Solace - Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Spikester

Oregon

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours cloudy orange gold with a two finger white head. Few lacings. Head recedes to a tiny ring.
Aroma is rising bread dough. Taste is somewhat puzzling though. First thing I thought there was some macro-type corniness which transitioned to a Belgian type yeast. Has all the goodness of a wheat beer with the take no prisoners yeast flavor. I like it though it probably won't be have a regular place in my cooler.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2010 06:12:40 | More by Spikester

Lothore

California

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Pours a cloudy orange hue with little to no head.

S- Banana, apricot, hints on wheat.

T- Lots of wheat, smooth banana and light fruit with a malty backbone.

M- Medium viscosity and carbonation.

D- This is a great, refreshing summer beer. Not one that I would drink everyday but its a nice change of pace.

Serving type: on-tap

07-23-2010 02:04:57 | More by Lothore

dbmernin83

California

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

In the upper echelon of wheat beers with Sierra Nevada Kellerweisse and Bell's Oberon. A spicy, yeasty brew with soft complimenting fruitiness and slight hops for balance. Thank you Firestone for showing the public that wheat beers can be interesting. I will definitely return to this during the hotter months.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2011 03:44:42 | More by dbmernin83

UCLABrewN84

California

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Schooners Patio Grille in Santa Clarita, CA.

Pours a murky honey orange with a 1 inch fluffy bone colored head that fades to a small cap. Sticky chunks of foam line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of wheat, spices, yeast, and some citrus aromas. Taste is of wheat bread, mild spices, yeast, and some citrus zest. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp and clean mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good wheat beer that is nice and refreshing to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

10-08-2011 19:05:00 | More by UCLABrewN84

Berndt

Washington

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled on 06/13/2012

Aroma - citrus, then Saison "zing"

Appearance - cloudy, orange

Flavor - tastes like a mild Saison initially, with a bit of sour in the aftertaste, along with a bit of German wheat clove.

Mouthfeel - light-medium body, medium carbonation

A good beer - flavorful, especially good in warmer weather. However, I thought it was considerably more flavorful last year, when I had it on draft a few times.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2012 00:21:45 | More by Berndt

weazal

California

3.85/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

S: A mild aroma of primarily earthy orange/tangerine. The grainy wheatness mellows out the sweetness while an appropriately dash of spices balances it all out.

T: Nice creamy smooth body with a little bite of carbonation underneath. Flavor of mostly spices that slowly rolls into a long, earthy/grainy finish.

Serving type: on-tap

06-29-2010 01:19:17 | More by weazal

RJLarse

Washington

3.85/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I bought a couple of bottles of Solace in a grocery store while vacationing in Nevada. Poured in to a pint glass.

Pours a pale yellow gold color and is an unfiltered cloudy. Modest white head leave little or no lace on the glass.

Smell is faint and sweet. There are soft fruit notes like peaches and pears, along with some light grain scents.

Taste is very sweet, more like a witbier I think. A little sweet bread flavor up front and then a ton of sweetness, pears and melons maybe a bit of a pineapple flavor when you put it all together.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied but fairly clean.

Overall a very drinkable and flavorful wheat ale.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2011 00:57:20 | More by RJLarse

anchordrinker

California

3.83/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Hazy, orange-golden appearance that glows in the light. Initially big head dissipates to a small rim. Not much lacing.

S- Sweet banana, spicy yeast, honey, wheat/grainy aromas with subtle citric undertones. Smells like a bavarian hefe with a little more acidic citrus, maybe even a little of sourness in it.

T- Banana, honey, very subtle hints of lemon juice, with an underlying dry grainy wheat flavor that comes through on the finish.

M- Light to medium body, ample prickly carbo further lightens it up.

D- It's very drinkable, but finishing one doesn't make me instinctively reach for another the way some other summer session beers might on a nice, warm spring day like this.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2010 20:15:25 | More by anchordrinker

DoubleJ

California

3.78/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Firestone Walker has a new wheat ale on the block! Because it is a FW product, I expect good things. On to the beer:

It's slightly cloudy with a dark yellow color to it. The head is showing good retention, a little lacing, and a creamy texture. Malted wheat sweetness and a hint of banana and gum in the nose. There's something to it.

So is this a hefeweizen or a pale wheat ale? It's like both in the same beer. Quite a strong taste for the style. Orange banana bubblegum with a dash of clove is the best way to describe the taste. The aftertaste is a littel sweet with shredded wheat flavor. It's light medium carbonated with a medium heaviness.

