noted that all of our barrel-aged components were really dark and thick,” Brynildson said. “We needed some differentiation in color and style. It got us thinking about how cool it would be to brew this really pale blonde ale, and then age it in spirits barrels to create this naked beer with tons of pure barrel expression.”

He added, “Helldorado is made with just one malt, El Dorado hops and the barrels. I’ve resisted the temptation to blend a little something else into it. It’s just this really interesting expression of barrels beyond anything else we’ve done, and I decided that there was no need to mess with it.”

Tombstone Days

The name Helldorado comes from a fortuitous road trip that Brynildson took with his grandfather to Tombstone, Arizona—home of the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral.

“We were walking around this old-timey desert town and grandpa suggested that we go have a beer,” Brynildson said. “We went to the local saloon and there was this poster on the wall advertising a local event called Helldorado Days, depicting this evil bull scaring the crap out of some cartoon guy—Hellll-dorado!”

At the time of the Tombstone excursion, Brynildson had just begun brewing this blonde barley wine with El Dorado hops. He also knew that the German word for “pale” is hell. “It was just too perfect, so I knew right then, sitting in that saloon, that I’d found the name for the beer,” he said.

The 2015 Helldorado is limited to 3,500 cases of 22-ounce bottles as part of Firestone Walker’s Proprietor’s Vintage Series. It will be available in select markets across the United States. The suggested retail is $16.99.

Collaborative Cross-Continental Dark Saison to Debut at Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest

Paso Robles, CA: Multiple versions of the same collaborative dark saison wild ale—called La Piccola—will be unveiled at the 2015 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest on May 30, capping off a year of cross-continental brewing hijinks between brewmasters Agostino Arioli of Birrificio Italiano and Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing Company.

“With most collaborations, you start the beer together at one brewery, and it gets finished there, resulting in one beer,” Brynildson said. “Agostino and I decided to do something different. We sat down and designed the recipe together, then went back to our respective breweries to brew them on our own. We’ve been emailing back and forth for a year now, trying to replicate what the other was doing.”

It all started at last year’s beer fest, when Arioli and Brynildson hatched their plan to brew a dark saison that would be made with debittered black malt, then soured via secondary fermentation and aged in barrels—and also spiced up with an unlikely twist.

“Like many Italians, Agostino is a true gourmet, and he takes a chef’s approach to brewing,” Brynildson said. “He’s really into exotic spices and he wanted to play around with these Sichuan peppercorns, which are really weird and unique. We had to contact a spice hunter in Italy to get our hands on them.”

After Brynildson brewed his base version of La Piccola, he sent it down to barrelmeisters Jeffers Richardson and Jim Crooks at Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks wild ale facility, where they initiated secondary fermentation and maturation for 12 months in French oak barrels.

In the end, they decided to create one version with the peppercorns (La Piccola Pepe Di Sichuan) and one without (La Piccola Virtuosa). Meanwhile, Arioli is finishing up his own La Piccola made with the peppercorns. All three beers will be first presented at the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest on May 30 in Paso Robles. Bottles of the California-brewed beers are limited to 250 cases each, and two-packs will be available for purchase at the Paso Robles brewery and Barrelworks in Buellton starting at 3 p.m. on May 30.

The base beer was brewed with the same Belgian yeast used to make Firestone Walker’s Opal saison, giving it classic fruit and spice notes. The debittered black malt provided dark color without assertive bitterness. The souring and barrel aging layered in just the right amount of earthy funk. And the peppercorn version presents its own distinctive qualities.

“The Sichuan peppercorns are pretty intense,” Brynildson said. “If you pop one in your mouth, your face goes numb. In the beer, it adds black pepper and lemon zest notes, and it also gives this subtle tingle on the tongue.”

He added, “I can’t wait to try Agostino’s version. It will be fascinating to compare and contrast the final results between the same beer made separately in California and Italy.”

Beer News: Firestone Beer in Cans

CAN DO

Firestone Beers Available in Cans for First Time

Paso Robles, CA—Even after 18 years of brewing, there’s a first time for everything…

Indeed, Firestone Walker Brewing Company is set to release its first-ever canned Firestone beers, with Union Jack (IPA), Easy Jack (session IPA) and Pivo (hoppy pilsner) all being introduced in six packs starting in mid February.

