So to combine some of the beers I have recently tried, I am doing a double review of two beers from Firestone Walker Brewery. Two coffee based brews, one on nitro even from the can. Firestone Walker is a popular California brewery located mid-coast. Their main stays tend to be IPAs but I prefer other beers. So this one I am going to break down by beer and then summarize both at the end.

Firestone Walker Brewing - Paso Robles, California

Mocha Merlin

Stats

• Alcohol Content: 5.5% by volume
• IBUs: 23
• Company Description: Our beloved Velvet Merlin aged with cocoa nibs and Intelligentsia Espresso Beans.
  All of the smooth textures and roasty dark chocolate goodness of our seasonal Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout with the added infusion of Intelligentsia Coffee House aromas and cocoa dusted chocolate truffle flavors.
  This brew makes debut in our 2014 Winter Bundle pack - the only way to find this elusive collaboration.
  
  Presentation
  The beer came in a 12 oz can with silver, gray and brown colors, including graphics of the Firestone Walker shield with beer name and silver images of a bear and lion on the gray sides. The brown near the top might be there do to the coffee nature of the beer. Ive seen Firestones beer come in 12 oz cans or bottles, and larger bottles for their reserve and limited series.
  
  The Beer
• Appearance: This beer poured out a dark brown, almost black color with a hearty head of khaki colored foam that lingered for a while.
• Aroma: Strong aroma of coffee.
• Taste: Had a good strong coffee taste with hints of dark chocolate and slightly sweet. Rich and thick.
• Mouthfeel: Slightly carbonated but strong coffee finish and touch of sweetness.
• Drinkability: Very drinkable but the coffee taste is pretty strong so while the abv is on lower side, might limit how many would be drank in a single sitting.

Nitro Merlin

Stats

• Alcohol Content: 5.5% by volume
• IBUs: 27
• Company DescriptionL Our Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout has been transformed into a mindblowing mouthful known as Nitro Merlin Milk Stout.
  The new ingredient is lactose, a.k.a. milk sugar. When Velvet Merlin is brewed with milk sugar to create Nitro Merlin Milk Stout, the effect is similar to adding cream to your dark roasted coffee. The wizardry comes via “nitro,” the brewing nickname for nitrogen gas.
  
  Presentation
  Again, this beer was in a 12 oz can, with similar gray and silver graphics accented with black. The familiar shield logo with the beer name and silver graphics on the gray. This beer had instructions on how to pour it from can to achieve the nitro infusion foam. While I didn't follow the directions exactly I did get a good head of foam (see below picture).
  
  The Beer
• Appearance: As with the Mocha Merlin, the Nitro Oatmeal Stout Merlin was nearly black in color and had a wonderful khaki-mocha colored foam head with little evidence of carbonation that appeared in the Mocha Merlin. The foam overhwhelmed the glass from bottom up and settled into a very nice head.
• Aroma: I picked up a coffee aroma with hints of chocolate.
• Taste: This was a really smooth beer, rich and chocolatey, hints of coffee, was a pleasant beer to drink.
• Mouthfeel: Like drinking satin, so smooth in the mouth, just rolled off the tongue.
• Drinkability: Very drinkable since it was so smooth, I really enjoyed this one and could have had one or two more that night.

Ratings and Final Thoughts

Both of these beers were really tasty and I really enjoyed the smoothness of the Nitro Stout. However, I also found it to be a tad blander than the Mocha Merlin but rated it the same at 4.25 on Untappd, where it received a 3.88 from two friends and 3.97 from the 33k reviewers on Untappd. Meanwhile, the Mocha Merlin had a 3.94 from the 27K reviewers on Untappd. So both pretty popular with the Untappd reviewers at nearly 4/5. In searching for the beers at the company webpage, it was interesting to note the Mocha Merlin was listed in their archived beers as having only been produced in 2014 for a special series, so I am not sure how the beer store in Missoula, Big Heads Bottle Shop, had some, unless the webpage has not been updated. Both beers I liked a lot and while not the most favorites for me, still very enjoyable. As you can see, I enjoyed the Nitro while barbecuing in the snow here in Montana.

4.25/5 for both beers

This post will make it to #BeerSaturday so if you do enjoy my review, go check the Week 38 contest out and give it a vote over there also. Please feel free to comment and give me a follow. I will be adding a lot more beer reviews in the future. Thanks and Cheers!