G’day, mates—it’s time to join Brewmaster Matt Brynildson as he turns the Beer Talk spotlight on to Firestone XPA, our all-new spring seasonal.
XPA is the number one craft beer style in Australia, but before we turn our attention Down Under, we have to reckon with our brewery’s own pale ale heritage, which is rooted in the legendary—and dearly departed—Pale 31. Heck, even our slogan back in the day was “Passion for the Pale.”
“I can talk pale ale all day, it’s been a theme since the time I was a homebrewer to the time I started at Firestone Walker,” Matt says. “Nothing does my heart good like having pale ale back in the lineup.”
Enter Firestone XPA. “We got to take our Pale 31 knowledge and apply it to a brand-new pale ale that really fits with the times,” Matt says. “I think bringing XPA to California is a cool move.”
Matt and his team fell in love with the XPA style while cruising around hop farms in Australia and New Zealand. Fittingly, Firestone XPA is built around New Zealand’s Nelson hop with its grapefruit and tropical Sauvignon Blanc qualities, all backed up with a dollop of classic Mosaic hops. The resulting beer offers a trifecta of drinkability: crisp, hoppy and crushable at just 5.3% ABV.
“It’s about light drinkability with really bright, expressive hops—it just fits perfectly well on the West Coast,” Matt says.
In fact, it’s so tasty you can drink it out of your sneakers (you have to watch the video). But we prefer to enjoy it right out of that dazzling gold can.
In short, Firestone XPA is a next-generation pale ale brewed with Southern Hemisphere hops and California style, and it’s available now in all Firestone Walker markets. Keep an eye out for the snazzy gold cans or find it with the FW Beer Finder.
