Stickee Monkee English Barleywine - Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Ultraman9000

California

4.43/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Tony's Darts Away, served in a snifter.

A: The beer is caramel/amber in color and fairly translucent, with a head the quickly dissipates but leaves a white ring at the edges and leaves solid lacing.

S: With my nose not quite firing on all cylinders (damn allergies!), I whiff a nice blend of vanilla, brown/dark sugar, and butterscotch.

T: Definitely some heat here, but nothing that lingers too long in the throat. Caramel and butterscotch on the palate, with some hops providing just the right amount of balance in the overall flavor. I might be crazy, but part of the taste reminds me a bit of those bear-shaped honey grahams.

M: Medium carbonation, perfect for supporting the lightly-syrupy body and presenting it a non-cloying manner (at least in small servings). Beers leaves a minimal coating on the tongue, with an excellent finish that combines lingering vanilla with a touch of heat.

O: Excellent beer, perhaps a bit bolder in places than Abacus. I'd love to see this make an appearance in the Proprietor's Reserve Series, so others (and myself) could enjoy this heretofore draft-only delight in bottles. Yum!

Serving type: on-tap

10-22-2011 02:51:58 | More by Ultraman9000

johndoe8

California

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap @ toronado sf. Day after the firestone/ninkasi/speakeasy event.

It's hard for me to fully compare this to firestone 14 or abacus, but it definitely ranks up there with both

Very little carb, short head.
Smells sweet.
Tastes wonderful. Reminds me of alpine good to a degree
Heat is not noticeable in my opinion

Definitely could drink more than the 6oz pour they're offering here.

Serving type: on-tap

02-12-2011 20:29:11 | More by johndoe8

largadeer

California

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at City Beer Store. Clear hazel color with low carbonation. Big toffee and vanilla aroma, slight butterscotch, a lot of barrel. Heat is reigned-in. Palate exceeds the nose, showing a nice balance between barrel heat and rich toffee flavors. Full bodied, with light tannin and alcohol in the finish. Finishes very nicely, extremely smooth and palatable. Side by side with Abacus this was slightly better.

Serving type: on-tap

01-12-2012 06:44:02 | More by largadeer

MasterSki

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Toronado. Served in a flute.

A - Thin off-white foam settles to a thin ring, and not much else. Transparent ruby-brown body.

S - Bourbon, oak barrels, cherries, milled grains, treacle, some fruity notes, wood, and a hint of alcohol.

T - Tons of candied cherries, caramel, hint of cocoa, dark fruits, vanilla, and less oak than the aroma suggests. Alcohol is very well-hidden here.

M - Chewy, full body, medium-low carbonation, some tannic oak, and lower alcohol than you'd expect for 12%.

D - This is quite good - reminds me of draft Abacus a little, and definitely one of my favorite FW blend beers. Definitely explains why I like FW14 so much, although I'm puzzled as to why I didn't love FW15 - I must hate Helldorado.

Serving type: on-tap

02-22-2012 06:47:06 | More by MasterSki

UCLABrewN84

California

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank, CA.

Pours a clear copper color with a 1/2 inch foamy khaki head that fades to an oily film on the top of the beer. Small dots and streaks of lace drip back into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, caramel, toffee, and banana. Taste is of malt, brown sugar, sticky toffee pudding, and bananas covered in caramel. Awesome flavors on this one. This beer has a good carbonation level with a crisp and smooth mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good barleywine with lots of complex aromas and flavors. I am very glad I was able to try this one.

Serving type: on-tap

10-23-2011 20:47:48 | More by UCLABrewN84

ngeunit1

California

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Served a cloudy brown-copper color with a little bit of white head. The head fades down pretty quickly leaving behind a touch of lace.

S - Aroma is full of sweet brown sugar and rich caramel malts. There is a touch of Bourbon, vanilla, and some nutty smells as well.

T - Starts off with some sweet rich caramel malts with some brown sugar and some nutty flavors. Through the middle, the Bourbon comes through with some oak and vanilla. The finish is a mix of rich sweet brown sugar and dark fruit with some Bourbon and some booze.

M - Medium-full bodied with very mild carbonation. Feels smooth with a sweet and warming finish.

D - Very drinkable. Very sweet and bold with a nice bourbon mix with the sweet rich caramel and nutty malts.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2012 05:22:24 | More by ngeunit1

ThreeWiseMen

California

4.28/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Reviewed on Saturday November 6th, 2010 at the Firestone 14 release by Wiseman Justin, Wiseman Nick, and honorary wise-ish person Natalia.

