irestone Walker is ambitious and sometimes their cocktail wax wings fly too close to the sun. Thankfully, their core lineup remains solid, dynamic, and accessible. Out the gates I will say seeing a fresh new west coast IPA during the dark days of creamy French dressing IPAs is already amazing.

Firestone is big enough, with a wide enough shadow of influence to change hearts and minds based solely on what they decide to stamp with SKUs, so seeing Hopnosis, an old school beer with new school innovation is refreshing. Some grocery store stepdad may very well have his cryo seal busted wide open and fall backwards into his Living Spaces sectional, Tommy Bahama shirt just dripping in alpha acids. I am here for it.

Being huge means you can cut insane contracts with Yakima. Buy massive BELL printed can orders, use pricey trendy cryo hops like talus, Idaho 7, cashmere, riwaka. These are the Supreme Hoodies of hops that you see industry people scrambling in facebook groups to swap. Heavy is the head that wears the rhizome crown.

But how does it taste? Firestone has to thread the needle with cryo of not overdoing it and going so resinous that it alienates dudes in Nike Dunks and Filson Mackinaw jackets who think IPAs should taste like push pops. It also cant make it so soft that homebrew nerds with Moleskins complain about the “LYCHEE dominant pear affronted swallow.” They do both masterfully. Aserose merged with clementine.

The dry hopping secures the aromatics: melon, cantaloupe, opaque life savers. The body with a snap of carapils/munich almost feels like watery crystal but is so clean and drilled in, it sticks the landing like OG San Diego offerings from the 2000s. THANKS BIDEN NO ONE WANTS TO WORKS NOW MY IPA HAS TWO JOBS.

Boomers can leave the house for six hours without their phones. This old school rugged character seems out of place, but they also cant add a signature to a PDF. This beer is that tech savy grandpa who quips with old radio era bromides and current “NOT ME” tiktok witticisms. It not only tastes good but will be a net benefit to palates due to their insane reach and budget. Nitrofreeze my glands daddy.