Oftentimes when the old school meets the new, a natural clash occurs. The old knows what they want and is set in their ways, while the new is non-traditional and experimenting with modern trends. When it comes to old school beer in the barrel-aged space, it doesn’t get much older than Firestone Walker Brewing Parabola, a legendary barrel aged Stout that has been in existence for over 15 years. On the newer side of the spectrum, there is WeldWerks Brewing Medianoche, a beer that helped launch — and is one of the most recognizable faces of — the Pastry Stout revolution. Firestone Walker (FW) and WeldWerks chose not to clash over these beers and instead combined forces to create a hybrid called ParabaNoche. Classical yet modern, this collaboration encapsulates the ethos of both beers while creating something wholly new.

Every brewing collaboration has an origin story, and ParabaNoche is certainly no different. Skip Schwartz, head brewer at WeldWerks, said that “Collaborating with Firestone Walker on a barrel aged Stout was a dream come true for us. WeldWerks has drawn a ton of inspiration for our barrel-aged Stouts from beers like Parabola.” He went on: “To have (FW) recognize us as someone they would like to create barrel aged beers with is still mind blowing to us!” It helps for the new school to have respect and admiration for those that came before them, the forebears who paved the way for barrel aged beer to be something that breweries make and people drink. 

The process of making ParabaNoche began when Schwartz sent the latest Medianoche recipe over to FW. FW then scaled the recipe to their brew system and made some slight tweaks. The most important element to capture with WeldWerks’ influence was an extended boil. “WeldWerks is famous for our long boil times on barrel aged Imperial Stout, sometimes lasting into the 30 hour mark,” explains Schwartz. “That was something that really interested the crew over at Firestone — maybe not for the right reasons — but they agreed to extend their boil times as long as they felt comfortable.” 

One unique aspect of ParabaNoche is that it was created from a process called parti-gyle, a means to make two or more different beers from one massive mash. “You end up separating your first wort, holding it, and making a big beer, and then you take all the second wort you collected and make a second beer,” Brynildson says. The first wort in this brew became Billiard Money, a 2023 Firestone Walker Brewmaster’s Collective release, while the second became ParabaNoche. Special processes aside, at the end of the brew session together what culminated was “Medianoche (brewed) on their kit,” says Schwartz. This big brew was then laid to rest in Parker’s Heritage Whiskey barrels for 18 months before being bottled in early 2024.

The moment of truth approached as PorchDrinking tried a bottle of ParabaNoche and got to see if it lived up to the lofty reputations of its predecessors. Unsurprisingly, this beer pours a deep black with only hints of dark brown under light. The viscosity is relatively light with minimal legs in the glass, influence no doubt received from FW’s treatment of the Medianoche recipe. The nose is coffee, vanilla, and some distinctive whiskey notes. 

The Parabola influence immediately declares its presence upon first sip as huge barrel char hits the palate. The barrel is also well pronounced, rounding the initial flavor experience into chewing on a bourbon soaked wood chip. While the body does exhibit some chewier elements of Medianoche, this collaboration never leans flabby, staying firmly in the realm of well balanced drinkability (for a 13.2% Imperial Stout). Lingering flavors of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, and booze hang around long after the first sip. There is a lot to contemplate here as the defining elements of Parabola and Medianoche have made themselves known while blending harmoniously into each other. 

It’s a testament to both breweries that such a massive collaboration of two legendary beers ended up so well executed. This Stout could have easily leaned too far in either direction, drowning out the other beer’s components, but FW and WeldWerks ensured that the finished product properly represented its combined DNA. ParabaNoche proves that the old and the new can mingle quite well, learning from each other and combining their talents to create a memorable hybrid.

All photos courtesy of Britt Antley

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