Firestone DBA

Firestone Double Barrel Ale

Amber Ale/British Style Bitter

Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA

12 oz., 5% ABV

This is an unapologetically, unequivocally, beer's beer. Sans gimmicks, flavorings, or quirks, this DBA is a beer for the sake of being a beer. And you know what? It's pretty solid. The company claims a "passion for the pale," and it shows through here. It doesn't hit you over the head with a floral mallet like an IPA would, obviously, but the hops are even more subtle than you'd have in your average Pale. It's got a simple, crisp, cleanness that holds off its mild bitterness until the very end of the sip. The company may call it a British Bitter, but there's not much of a bitterness here. Also, the company claims I should pick up on some "vanilla and toasted oak." Not so much. But I didn't miss them.

It drinks a bit heavier than its mild ABV would suggest, but it goes down quickly (that is to say, it lends itself pretty well to chugging, if that's your thing).

Availability note: The website claims that this guy has an availability limited to the West Coast, Nevada and Arizona.

http://www.firestonebeer.com/beers/products/dba-double-barrel-ale

So that only leaves one of the great beer drinking mysteries; when a beer like this - a reliable, perfectly drinkable beer full of great, unadulterated beer flavor that won't fill you up or make you a drunken mess - why do people keep drinking the standard garbage?

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