Firestone Walker Brewing Parabolita - Salted Caramel

Parabolita - Salted Caramel

 

Firestone Walker Brewing in Paso Robles, California, United States 🇺🇸

  Stout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Series
Score
7.74
ABV: 9.2% IBU: 40 Ticks: 54
Salted Caramel Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout with Vanilla Beans, Cocoa Nibs, & Sea Salt
O.G. 24.0 p
F.G. 7.0 p
Color 100 SRM
Yeast British Ale
(from label)

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Salted Caramel Stout
(from https://www.firestonewalker.com/beer/parabolita)

a delicious reimagining of our iconic Parabola barrel-aged imperial stout

To create this first-ever canned Vintage beer, we aged a selection of Parabola for one year in premium bourbon barrels, then blended it with a complement of Velvet Merlin Milk Stout to create a silky mouthfeel and a more approachable ABV of 9.2%.

Finally, we infused the beer with Madagascar vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, and sea salt to achieve a full salted caramel-style drinking experience.

“Parabolita has the girth and richness of Parabola, but with a creamier texture,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “The cocoa nibs and vanilla really accentuate the beer’s boozy caramel malt character. It somehow manages to be massive, mellow, and drinkable.”

Barrel Program Manager Eric Ponce added: “The dash of sea salt acts just like it does in food. It makes the aromas pop, elevates the flavors, and and adds texture to the mouthfeel.”

“We were envisioning a chocolate-covered salted caramel with this edition, but there are other flavor themes that we might want to explore down the line,” Matt said.
(from https://www.firestonewalker.com/introducing-parabolita-2022)

We know what you’re thinking though: chocolate? Vanilla? Caramel? A dash of sea salt acting just like it does in food? When we initially introduced Parabolita to the world, we took some friendly flak from a few beer purists who didn’t like the sound of a high-gravity stout infused with flavors they normally associated with meals you normally only treat yourself to after you’ve finished your dinner.

The term “dessert beer” was thrown around, and apprehension was in the air.
 

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8.3/10 Appearance 9 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 8.5 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
Canned 8/30/24, drunk 1/27/25.
Very large, lighter-tan head is well-retained. Pretty impressive for a BA stout. Dark body, can't determine the clarity.
Lots of vanilla, soft and rich, with some salinity and acidity (roast and dark fruit) right behind it. Very chocolatey, with lots of cacao. Really getting mostly vanilla, though, as it warms and breathes. Sadly, it seems like they only put enough BA stout in this so that they could call it that, as I don't get ANY bourbon/barrel character. Though it is mellow, rounded, not sugary, not boozey, so I guess the barrel has at least done some work here.
Soft, sweeter, tons and tons of vanilla and cacao with milk chocolate galore and a medium body. It's not syrupy, nor is it thick, but it's not thin, either. There's just a pinch of bourbon character here (tannin and very minor spice) which helps elevate and balance the sweeter elements here. It's incredibly soft, supple, velvety and really, really drinkable, though you really have to like chocolate and vanilla flavors to appreciate it. Really nicely balanced with a bit more bourbon/barrel tannin emerging as it warms. No alcohol noted whatsoever. A nice change of pace from the super syrupy, motor oil BA Imperials.
Tried from Can from Crafted on 27 Jan 2025 at 22:51

7.9/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Optisch schonmal eine echte Schönheit, schwarz wie die Nach, Cappuccino-Sahneschaum, in der Nase deutlich Karamell, im Trunk ölig, Schokolade, sehr süß, aber auch echt mächtig. Alkohol ist auszumachen, Schnapspraline. Nicht ganz einfach zu trinken.
Tried from Can on 25 Jan 2025 at 17:40

8.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9.5 Flavor 8.5 Texture 8 Overall 9
Can from Total Wine & More, Brentwood. Opaque black, light viscosity, thin head, good retention, nice lacing. Aroma is strong roasted malt, caramel, cacao nibs, vanilla, salt, bourbon. Taste is strong caramel, bourbon, vanilla/lactose, over cacao, late roasted malt. Smooth/frothy texture, soft carb, finish as taste with mild bitterness. Great strength, very nice complexity and balance. Aroma bests taste but really good.
Tried on 17 Jan 2025 at 23:45

8.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 9 Overall 8
16 oz can, thanks to Tom. Aroma is mild oak, soft roast, and a hint of caramel. Plenty of flavors going on here. Oak, bourbon, chocolate, caramel. Real good mouthfeel and does have a salted caramel character to it. Nice!
Tried from Can on 17 Jan 2025 at 23:43


7/10
Tried from Can on 13 Dec 2024 at 19:03

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Can at home shared with Laura. Opaque black color, medium sized light brown colored head. Aroma and flavor are malts, caramel, salted caramel indeed, chocolate, moderately bitter with a sweet touch. Quite pleasant. I like it.
Tried on 17 Nov 2024 at 23:09

Salted caramel, vanilla milkshake. Really solid. Thanks Dirt!
Tried on 12 Nov 2024 at 16:42

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
Can. Pours a pitch black hue with a medium tan head. A big sweet nose, caramel, roast, sweet toffee. The flavor is sweet caramel drenched cinnamon roll, lighter roasted malts, bourbon. No heat. The sweetness works because the base is so good.
Tried from Can on 12 Mar 2024 at 07:43

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Canned, 473 ml, shared with others. Black with tan head. Caramel and milk chocolate, sweetish with some bitterness. Vanilla. Just a tad thinner than expected.
Tried from Can on 20 Feb 2024 at 06:11