Why we picked it: Firestone Walker is a great brewery and this beer rated very well. Plus I like the name "Wookey." Similar style to yesterday's beer except this is a Black Rye IPA. I'm going to guess a lot of people will like this one more than yesterday's beer.
About Firestone's Wookey Jack: A riff on the familiar Black IPA style, Wookey Jack is gnarly on the outside yet refined on the inside. Malted Rye and a dash of Cara Rye impart a spicy grain quality to the palate, while double dry-hopping with Citra and Amarillo hops brings a citrusy dimension to the aroma profile. The brewing team also claims to have incorporated a bit of “Wookey Dust” into the recipe. The beer is black in color, but if you close your eyes and taste it, you’ll say it’s a true IPA. Wookey Jack is unfined and unfiltered to retain its woolly natural texture and character.
Beer Advocate Score: 94
Style: Black Rye IPA
Malts: Pale Malt, Malted Rye, Dash of Cara-Rye, Midnight Wheat from Briess, De-Bittered Black Malt (Weyermann - Germany/Patagonia malting - Chile), Dash of Wookey dust
Hops: German Magnum (bittering), Citra & Amarillo (flavor/aroma and double dry-hopped)
Fermentation: 100% Stainless Steel
Color: 45SRMFermentation: 100% Stainless Steel
ABV: 8.3%
IBU: 80
Case Cost: $70 ($13 for a 4 pack)
*website: http://www.firestonebeer.com/beers/products/wookey-jack
Oh man...now that is a tasty beverage! Back to back with the Mendocino this really stands out. Nice head and incredible lacing. There are citrus notes in here but only from the citra and Amarillo double dry hop. So many layers of flavor. You get a tease of the rye up front (wish there was more in the grain bill) but it gets eaten up by the dark malt. At 80 IBU's, those hops are assertive (like my wife)...little grapefruit, pine and pineapple...so nice.
ReplyDeleteI'll grab a case of this real soon. I'm also adding this to my draft lineup before the month is out. It ain't cheap but if you find yourself only able to have one beer (terrible situation to be in), this is a good beer to have.
I'll snag a case if this
Damn, that's a good way to start the weekend, I sure wish I had another. I believe this one has pulled ahead of Toaster Pastry in my book.
ReplyDeleteSo I had this in August in Long Beach. At the time I was disappointed since it was listed on the menu as an IPA and I was expecting something light and hoppy and suitable for drinking in an oceanfront bar. So my expectations for tonight were quite low. I had mentally composed my negative comments on my cold walk home from the Metro as I checked and realized that most Firestone Walker beers have been pretty underwhelming although for some reason I still get all excited when I see the beers.
ReplyDeleteSo I opened this up with about as low an expectations as I had for the toaster pastry. Noticed it was a Black Rye IPA and with the benefit of a pint glass, I knew it was not going to be a standard IPA. And maybe it's the weather, but this tastes great. Still would probably vote for a real porter over a black IPA but this is much better than that bird beer from last night. I'd definitely seek this out and buy it again. And that 8.3% explains why details of that night in Long Beach get a bit fuzzy.
So the key is to expect nothing and then you are pleasantly surprised. That lesson is true not just for beer but for life in general. To quote Ben Harper, "if you're happy with nothing, you'll be so very happy with me. The less you expect, the more you'll be pleased." Christ, now I'm quoting Ben Harper which means (a) I'm old, and (b) I'm drunk. This does not bode well for Samichlas day tomorrow....
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ReplyDeleteSorry, horrible typos and I didn't know how to edit my comment...
Delete"Would accept another"
ReplyDeleteNice rye and hop sweetness, good hop bitterness throughout, nice aftertaste. Good mouth feel for an IPA.
Very refreshing....
Pleasantly surprised!
I'll name this one The Dark Knight. Thought I couldn't handle a Black IPA. Fantastic. Going to find more.
ReplyDeleteThis beer is great and the name reminds me of wookies and that reminds me the new starwars comes out soon. I feel as if its my duty to sneak a few of these into the movies.
ReplyDeleteOh and having a few face plants afterwards is pretty good too. Happy Friday everyone
DeleteI heard about the hype behind Firestone Walker before I even knew it was a brewery. Ive only had 2 of their beers and both were utterly forgetable. In fact I can't even remember which beers they were. So like Bill said low expectations.
ReplyDeleteAll that changed after the first sip! Man I fuck with this hard!!!! I liked the Mendocino yesterday but this just outclassed it. The malts hit hard! The hops hit hard! They both paired up amazing.It was all around bursting with flavor! Easily the best of the lineup so far. Got the feeling it will be in my top 5 at the end. A-
This seems to be a crowd favorite but I disagree. Maybe I'm not a rye fan but I prefer the other beers we've had so far to this. Maybe it is because I guzzled it since I had just finished a run.
