A Closer Taste of Firestone

In anticipation of our drive to Pismo Beach this past weekend I decided to see if there were any worthy beer stops along the way. The answer wasn't too hard to find- Yes - The Firestone Taproom in Buellton (the same city as the famous Hitching Post in the movie Sideways). Although already behind schedule to our destination, we decided to stop in to check it out Saturday night. The place was very lively. The restaurant area looked packed and the tables in the bar area were packed as well. Luckily we got the last table and ordered a sampler each. The sampler consisted of the Firestone Lager, Pale Ale, Double Barrel Ale, and Walker's Reserve. All were of very good quality if you ask me, with the Pale Ale being my favorite. The Walker's Reserve was the only one I hadn't tasted before, and the 3 or 4 ounce pour they gave really wasn't enough to even get a sense of what was really going on it. They also serve the Nectar Ales branch of beer that they own and brew. I ordered a pint of Nectar IPA, which turned out to be a fantastic IPA. I would say it almost felt like a mini Double IPA especially because of the huge hop character and somewhat slick but still fairly light mouthfeel. After those couple rounds and some purchasing of merchandise we had to hit the road.

On the way back Monday afternoon we decided to hit the Taproom again for lunch and some pints. I again went with the IPA, and then the Unfiltered Double Barrel Ale. The unfiltered version was solid, just like the regular Double Barrel, and had a bit of a nicer, smoother feel to it. The food wasn't half bad either. I got a big hot dog with shoestring fries, and friends ordered burgers, chili, salads, and Kobe beef hot dogs. Firestone served as a nice opening and closing act to our weekend in SLO, and I plan to stop by here anytime I'm passing though the area in the future.