Success. Firestone Walker has created an American Wheat Ale that's worth a damn, and worth at least a six-pack purchase for the summer.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2010 05:56:58 | More by DoubleJ

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.78/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

i thought this was a very nice fruity summer wheat beer, maybe my favorite of the season thus far. pours a hazy golden to brassy orange color, with an average white head. smells like hefe yeast, banana notes, some spice. flavor is equally yeast dominated with a major fresh banana palate. also some good wheat malts in there that give it a light but flavorful body, and some late hop additions that crisp it right up in the finish and make it feel lighter than it is. feel is excellent for a summer beer, enough body there to maintain interest, but also very drinkable. a good outdoors beer. bright carbonation and quick finish make it a nice refresher without being too fruity or citric. overall a well balanced summer beer, and a major departure from the woody hop bombs firestone walker usually produces.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 20:28:18 | More by StonedTrippin

nickd717

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle from Whole Foods Los Altos.

Pours a hazy copper color with a nice lacey white head that fades to a ring.

Aroma is wheaty with lemon and slight caramel. Subtle but good.

Flavor is wheat, Munich malt, caramel, lemon, banana, spice, and some grain. Decently tasty, but nothing outstanding. Clean, crisp, and somewhat dry on the palate.

Medium body for the style.

This is pretty drinkable, and definitely a reasonable summer wheat beer. Very enjoyable in the right situation. I heard this one was a flop from one of the first people I knew who had it, but I'd disagree. This one should go over pretty well with Joe Sixpack and shouldn't offend the serious beer geek. For an American Pale Wheat Ale, it's pretty damned good.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2010 02:09:14 | More by nickd717

dfbvFBFBDFBDFbVb

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Not a huge fan of wheat beers and to be honest didnt know this was one when I bought it. Really like the flavor of this beer as it's got a distinct flavor that I dont find in any other weizens around. At %6 it's pretty worthy and very drinkable at that. Has become a regular pick up and turned me around on good wheat beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2010 03:29:00 | More by dfbvFBFBDFBDFbVb

irishgurl4

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Firestone Walker shaker pint glass, Solace pours a hazy yellow-orangey-pale brown with a slight white head that dissipates quickly and leaves no lacing. Aroma is very slight but some agitation and warming yields a mild fruitiness. Definitely an American Wheat. Taste is fruity, but not overly, with no real hop bitterness. Aftertaste is kinda earthy. Mouthfeel is crisp and brisk across the tongue. With such a light body and mild flavor, but still packing a decent 6% abv, this beer is highly drinkable and would make a great summer in the backyard beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2010 01:24:34 | More by irishgurl4

Offa

California

3.73/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is good, but a bit strong for what you get.

Hazy pale amber-orange, it has a small off-white head soon vanishes completely. It looks just ok.

Aroma is mineral, grain, hay, some apple, faint hints of clove and banana. It's good, but not great.

Taste is grain, light raisiny alcohol, fermented pears, hint of clove-like bubblegum, lemony zestiness. It's a bit sweet, but has good, well-rounded character and good depth. It has a nice, full feel and is very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2011 00:26:45 | More by Offa

magictacosinus

California

3.73/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a weizen glass from a 12oz bottle. Freshness date is 3/28/12. Oops. Let's see how this is.

Bless these American brewers that are making awesome looking wheat ales - specifically, they seem to all come from California. Yeasty looking appearance, orange to brownish hues, lot's of carbonation... all this is missing is a nice, bold head to make it look as authentic as any great German hefeweizen.

Incidentally, as this is not a hefeweizen per se, it has a large addition of seasonal spices instead that make it a hybrid. This is apparent in the aroma, with mixed results. There's a great yeasty smell resembling toasted banana and coriander (as usual), but there's also lemon rind here and there. No alcohol, yet a sugary backdrop over the slightly acidic aroma.

The beginning is juicy and savoring, complete with thick sugary malts and wheat, as well as a generous portion of fruity yeast. Nevertheless, the middle ends up feeling quite hoppy (which lingers around the tongue the whole time), and the finish is a little too thin and watery. I think this is a great tasting beer, and the spices make it an interesting take on the style, but it's not as thick I like them. I always want my wheat style ales to be a *meal* in a bottle, and this doesn't quite reach that height.

Nevertheless, it is very refreshing. The inclusion of lemon-like spices make a great substitute for an actual lemon or orange, and it's still full of great flavors. I really wish this was as juicy in feel (or spicier in taste), but it's still a good take on the style and is recommended a try.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2012 07:00:10 | More by magictacosinus

maximum12

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to rau71 for this extra in a recent trade, one of the few Firestone Walker regulars that hasn't passed through my intestines yet. 12 oz. bottle popped open while my wheat-hating wife is out & about (or out & aboot, if you're Canadian). Bottle date is MIA.

Pour is liquid. Yellow, too, light. Nose is heavy on the clove & banana, which almost drowns out the background wheat.

Solace could almost stand up to my favorite wheat beer makers in WI, New Glarus...almost. Wheat is more evident in the taste than in the nose, but the classic clove/banana comes on hard on its heels. Fleeting ghost of citrus. Lively & easy to drink, this is one that goes down in ounces rather sips.

