NOTE: This beer has aged in the bottle for nearly 2 years.
Flashlight shows as a deep garnet spot, no real head retention, smells of plum, raisin, and cinnamon. The taste is semi-sweet and fruity with flavors of cinnamon raisin bread, fruit cake, chocolate, plum, and cherry on a silky smooth full body. The finish is long and moderately high in bitterness, featuring notes of dark chocolate, coffee, charred oak, and boozy bourbon. Overall this one is a bit more straightforward and “Stout-like” than the XXVII, but still balanced and layered with delicate notes of fruit and spice.
October 2023 Vintage
About The Blending
Every summer, right before the wine harvest gets rolling, we invite our local winemaker friends to the brewery to help blend our annual Anniversary Ale. Winemakers are practicing experts in the art of blending, and we realized early on that they could provide invaluable input for creating a seamless beer out of numerous barrel-aged component ales. The winemakers come for both the challenge and the camaraderie. They split up into small teams and create their own preferred blends from the provided components. Each of the resulting trials is then blind tasted by the entire group, and votes are cast for the winning blend. The victorious team walks away with bragging rights and with a set of coveted cardboard crowns.
XXVII Final Blend
Batch 10,000 DDBA (12.3% ABV) Aged in Wheated Bourbon Barrels (33% of blend)
Imperial Special Bitter OG=27.5P FG-6P IBU-26 Color-Ruby / A double version of our flagship DBA, fermented in oak barrels and aged in Old Fitzgerald bourbon barrels. Brewed to celebrate our 10,000th batch of beer made in Paso Robles.
Dividing Time (13.0% ABV) Aged in Wheated and Rye Bourbon Barrels (29% of blend)
Munich Wine OG=32P FG-10 IBU-40 Color Mezzo Forte / A collaboration brew made for our Brewmaster’s Collective beer club with Private Press brewing, who created the Munichwine style specifically for barrel aging utilizing Munich malt in place of pale malt as its base. A rich, malty, nutty Barleywine.
Bravo (12.2% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (13% of blend)
Imperial Brown Ale OG=26P FG=4.5 IBU-35 Color-Deep Brown / A longtime beloved base beer used to blend our Barleywines. Old school and lean. Hopped with Brave and Styrian Golding hops.
Rip This Joint (13.9% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (13% of blend)
Imperial Stout OG=35.5P FG-15P IBU-55 Color-Stop the Show Black / A massive stout brewed with our good friends and longtime FW Invitational Beer Fest attendees Side Project Brewing. Aged in very rare 10-year-old Henry McKenna barrels.
Velvet Merkin (8.5% ABV) Aged in Bourbon Barrels (12% of blend)
Milk Stout OG=19.5P FG-4.0 IBU-30 Color=Black Velvet / An old friend from the barrel program which goes into barrels as a 5.5% ABV milk stout and comes out as a complex and rich 8.5% velvety fudgy delight. Brewed with oats and milk sugar. Hopped with 100% Oregon-grown Fuggle.
