Background – Firestone Walker Brewing Co
Firestone Walker Brewing Company was founded in 1996 by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker. Adam Firestone is the great-great grandson of Harvey Firestone who started the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. Adam, “The Bear”, grew up on the Central Coast surrounded by vineyards and winemaking. Adam’s gravitation towards brewing started early where his brewing ideas were launched in converted wine making equipment. The brewing bug was set when his first recipe for Double Barrel Ale was attempted. Adam brought up the idea of starting a brewery to his sister’s husband, British expatriate David Walker “The Lion”. Together, they dreamed of building a regional brewery. A brewery that combined the authenticity of Old World craft with the innovative spirit of California.
The brewery started on the Firestone family vineyard in Los Olivos, California and moved to Paso Robles in 2001. They moved into the former SLO Brewing Company located in Paso Robles. They added 17 interior fermenters, four 500 bbl exterior fermenters, and a keg and bottling line. In 2015 the company opened a wild ale facility in Buellton, California called Barrelworks. Barrelworks ferments and ages beer in used wine barrels from Paso Robles. In addition bourbon, brandy and tequila barrels as well as used barrels from Firestone Walker’s barrel-aged beer program are used.
Also in 2015, Firestone Walker Brewing Co combined with another family-owned brewery Duvel Moortgat Brewery, a Belgian-operated brewery. In 2017, Firestone Walker opened The Propagator in Venice, California. The Propagator is a hub of experimentation, and is the driver behind the brewery’s new Leo v. Ursus chronology of beers.
Matt Brynildson, The Brewmaster, started out working at a spice firm specializing in hop extracts. His brewing career commenced at Goose Island, where he helped create Goose IPA and its first quality control program. He left Goose Island in 2000 and took a job at SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles. One year later, he was appointed brewmaster, but not long afterward the brewery went into receivership. Firestone Walker soon took the brewery over and the rest is history.
Experience
We originally visited a few years ago on a weekend. The place was packed and not wanting to wait, we left. This time we arrived on a Monday afternoon and found it mostly empty. The Firestone complex is immense. One large building houses the taproom, restaurant and an outdoor patio. The building across the street is the visitor’s center where the tours happen. The other buildings house production.
The tap room has a large rectangular bar and booths around the edges. They have a huge offering in the taproom, approximately 20 different beers. We headed towards their IPA flight offerings first, then Saisons and sours and finished with the big barrel porters and stouts. Several of the beers are readily available in surrounding states so we focused on the locally available types. We particularly liked the Cap’t Franc Sour, Velvet Mirken- Imperial Stout & Sucaba- Barleywine.
There are extensive food offerings with some very good sharables, sandwiches & large plates. Firestone is not your neighborhood brewery with the tasting room adjacent to the brewing equipment. It is big business brewing, but they still are able to offer a large variety of pretty good beer. This brewery also has an interesting history.When in Paso Robles also check out Barrelhouse Brewing.