Classic wheat beer that doesn't deviate from the formula, but is very easy on the lips. Good beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 02:07:18 | More by maximum12

Zorro

California

3.68/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A new arrival at the local best beer store. When I bought this I expected it to be some sort of wheat beer. I was pleasantly pleased to see it is actually a Saison.

The bottle says "Craftily Unfiltered Ale" and it shows this. Cloudy burnt orange colored ale with a small white head.

The scent at first is peaches and vanilla, the vanilla comes from the Burton Union oak brewing system they use. There is a slight citrus scent here mostly lemon. There might be some coriander in this but I can't for sure id it in this one. Lastly there is some banana and cloves to this so it is sort of a wheat beer.6

Starts out sour and since I haven't been eating candy this must be from how dry the beer is. There is some sweetness here but it takes quite a while to show.

Mouthfeel is good.

Drinkability is OK. This is a sort of weird beer that doesn't really have a style. I would have preferred a saison and a wheat beer as separate beers.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2010 01:31:38 | More by Zorro

gtn80

Maine

3.68/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Obtained through a trade with StarRaptor. Poured from bottle into Guinness tulip glass.

Smell was pretty weak, definitely can tell it's a wheat beer through the aroma, but not a ton of aroma coming through.

Looks orangy yellow, cloudy due to being an unfiltered wheat.

The normal weizen tastes are there, banana & clove, but not in a typical German weissbeir way. Tastes almost citrusy, light.

Mouthfeel is good, silky smooth. Lost it's head quickly, but light and carbonated.

Drinkability is great, even at 6%. Great summer beer, hot weather is perfect for this beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2010 00:05:40 | More by gtn80

McStagger

California

3.68/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Everybody in SB loves Firestone. Loves em! Let's see what this hype is all about.

A: Beautiful pour leads to two fingers of awesomely retentive head. Wow. A shake at the bottom of the bottle leads to two different layers of beer. A top, darker murky layer of off copper transitions beautifully into a bottom layer of almost lemonade color beer. It looks like a perfectly layered Arnold Palmer. Nice.

S: Soap, clove, citrus, some graininess, lemon zest.

T: Citrus rind, cloves, spice, clove again, mild soapy phenols. Nice moderate bitterness to bring through the finish.

M: Flows down. Carbonation doesn't get in the way. Amazing balance.

O: I didn't believe. I thought Firestone was a meh brewery. This beer proves me wrong. Nicely done, Firestone.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2011 10:40:16 | More by McStagger

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a cloudy yellow with good carbonation and a nice white head. Nose is light wheat, banana and citrus. Taste is some citrus, banana and clove. Mouthfeel is lighter bodied with clove, banana and some wheat. Drinkability is good. Would drink again but not to seek out.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2010 04:45:03 | More by barleywinefiend

searsclone

Arizona

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

poured into a pint glass, butterscotch yellow with yeast floaters and a decent head and lace

smells bready and a little spicy

tastes bready, malty, and a little smokey and a mild sweet finish

mouthfeel is somewhat thick with a mild carbonation

drinkability is high, not my favorite wheat beer, but definitely one I will have again.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2010 02:06:24 | More by searsclone

beertunes

Washington

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into 10oz glass. Poured a lightly cloudy, light gold color with a tall, white head that had good retention and light lacing.

A mild wheat scent blends with a bit of hops and some malt. On the tongue the wheat is less noticeable, with the hops being a bit more prominent.

The body is smooth, crisp and well-rounded. Drinkability was very nice, it went down easily and left me wanting another one. Another fine brew from a fine brewery.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2010 21:16:25 | More by beertunes

flexabull

California

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From notes.

Pours a bright gold color with a faint white head.

Nose has a pretty strong honey presence. There are also some cream, and hard candies in there as well.

Taste is creamy, sweet, with that hard candy aspect also there in flavors. The beer has a definite thick feel, honey like, with a citrus lemon like zing on the finish.

Mouthfeel is pretty good. Nice and thick, smooth too.

Drinkability is good. A nice refreshing beverage. Strikes me as being a good gateway to craft beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2010 19:28:22 | More by flexabull

dgilks

Australia

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hazy, pale gold colour with a small, shortlasted white head. Fine.

Clear, orangey, witbier yeast. Nice balance. Soft. Slightly frainy.

A touch sweet. Wheaty. Mld fruitiness. A decent witbeir but not as good as the aroma.

Meidum body with moderate carbonation. Decent.

A solid if unexceptional witbier. Fine.

Serving type: on-tap

07-01-2011 21:42:52 | More by dgilks

Gavage

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: hazy orange yellow with a short wispy head.

Smell: yeast and some citrus tones come through to the nose.

Taste: mild malt profile with some grassiness, a bit of pepper, lemon zest, and an overall earthy quality. Bitterness is mild.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Very crisp throughout and mildly refreshing.

Overall: an easy to consume beer. This one is not overly exciting either, but drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2011 15:40:59 | More by Gavage