Firestone Walker Abacus with a Kicker

Lately I've been on a Firestone Walker journey.  A few roll backs on the mouse wheel and you'll see a review of Parabola. Before that, although not reviewed, I poured a bottle Double Jack . This past weekend I yanked a bottle of Abacus from the cellar and rode out the hurricane.

David Walker @ Capone's

The first time I experienced Abacus was during the Philly launch of FW back in April. David Walker was doing his best Sam Calagione impersonation by making the proper promotional rounds and explaining the magic behind his beers.  Since most of what he was showcasing packed a serious abv punch the extreme beer heads (myself included) were happy with Philly's newest offerings. Abacus made enough of an impression that I have three two bottles collecting dust in the beer cellar.

With the first drops hitting the glass it's obvious this is a big beer.  The aroma is all telling; Sweet bourbon, dark fruit, vanilla and toffee with some roastiness.  I feared an overly sweet first sip but thankfully this barley wine's sweet malty side isn't over the top. The taste is in line with the aroma. Cherry, fig and chocolate flavors mixing great with the soft bourbon background. The booze is there but more warm than burning. Very well done and so far my favorite from Firestone Walker.

Abacus with cherries added, SWEET!

Looking at the photo your eyes are not deceiving you there are some serious floaters in the glass. Those globs are fresh Bing cherries I added to my second glass of the evening.  The sweet cherries were a nice little kicker and worked even better than expected. They obviously pumped up the dark fruit flavors and the bourbon combined with fresh cherry juice created an ultimate evening sipper. The bonus was all those Abacus soaked cherries once the beer was finished. A glass just keeps on giving. No better way to spend a stormy evening.