Appearance: Amber/Brown; thin white ring. Murky orange highlights. (Justin 3.5/Nick 4.0/Natalia 4.25)

Smell: Sweet bourbon, nicely boozy. Molasses, flowery esters, plums (Justin 4.25/Nick 4.25/Natalia 3.5)

Taste: Molasses, oak-bourbony raisins, flowery esters, carmelized malts, vanilla. Complex and very smooth; harmonious - well put together. (Justin 4.4/Nick 4.5/Natalia 4.5)

Mouthfeel: Boozy/Hot. very Malty. Not very syrupy, actually quite dry (Justin 4.5/Nick 4.5/Natalia 4.5)

Drinkability: Delicious Barley Wine. Beautifully balanced English Barleywine. Harmonious
(Justin 4.0/Nick ?/Natalia ?)

Serving type: on-tap

03-31-2011 07:44:14 | More by ThreeWiseMen

Treebs

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on tap at FOBAB. Served in my FOBAB taster glass.

A: Pours a semi clear brown color with a tan head forming on the pour. Nice retention on the head, it recedes slowly to a thick ring and leaves nice splotches of lace.

S: Dark fruits, caramel and some light baker's chocolate. The barrel is there faintly with some light bourbon and oak.

T: Light bourbon and some heat up front. Sweet honey, dark fruits and toffee all present. There is a spicy hop flavor as well that seems to creep up and recedes at different spots during each sip.

M: Medium bodied with a medium carbonation level.

O: I thought this was solid overall. There was a little too much heat from the booze for me even at 12%. The beer did get better as warmed up so I'd suggest waiting a touch before consuming given the opportunity.

Serving type: on-tap

11-22-2012 01:33:13 | More by Treebs

Retsinis

California

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Short story. It was my wife’s birthday, and we were on our way back home in the San Fernando Valley from San Manuel casino. Neither of us still haven’t had a chance to go to Verdugo Bar, and we made a detour on the way home to check it out. Unfortunately, I didn’t know they don’t open until 6 p.m. so that was a bust. Since it was 4 p.m. we opted to go to Tony’s Darts Away, and were glad we did, as they had this on tap.

Knowing that this is a component to the Anniversary beers, and rarely goes on tap by itself, I was excited to try it.

A: Served in a snifter, roughly a 6 to 8 oz pour. The beer is a hazy brown, with a orange/copper hue. Lightly carbonated, just a ring of thin tan bubbles along the edges of the glass, with no discernable lacing.

S: Great layered scents of vanilla, sweet roasted barley, toffee, light oak, and buttery bourbon. Heat is present, but this smells great.

T: Mirrors the nose, and no surprises. Blended nuanced flavors of vanilla, lightly roasted caramel barley malts, some toast, oak, and toffee. Smooth sipping, quite nice.

M: Sweet, lightly carbonated, full oily to buttery mouth feel.

O: I took a good 30 minutes or so smelling and sipping on this one. I thoroughly enjoyed this, more so than Abacus personally. I hope they bottle this one too at some point, as it has more of that bourbon vanilla I like, and less of the dark fruit notes.

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2011 22:55:32 | More by Retsinis

jethrodium

California

3.78/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Toronado. Pours a dark reddish amber with a small white head that settles to a ring and leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass. The aroma is big caramel, some brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla, some plum, and a bit of brandy. A hint of of alcohol, but not much. The taste is sweet with caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, plum, and some bourbon. The finish is warming with a little alcohol apparent. Big, full bodied beer, but not syrupy. Low carbonation.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2012 23:18:31 | More by jethrodium

womencantsail

California

3.58/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Strong Ale

A: The pour is a dark amber color, perhaps leaning towards brown, with a tan head.

S: The usual sweet, sugar notes of a barleywine are here. I get brown sugar, caramel, and toffee, but there's a weird nuttiness to this beer that seems out of place.

T: This tastes like almost like a really creamy nut brittle with extra nuts. There's a fair amount of alcohol presence as well, a touch of oak, and some good vanilla notes.

M: The body is medium with a nice creaminess and a low to moderate level of carbonation.

D: This was a weird beer. In fact, several of the blending components for FW14 aren't all that great, but somehow they make a delicious final product.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2010 18:09:06 | More by womencantsail