When my rep. from Maletis asked me a week ago if I was interested in Firestone Walker’s ‘14’ – the barrel aged ale they released in honor of their 14th anniversary – I jumped at the chance to get hold of some of it for the store.

For their 10th anniversary, Firestone Walker’s Brewmaster, Matt Brynildson, told his brewery staff to come up with the most interesting beers they could think of to help celebrate the event; some of which were outside the norm for the brewery. Brynildson then handpicked a panel of winemakers & other brewing experts to taste and blend several barrel aged ales into the final product. This process has again been repeated for their 14th anniversary in the creation of ‘14’.

Treating the blending of beer much like blending wine, the panel tasted through a selection of the brewery’s barrel aged beers including Parabola, Velvet Merkin, rarer beers such as Bravo and Double Double Barrel Ale, and two new barley wines called Good Foot and Sticky Monkey. They then determined exactly what proportions of these ales would become the final product.

It was sampled at the Holiday Ale Festival the first night, so if you fell in love with it, we can help you out. This beer is made for ageing, but is very limited, so if you’re interested, come pick up a bottle or a few at our SW Portland store while it lasts!