Union Jack

Beer Name: Union Jack
Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
ABV: 7.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Something happened 3/20/12, probably bottled

I would have to guess that this is the standard version of Double Jack, which I enjoyed immensely. So there's that going for it.

Union Jack is a light amber beer with a hint of orange to it. It poured with just over a finger of thick fluffy head, which faded away very slowly and left a heavy, heavy, lacing pattern behind. The aroma is very interesting, with sweet citrus hops as the main event and piney hops and malt in the background. Further into the pint, the pine aromas come through a bit stronger as the citrus fades.

The flavor of this beer follows pretty closely to the aroma, with the bitterness from the hops starting off each sip and some malt balance in the finish. The carbonation is pretty light, and the finish is a little dry.  There's an aftertaste of bitterness, but a little sweetness clings to the tongue as well.

Final thought - This is a very nice beer, enjoyable from start to finish. It's pretty much everything you could ask for in an IPA. It's just not quite as good as Double Jack. But it is more affordable, so that's good news.

-Jon

Walker's Reserve Porter

Beer Name: Walker's Reserve Porter
Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
ABV: 5.8%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 4/21/11

I really need to start looking more carefully at bottles before I buy them. Although if this beer has been treated properly, that ancient bottling date is not going to make that much of a difference. Someday I aspire to have a dedicated area for storing beers in the cellar, or possibly even a large refrigerator for dedicated long-term storage. That would be pretty sweet.

Walker's Reserve Porter is a very dark beer, but not that dark for a porter. It's dark brown with some reddish and ruby highlights around the edges, and it seems a little thin. It poured with about 2 fingers of head, and then left a good lacing pattern behind. There wasn't much of an aroma at first, but as the beer warmed up, some muted hop aromas came through along with expected roasted malt notes, mostly dark chocolate. It's a fairly pleasant smell.

There's a good mix of hops and malt in the flavor of this beer, and a little more hoppiness than a standard porter, I think. It adds a little bitterness to the end of each sip and keeps my tongue on its toes. The hops are not citrusy and not piney, but they're noticeable, and the maltiness has a nice taste of chocolate. The beer has some carbonation, and it finishes slight bitter with a malty aftertaste. The mouthfeel is a little thin, but the flavor tries to make up for that.

Final thought - This was a pretty good beer. I was a little nervous after finding that old date on the neck of the bottle, but it turned out that I was worrying for nothing. Another enjoyable beer from California, e.g. the state we'll someday randomly pack up all our stuff and move to.

-Jon

Double Jack

Beer Name: Double Jack Double IPA
Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
ABV: 9.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle poured into a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I knew I was doing it wrong, but I was too lazy to do anything about it before. Generally when I say "pint glass," I am talking about the standard tumbler that everyone is used to seeing. However, I should have been making the distinction since it could have been a nonic or becker glass, so in the future I'll be sure to clarify.

Double Jack is a golden orange beer that pours perfectly clear with a good fluffy head almost two fingers high. It faded away fairly slowly and left a very heavy lacing pattern. There's a nice aroma of citrusy hops, but there's also enough sweet malt to predict a balanced flavor later.

Wow. This is a great tasting IPA. There's a bunch of citrus flavors with the bitterness from the hops at first. Then the malt kicks in to keep things from getting too hoppy. It finishes with a light bitter flavor, but the aftertaste is nice and sweet. My only mild complaint is that there could be just a little more carbonation to slow my consumption down a little. Other than that, it's very smooth and easy drinking.

Final thought - This beer is absolutely fantastic. That's all that needs to be said. Go find it, buy it, and drink it.

-Jon