Whistle Monkee
Firestone Walker Brewing in Paso Robles, California, United States 🇺🇸
Belgian Style - Quadrupel / Dark Strong Regular|
Score
7.93
|
|
2022 vintage
No. 01
O.G. 30.0 p
F.G. 8.0 p
Yeast British Ale
Cases 575 produced
Color 74 SRM
(from label)
When WhistlePig Whiskey came to town with a truckload of their Small Batch Rye, aged 10 years and still in the barrel, we struck a bargain—some of our barrels for some of theirs. This is how we took possession of the freshest whiskey barrels imaginable. We filled them that same day with our signature Stickee Monkee “Central Coast Quad Ale,” then aged the beer for 12 months to create Whistle Monkee—an astonishingly delicious beer that balances rye spice notes with hints of caramel, vanilla and Belgian candi sugar.
(from box)
It was the mother of all barrel trades when our friends at WhistlePig Whiskey in Shoreham, Vermont, drove all the way out here to Paso Robles in the spring of 2021, hauling a semi-trailer full of barrels of their award-winning Rye Whiskey.
We welcomed them here at the halfway mark of their 6,000-mile round trip journey, and the swap was one–a stash of their barrels for a stash of ours. What happened next would spark one epic whiskey and three equally notable beers.
The whiskey that went into the Firestone Walker barrels would become part of WhistlePig’s RoadStock Rye, a special-edition whiskey finished during their adventure-packed RoadStock trip.
Meanwhile, the three beers we put into WhistlePig’s barrels were aged for a year and are now ready to be unveiled. Say hello to Boilermaker, Whistle Monkee, and Stickee Pig ...
“These beers are the fruits of a truly amazing and unusual collaboration,” said Vintage Barrel Program Manager Eric Ponce. “We filled the WhislePig barrels on the same day they were emptied, which is unheard of. These were the freshest, wettest barrels you could ever hope to use.”
In other words, there was still some whiskey sloshing around in these barrels after they were emptied–there hadn’t been enough time for it to evaporate or get trapped into the pores of the wood. “Within two days of being in the barrel, these beers picked up four points of alcohol, which is double the norm for spirits barrel aging,” Eric said. “That shows you how much of this pure high rye goodness these beers picked up along the way.”
As for why the WhistlePig crew made Firestone Walker their destination before heading back to Vermont? “If you’re going to finish whiskey, you want to go right to the cream of the crop here at Firestone Walker; they do the best work,” said WhistlePig Distiller Mitch Mahar.
After we filled a selection of the barrels with our Stickee Monkee Central Coast Quad, we aged them for a year to achieve a perfect balance of rye spice notes with hints of Belgian candi sugar. A flavor bomb for the ages!
(from https://www.firestonebeer.com/whistlepig-whiskey-x-firestone-walker-the-mother-of-all-barrel-trades)
Sign up to add a tick or review
Maverick (5062) ticked Whistle Monkee from Firestone Walker Brewing 6 months ago
This is quite good. Bottled from tw & m - black pour no bubbles - huge rye aroma, sugar, caramel - very good
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Pours a dark body and a beige head that doesn't last very long and leaves a a ring and some patches. Aroma's: sweet, fudge, boozy, whiskey-ish (it might have been bourbon too, I wouldn't be able to tell), woody, light fruity. Retronasal: sweet, candy sugar, fruity alcohol, light woody/tannines, boozy. Flavour is above moderate sweet, fudgey, with tannines. Warming alcohol, almost hot. Above medium bodied. Long finish, flavours lingering, a hint of bitterness.
Buckeyeboy (18951) reviewed Whistle Monkee from Firestone Walker Brewing 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
12oz bottle pours out cola brown topped with a small sand head. Nose is nice sweet caramel malts toffee pitfruit some barrel and spice. Taste is more of the nice sweet malts caramel toffee spice pitfruit.
stevoj (18137) reviewed Whistle Monkee from Firestone Walker Brewing 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
12oz bottle from Tavour. Clear brown pour, ring of beige head. Malty aroma, mildly smoky, barrel notes, woody. Taste is sweet, warm, malty, brown sugar. Mellow with a lot of barrel character. A
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Aromas are dark malt, spice and a bit of whiskey. Flavors are similar to nose, on the sweet side but great balance between sweet, bitter and carbonation with a slightly sweet finish. Super smooth. Barest hint of alcohol in the finish.
Scopey (25061) reviewed Whistle Monkee from Firestone Walker Brewing 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle from Beer Republic. It pours darkest brown to black with a small khaki head. The aroma is heady and intoxicating notes of rye whisky, vanilla fudge, toffee, toasted coconut, candy sugar, dark fruits, plum, stewed figs, chocolate bourbons, treacle, fruit cake and garibaldis. The taste is slick, oily, bitter - sweet, plenty of dark and dried fruits, plum, prune, date, fig, raisin, sultana, fruit cake, black bun, sticky, plum jam, warming booze, big rye whiskey character, heady alcohol, spicy vibes, whiskey soaked oak, tannin, vanilla fudge, salted caramel , toffee and charred malt with a drying, toasty finish. Full body, fine prickly carbonation and slick mouth feel. Flavourful and great depth. Intoxicating rye whiskey character.
Iznogud (14427) reviewed Whistle Monkee from Firestone Walker Brewing 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Bottle, 355 ml, shared with Miro B and kajser27. Dark dark brown with beige head. Caramel, malty, sweet with lasting bitter finish. Medium to full bodied. Balanced yet complex.
bb (18337) reviewed Whistle Monkee from Firestone Walker Brewing 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9
Bottle. 2022 Vintage. Dark mahogany beer with a tan head. Caramel and whiskey aroma with dried fruit and light citrus. Whiskey and caramel linger with yeast ad dark fruit. Medium-plus bodied. Whiskey and caramel linger with yeast and dark fruit.
Nische (5585) reviewed Whistle Monkee from Firestone Walker Brewing 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Bottle shared with friends. Mahogany brown with beige head. Caramel, vanilla, toffee, some oak and heat. Smooth texture with a dried fruit finish. Not much belgian about this, which I believe is a good thing here.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
12 oz bottle from Firestone Walker Brewery Store in Paso Robles. Nose is biscuity toffee, cloves, rye bread, whiskey, and vanilla. Clear rusty brown with a medium beige head. Flavor is sweet toffee, oaky vanilla, and whiskey. I like the Bourbon Barrel Stickee Monkey a little better!