(Paso Robles, CA) – For the primary time in six years, Firestone Walker’s mythic Wookey Jack is again on the massive stage with a brand new launch for the winter season.
Wookey Jack Black Rye IPA is now rolling out to all Firestone Walker markets in six pack (12-ounce can) and draft codecs, including to the legend of this three-time gold medalist on the Nice American Beer Competition. That is the primary widespread launch of Wookey Jack for the reason that beer was initially retired in late 2016.
“The Wookey by no means dies—it simply hibernates,” mentioned Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “We’ve produced periodic small-batch runs through the years, and folks maintain asking for extra. It’s time to launch it again into the wild.”
The newest version of Wookey Jack (8.3% ABV) stays devoted to the unique recipe, which incorporates a great deal of pearled darkish malts with rye including a country grain factor. The hops are dank, sticky Citra and pungent Amarillo, each of that are included into a large dry-hop routine.
Wookey Jack now reclaims its title Firestone Walker’s wildest and wooliest IPA, providing large, toasty malted rye flavors with a balanced chunk on the end. It’s, in Brynildson’s phrases, “gnarly on the skin, but refined on the within.”
Wookey Advanced
Wookey Jack was first launched by Firestone Walker in 2012, impressed by Brynildson’s quest to quiet the naysayers.
“On the time, there have been a couple of beer geeks on the market saying that Firestone Walker nonetheless had but to essentially make a really over-the-top hoppy IPA,” Brynildson recalled. “We took that as a problem and Wookey Jack was going to be the reply. We dug into the hop closet and pulled out the stickiest and most pungent hops obtainable. We discovered a mix that basically popped and utilized it liberally to the brew.”
The ensuing beer was a direct sensation that helped drive the black IPA motion, and that endured for 5 years earlier than succumbing to cooling demand for the model.
Over the previous yr, nevertheless, there was a resurgence of appreciation for the black IPA model, which Brynildson feels greatest lends itself to a seasonal format. “It might not be the kind of beer individuals wish to drink year-round, however it simply appears proper for fall and winter,” he mentioned.
The brand new Wookey Jack additionally marks the primary time the beer has been packaged in a six pack 12-ounce can format. And gone is the staid look of the unique Wookey Jack, which has been changed with a primeval new design that displays Brynildson’s affinity for dwell music and live performance poster artwork, as rendered by artist Juan Marente (@elgrantocayo).
“We didn’t mess with the liquid, however we’ve developed every thing else, which to me makes this the most effective Wookey Jack ever,” Brynildson mentioned.
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Based by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker in 1996, Firestone Walker Brewing Firm is a California beer firm with three modern brewing services. Firestone Walker’s essential brewery in Paso Robles produces a various portfolio starting from iconic pale ales to classic barrel-aged beers. The Barrelworks facility in Buellton makes eccentric wild ales, whereas the Propagator pilot brewhouse in Venice makes a speciality of R&D beers and restricted native choices. Firestone Walker can be the brewery behind 805, one of many nation’s fastest-growing beers.
