Ballast Point Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Marlin Porter

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Porter
San Diego, California USA

Draft. Blackish beer with a tan head. Nice bourbon, malt, and light chocolate aroma. Bourbon and light malt flavor with light caramel and light chocolate. Medium bodied. Bourbon and malt lingers. Flavor doesn’t linger long, but it’s nice.

Draught at Woody’s in Downtown Raleigh. Pours black,with a medium off-white head. Nose is chocolate, vanilla, coffee, whiskey. Flavor similar, with a touch of cream. Bourbon a little too strong for me.

Dark brown pour with a thin beige head that slowly turns rocky. Oak and bourbon on the nose. Mildly carbonated. Roast, coffee, light chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon.

A real treat to try this on Tap at the San Diego Beer Party. The nose is heaven. Bourbon, port and vanilla overtones create an elixir for the nose. I couldn’t stop sniffing it. The mouthful was a bit disappointing as it was reasonably thin and perhaps this too light a beer to be aging in this manner. Still delicious, but after the smell I expected to be rocked.

Picked up a growler at the Home Brew Mart. Pours very dark brown, nearly black, with a thick, foamy, tall, stubborn tan head. Very nice lacing. Pleasant oak and whiskey aroma laden with cocoa and caramel. Smooth, lightly carbonated mouthfeel. Kept true to the porter style in texture and in taste without becoming a stout-lite. Roasted malt and caramel up front with roast coffee. Not bitter or acidic. A more subtle approach with the bourbon; it stays int he background and does to overwhelm the beer itself. Mellow oak and vanilla as well. A bit of bitterness shows through in the finish as the beer warms. Very nice beer.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a dark brown color. Flavors of chocolate, smoked malt, bourbon, wood, and roasted coffee. Hints of vanilla. Pretty good, light to medium mouthfeel.

On tap, body is a jet black with a tight tan head. Aromas of delicious smokey chocolate with a hints of sour hot bourbon and funky wood notes. The body is silky and light with an almost watery texture. The bourbon is very present and really warms up your more and penetrates the silky body. Lots of alcohol soak. Flavors of heavily roasted coffee and woody bourbon dominate, but there is a malty lactic aftertaste that dries out my mouth and leave the heat of the alcohol. Really a pleasant beer but maybe a bit heavy with the bourbon.

tap at Live Wire san diego, great find. nice part about this beer is the booze / bourbon flavors are mild, porter coco and a touch of roasted coffee to go along with the great texture from barrel aging. regular marlin is good but with some gaps, the bourbon barrel fills in those gaps to make a complete beer for me.