Black Oak Nutcracker

Brewed by Black Oak Brewing
Style: Porter
Etobicoke, Canada

Bottle from blankboy. Deep brown opaque body, thin-medium tan head. Chocolatey, toasty aroma with touches of spice. Cinnamon is more pronounced in the flavor than in the nose. Otherwise a roasty, chocolatey porter, but leans towards a spice beer due to the potent cinnamon. Medium-bodied with a lingering bitter finish. Not bad, but the porter is of average complexity minus the cinnamon.

A very nice, rich brown porter. Roasted flavors, with some very apparent cinnamon spiciness. Chocolate and roasted espresso creaminess, light bodied and just very enjoyable as a sipper, quaffable.

Bottle: Poured a black color porter with small foamy dark brown head with good retention. Aroma of roasted malt with some light cinnamon. Taste is quite rich with a nice dose of roasted malt and some spices, which definitely includes cinnamon. Notes of chocolate and coffee are identifiable but a more important presence would have been nice. Body is above average.

(341 ml bottle: Obtained 24-Mar-06 in trade with blankboy, thanks Paul!) The dry roast and freshly-ground coffee in the nose are pleasant, but this could use a bit more in the aromatics department. And wow, that’s especially true now that I’ve tasted this beer. Very, very roasty, lots of coffee at first, turning quite ashy in the finish. As the beer warms up, the coffee really does seem to take control of the entire beer. There is a vague spiciness in the flavor, but I can’t clearly identify it as cinnamon. There’s a mild sweetness, but it’s still fairly dry on the palate. Medium "plus" bodied with no thinning out in the finish. Carbonation is moderate. Very dark brown, fully opaque through the center of the glass. The beer didn’t pour with much head, just a thin, light-tan sheen. "Lacing" consists only of a few small spots. Not my favorite style of porter, this ashy, coffee roasty concoction, but still very enjoyable and obviously well-made.

Nearly pitch black with a fluffy brown head. Musty, dusty cocoa aroma. It has a clean burnt bitter quality that is quite appealing. I don’t get any cinnamon flavor but it has a spiciness on the tongue. It has some delicate fruitiness and coffee in the flavor also. I’d like to drink a few of these to get to know it better.

Hmm. Thick black pour with a creamy tight brown head. Immediate aroma of burnt chocolate covered dates and dark fruits covered with coffee without cream. Tart coffee with bitter prune after taste. As this warms, more spices come out, maybe cinnamon. Thanks Jerc.

Godd charcoal aroma with a lower layer of prunes. Very dark beer with thin brown head. Flavour of charcoal, prunes and chocolate. Good full mouth feel. Chocolate finish that is very dry stout-like.

Draught. At Volo. Poured opaque black with ruby highlights and large creamy lasting light brown head. Aroma or rich strong coffee, dark chocolate, hints of cream, spices and hops. Flavour has more chocolate and less coffee, very rich and initially sweet - almost hints of hot cocoa - with winter spices and hop bitterness that makes this a very balanced pint. Mouthfeel thick, creamy, smooth - I had the 2004 last winter, but I’m convinced the 2005 is better - smoother and more complex. Excellent.