Firestone Walker Champs de Fraises: Review by @Robyn_Seto

For the last entry for Sweet Berry February 2021, I have chosen a special beer that’s been haunting around the beer fridge for some time: FireStone Walker’s Champs de Fraises. Champs de Fraises is a wild ale fermented with strawberries and aged in French Oak barrels.

Firestone Walker is well known for its various special release beers. The label is marked with the batch number, bottled date, and the number of cases produced. Further details about the brewing process are notated on the label as well. The bottle of Champs de Fraises’s that I had was from batch No.003, bottled in July 25th, 2019, with 1000 cases produced. It also specifies that this beer was aged in 100% French Oak barrels for a duration of five to twenty four months, and features three different microflora.

Upon pour, the aroma is very berry. The smell of strawberries is present amongst a tart nose. The first sip is a bit shocking to the palette but it does not take long for your taste buds to acclimate to the tartness. There is a strong flavor of strawberry that has jam-like characteristics from the fermentation. There is a marked oak flavor at the end as the sip dries. If you nurse this beer long enough for it to warm up a little, you’ll find that the barrel characteristics become more pronounced and the scent becomes almost copper-like.

Firestone Walker produces many other special and limited release beers throughout the year. While this specific vintage of Champs de Fraises may no longer be available, keep an eye out for these fancy labels!

4/5 Burps