ReplyDeleteProbably wont be on the top rated 1/2 of these beers for me either
DeleteFirst, TommyD – You are correct, I do love this stuff. It’s one of my favorites. Lately, I find most rye beers to be right in my sweet spot. I grab a 4 pack of this stuff whenever I find it.
ReplyDeleteSecond, Bolts (and Katy) – I had no idea there was an award for best post of the month. Does anyone else know this?
On to Day 4! I’m already biased, this beer being a favorite of mine. I love the package – the squatty bottle and classic label art with a bear and lion squaring up for what I like to believe is a beer-induced “debate” about whether or not there is actually strawberry flavor in the Toaster Pastry ale. I don’t know how long Firestone has been around, but it’s gone down in my book as one of those breweries that just doesn’t make a bad beer – Ommegang and Bell’s are on that page, too. I haven’t tried all of Firestone’s stuff, but the ones I have had are super solid. My tastes do tend to shift around a bit over time and I’m definitely in a place where black rye IPA’s work great for me as long as the components play nice together, which is exactly what’s happening with the Wookey Jack. The rye is earthy/spicy without being metallic or overly astringent, the roasted grain is toasty without being ashtray, and the hops compliment and balance without trying to steal the show. That’s craft brewing right there. I would really like to know what “Wookey dust” is, but only if it’s real. If it’s not a real thing don’t tell me – I think it will just annoy me.
Wookie dust...I'm pretty sure it's crack.
DeleteThen again it could end up being a bit like Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and the mutha fuckin tooth fairy.
I'm pretty I bought Wooky dust from a shaman in a New Mexico desert years ago.
DeleteAlso, now that I know there's an award I'm going to put some real effort into it... or at least go into past years' and rip off Brad's old posts.
I started paying attention to rye beers when I noticed some friends posting them on Untappd. I had never heard of a rye beer, so tried a few and have really become a big fan. One of my local favorites is Union's Rye Baby. So I was looking forward to this one and was not disappointed. The nice thing about a well made rye IPA is that the rye doesn't fight with the hops. Somehow the flavors coexist and really compliment each other. Anyway, this one goes on the keeper list. Nice choice!
ReplyDeleteFull disclosure: I've had this beer quite a few times. It is one of my favorites and one of the best examples of its style. Does everything right. A.
ReplyDeleteBetween a new job and being sick, this is my first beer! For the first time in 5 years, I have not kept up with a beer a night. But it was a great way to start! Wow, so smooth, silky, dark, great head. Loved it! A little too bitter for my taste but after a long day, it was a great way to end the week and start the weekend! B+
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony, Mark and Tommmy D! Great job! (I know Katy helped too!!!)
Glad to see you're back Joe!
DeleteI'm not going to lie to you, I didn't pay much attention while drinking this beer. I started drinking this while finishing up work for week and the next thing I know, my glass was empty. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I do remember a distinct after taste that I enjoyed. I think I'm starting to realize that I like black IPA based on the last two beers.
ReplyDeleteI've had this before and it's still delicious. Unlike other 24-DoBers, I've always bought into the Firestone hype. Easy Jack, Pivo and especially Opal are excellent, but this ranks with any of them. It's balance is about as good as it gets with just the right amount of malt with a hoppy finish, but with little aftertaste other than a hint of citra in the nice hop dryness. Plus, I get to look at an image of a lion fighting a bear. A nice bpnus. 4.5/5 (using the Untappd scale, as I should've done from the start.)
ReplyDeleteThose few of you who blogged today...well done. The rest of you...piss poor effort
ReplyDeleteNucleus!
DeleteVery good beer. I drank this yesterday and tried to blog from my phone, but run into some difficulties. So I had the two black IPAs back to back yesterday. The bird beer was roasty and to me, below average. This was much better and really showed what a well crafted beer is supposed to be like. Every beer I have had from Firestone has been exceptional. Grade 9 of 10, A
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm late with this one - started very early yesterday afternoon and slowly diverged further off the path as the day wore on. But anyway...
ReplyDeleteSo many brewers try to do too much with black IPAs, giving us more of everything all at once and producing something closer to a muddled porter. But I like most things from Firestone, and I really like their Double Jack, so I had generally high hopes for this one. And I'm pleased that they came through with a great example of how to do it right, giving us a beer that combines a proper IPA with black rye-ness in almost ideal measure. It's pretty to look at, enticing to smell, and delicious from first drink to last. Compared to the Mendocino from a few days ago, this one had me hoping for more. Well done, 24Days, well done!
I had a hard time distinguishing the two black IPAs in a row, but I think I liked this one more? Again, I'm IPA'd out this season so that's making me rate these particular beers as middle of the road for me.
ReplyDelete