“We could have rushed into canning a few years ago, but we wanted the timing to be right,” said brewery co-proprietor David Walker. “The market for canned craft beer is now hitting its stride, and canning technology has come a long way in a short period. Also, cans are a perfect fit for life here on the Central Coast. All of these factors converged to finally reach a tipping point for us.”

The brewery’s new canning line was made by leading beer packaging company KHS based in Dortmund, Germany.

“It was the best—and most expensive—solution,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “You can make the best beer in the world, but if you run it through a substandard packaging line, you end up with a beer-wrecking machine. With this KHS line, there are no worries about beer integrity.”

The canning line was first fired up last year to produce cans for the brewery’s 805 brand. The cans are dry-rinsed with ionized air and purged with CO₂, then filled. The cans next run through a bubble breaker to remove any air bubbles before being surface purged with CO₂ to eliminate oxygen from the head space. They are then seamed with a Swiss-made Ferrum seamer and inverted for a short period to detect any leaks as they exit the seamer. After a final rinse, cardboard carriers are auto-assembled around the cans. At full speed, the canning line produces 400 cans (12-ounce) per minute.

“I think there are advantages to both cans and bottles,” Brynildson said. “Cans do a great job of blocking UV light and maintaining a great seal, but on top of that they’re just fun. They’re light and they carry anywhere. I get goosebumps just thinking about having these beers in cans.”

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Firestone Walker Brewing Company is a pioneering regional craft brewery founded in 1996 and located in the Paso Robles wine country on California’s Central Coast. The brewery specializes in iconic pale ales and vintage barrel-aged beers. See FirestoneBeer.com. 

Beer News: Firestone Walker's 2015 Sucaba

FIRESTONE WALKER RELEASES 2015 §UCABA

ON JANUARY 17

Brewmaster Spills Secrets on Barrel-Aged Tongue Twister

Paso Robles, CA—Firestone Walker Brewing Company is set to release its first Proprietor’s Vintage Series beer of 2015 with the return of §ucaba—and Brewmaster Matt Brynildson is now spilling a few secrets on the tongue-twisting, barrel-aged barleywine that has been a brewery staple since 2006.

“We’ve never talked about it, but §ucaba is actually a blend of two separate beers,” Brynildson said. “The base beer is what you would call §ucaba, but each year the final blend also includes around 10 percent of another barrel-aged beer, which gives it this chocolaty, dark cherry dimension.”

Brynildson wouldn’t reveal the identity of the other component beer, but he did share some insights into the name §ucaba.

“Back in my early brewing days at Goose Island, I had this massive handheld calculator,” Brynildson said. “I would break it out when we were doing brewing calculations, and the guys would laugh at me and say, ‘Uh, oh, Brynildson’s firing up his abacus again.’ I always liked the word, and finally got to use it as a name for this beer.”

Alas, that original name was later undone by a legal challenge, and so the brewing team simply reversed it to §ucaba as a defiant yet virtually unpronounceable way to maintain the beer’s lineage.

So what’s the official pronunciation? “There is none,” Brynildson said. “SUC-a-buh, SOO-cah-ba, SOO-cab-uh, you hear it all, so it’s kind of fun. But in the brewhouse, we still call it by its original name.”

2015 §ucaba Lowdown

Release Date:  January 17, 2015

ABV: 13.5%   IBU: 42   Color: 36 (Dark Ruby)

Malts: Pale Ale Malt, Maris Otter, Munich, Dark & Light Crystal, Chocolate

Hops: Magnum (bittering), East Kent and Styrian Golding (late kettle)

Aging: Barrel-aged for one year on average in retired Bourbon barrels

Production: 3,500 cases (22-ounce bottles)

Retail: $16.99 (22-ounce bottle). Available while supplies last in select markets across the United States.

Tasting Notes
Big, boozy bourbon and American oak aromas combine with soft chocolate malty undertones. Complex malt flavors are framed in oak with hints of dark chocolate, vanilla, tobacco, coconut and just a touch of dark cherry. 

Cellaring
§ucaba is built to last and will reward careful cellaring (ideal aging temperature: 45F) for years to come. We recommend counting the years with an abacus.