Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Firestone Walker emerged as a leader in American craft brewing in the 2000s. All the hallmarks were there. Cool, somewhat complex/obscure branding? Yep. Pale ales with the IBUs cranked all the way up? 1000 percent. Weird beer names? Well, eventually.
That brings us to 2023, where another round of new releases from the California brewer means another trip to the Beverage of the Week column. Psychedelic Arcade is a West Coast IPA that headlines Firestone Walker’s latest IPA mix pack. But since it comes with three friends, I figured we’d review them all.
Well, review three of them and then plagiarize an older review of the fourth beer, Hopnosis IPA, which I covered back in November. Will the brewery’s new rye IPA be another Firestone hit? Or will it be merely a pretty good beer?
Psychedelic Arcade: B+
It’s not super appealing, but it’s a rye beer so there was always a good chance it was going to smell a little like stale bread. Part of the territory and all.
The first sip unveils a crisp, dry ale whose rye qualities shine through. The added grain isn’t overpowering, but it’s definitely there, braiding its way through light hops and modest citrus. It’s noticeably different than Firestone’s other hop-forward ales. There’s a bit of a lager quality involved, making it an easy beer to come back to instead of a dedicated IPA sipper.
All told, it’s a very balanced beer. malty rye, bitter, fruit — all come through in small doses and nothing dominates. This is entirely pleasant. It’s not overly complex but not golden lager simple, either. It’s tasty and stays that way even as it warms up.
The end result is a refreshing beer that checks a lot of boxes. I’m in.
Union Jack IPA: A-
It pours a medium brown with half an inch of spaced out white bubbles on top. It’s a little fruity and piney from the first sniff, leaving nothing but the impression you’re digging into a West Coast IPA.
Right away, you’re greeted with hops that come through clean and smooth. It’s not as dry as other West Coast pale ales, leaving a little bit thicker, creamier feel in an ale that still goes down very smoothly. The hops aren’t overwhelmingly bitter and play well against a citrus that never truly hits sweet or sour. It’s just there as a cantilever for the IPA dankiness that stays in check for a thoroughly drinkable beer.
It’s easy to see why this is so popular. It’s a crowd pleasing brew with something for everyone — bitterness, sweet fruit, creamy texture, dry finish. There’s a lot going on here in a very positive way. It stays that way as it warms up — as good at 50 degrees as it is at 35. Great all around, particularly for a beer you can probably find in all 50 states.
Mind Haze: A-
The first sip is … hoo buddy, this goes down easy. It’s juice off the top, with the carbonation and boozy content kicking in to remind you it’s an ale right as it clears your throat. There’s a certain dryness that closes things up neatly, leaving a clean hoppy taste lingering behind.
It’s an easy drinker, with just enough bitterness to balance out that citrus without burning your tongue with a massive IBU load. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a Firestone Walker hazy. It’s great.
Firestone Walker Hopnosis IPA: A-
It pours pale yellow with a short, dense white head. It smells like soft, sweet pine and a little bit of citrus — maybe grapefruit? That makes this sound like a conglomeration of cleaning supplies, but trust me it’s much more pleasant.
The first sip is overpowering smoothness for a 6.7 percent India pale ale. You get that citrus up front — though nothing too potent like a hazy — before the hops kick in for the aftertaste.
But that’s light and not particularly bitter. The overall profile is complex; it starts off a little like a lager and finishes like an ale.
It’s a great balance to strike. There’s enough hops to satisfy IPA lovers but it’s not so strong it’ll turn people away who just want an easy sipping beer. The pine and citrus play off each other in just the right way, creating the proper combination of a potent pale ale that’s also extremely drinkable.
