Black Oak Nutcracker

Brewed by Black Oak Brewing
Style: Porter
Etobicoke, Canada

Bottled sample (2007 edition) via gregclow. Black in colour with fairly low carbonation. Strong chocolate aromas upfront, along with secondary notes of nutmeg and fig. Chocolate is the starting point in the mouth as well, but the spices really take over. Loads of cinnamon and licorice, along with hints of both cardamom and plastic. Dry finish, with a bit of earthy hops in for good measure. Aside from the plastic note, this is a pretty good porter.

Bottle via HogtownHarry. Poured into a Duvel glass. Rich looking brew- very dark witha robust choco head. Nose is moderate chocolate and roast and a touch of fruit. Taste- quite interesting. Spicy (nutmeg, cinnamon) with a dry chocolatey finish. Seems to be fairly hoppy adding to the spiciness. Carbonation is on the high side and add to the spicy bite. Lots of flavour packed into this session porter. Very nice.

Bottle-Volo- Black/red colour with a small, whispy head. A coffee/dark chocolate aroma with a distinct chocolate flavour, very easy on the palate and very enjoyable

Dark and black. Thick dissipating head with lacing. Solid body. Coffee scent and malts, sweet cinnamon. Tastes of smooth malts with a hint of cinnamon and a nice sweet malty finish. Really nice, especially for this brewery - this is my favourite of all their offerings.

Lovely beer as allways!!! brown almost blackwith good beige head nose is nutmeg and lotsa roasted malts. the malts are very eveident as well as cinnamon and nutmeg.
Earlier Rating: 1/25/2007 Total Score: 3.7
got some directly from Ken, at the brewery, wonderful porter, nice cinnomen notes, really gets nice when is let to warm up a bit. great job Ken and Adrian, allways good beer

Cloudy dark brown pour with a frothy white head. This looks really good in a tulip! Aroma is fresh, and minty with lots of spice. Nicely refreshing, with good hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Fresh smooth finish. A good ’un.

2007 Vintage. Cinnabomb Version Cask @ Cafe Volo. Black body with a good sized brown head. Aroma and first sip are heavily dominated by cinnamon. Flavour eventually brings enough of the roasty malt out of the background to round out the cinnamon but it lacks the rich balance of the draft version, and the average palate is fairly disappointing after the creamy palate of this years unfiltered edition. An interesting experiment but I think that what it gains in assertiveness it loses in balance. 7/4/6/3/14 - 3.4 <P>2007 Vintage. Draft @ C’est What. Black body with a small but creamy brown head. Aroma is lightly yeasty, with lots of roast malt imbued cinnamon and spice. Flavour feels a bit less roasty and has more prominent cinnamon than previous years. Smooth underlying malt flavours. Palate is medium bodied and smooth on the tongue. Solid version of this seasonal, with a pleasant increase in the spice flavour. 7/57/4/14 - 3.7 <P>2006 Vintage Draft at C’est What. Black body with a dark khaki head. (3+) Aroma of moderate cinnamon and malt. Spice is surprisingly strong in the first sip, but mellows a bit as your tastebuds become accustomed. The large dose of cinnamon and roast combine for a strange joint bitterness that is not unpleasant but a bit strange. Average to medium palate (3+). 7/3+/7/3+/16 - 3.6<P> 2004 Vintage: Very dark brown with ruby chestnut around the edges. Creamy khaki coloured head and gorgeous lacing down the sides. Aroma is predominantly coffee roast with some faint underlying notes of nut and molasses or brown sugar. Chocolate malt is obvious in the roasty bitterness with a supporting hint of dark chocolate. Creamy palate. Cinnamon is a bit of an afterthought, eclipsed by the dark roasty malt. Lingering roasty bitterness. 6/4/7/4/16<P>2003 Vintage aged 1 year Draft @ Winking Judge Festival October 2004. Nice ruby tinged black body with a beautiful tan head. Roasty coffe in the aroma, but the roast has become more subdued in the flavour, with the malt showing up a bit more and subtle notes of chocoolate. Body seems a bit lighter with age but is still very nice. 6/4/7/3/16 <P> 2002 Vintage Draft. Nice full bodied wintery beer, dark with an average head. Notes of cinnamon, I noticed a lot of roasted flavours which I am not exceptionally fond of personally. Tasted with Ken at the brewery on my first "date" with my (now ex) current girlfriend. Typical engineer she was as interested in the PLC on the brew equipment as I was with the beer. :) 6/4/5/5/15

A nice dark colour with a dark tan head. Initial taste was unexpected. Sweet but not overly, refreshing and unique. Over the course of the glass, I noted the spicey flavour coming out more, becoming, by the end, just a little bit ’hot’. We’re not talking pepper hot, but just ’hot’ by beer standards. One for the holidays, but I wish it was available all year.