Beer Me

Firestone Walker Towing Five Rare Sour Ales to L.A. on Saturday

Walker's Wild Ride, Saturday September 22
Walker’s Wild Ride, Saturday September 22 Photo: Firestone

The city is foaming at the neck for L.A. Beer Week to pop off this Thursday, bubbling over with so many events in the ensuing ten days that it’s tricky to keep track. Among them, Firestone Walker Brewing Company owner David Walker says he’s hitting the road in his 1955 Land Rover stocked with five rare, barrel-aged sour beers from the brewery’s new Barrelworks in Buellton, making stops at five different L.A. brew hubs on Saturday for what he’s calling “Walker’s Wild Ride.”

At each stop, Walker and his associate, one “Sour Jim” Crooks, will blindly draw to decide which beer they’re going to pour during their one-and-a-half stay before moving on to the next bar.

The oddities include the brand’s coveted, bourbon barrel-aged Double DBA with an added touch of brettanomyces for a sour fruity finish, plus a Flanders-style red ale aged three years in French oak Viognier barrels, and an aged olallieberry lambic.

Since sour beers and barrel-aged ales still draw brew geeks in like yeast to glucose, maybe these guys can also give everyone a ride from bar to bar to help them to try it all? Besides they do want to go home with a lighter load, right?

In any case, the beers will be on-sale starting at Golden Road at 1:30 P.M. The full schedule of Firestone appearances and a breakdown of which beers they’ll have on board is below.

Firestone’s Beer Bar Schedule
Saturday, September 22

Golden Road Brewing at 1:30 p.m.

Verdugo at 3:00 P.M.

38 Degrees at 5:00 P.M.

Far Bar at 7:00 P.M.

Blue Palms at 9:00 P.M.

Sour Beers Include:

Reginald Brett: Brett finished Double DBA; 3 Months in Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels

Agrestic Ale: Flanders Style Red Ale; Aged 3 years in French Oak Viognier Barrels.

SloAmbic: Olallieberry Lambic; Aged 3 years in French Oak Viognier Barrels.

Sour Opal: Gueuze; Aged 4 years in American Oak Barrels.

Lil Opal: Oak Aged Saison; Aged 4 years in American Oak Barrels

Firestone Walker Towing Five Rare Sour Ales to L.A. on Saturday