Free State Black Jack Porter

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Poured a mahogany brown color with a small, tan head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of chocolate, smoke, and roasted malts. Taste of sweet chocolate, roast, and light bitterness in the finish.

12 oz bottle from Clark. Zero head eith a bland vanilla and coffee aroma. Taste is hoppy enough yeah with a nice dryness that follows. This stuff is full of flavor and can only imagine at it’s peak this stuff is awesome.

Hand bottled from a growler by csbosox: Dark opaque brownish amber with a small tan head (surprised it’s survived this well in the bottle). Aroma is a bit on the sweet side with notes of chocolate, roasted malt, roasted coffee, and light hops showing through as well. Taste is a mixture of sweet & acidic chocolate, lactic notes, roasted malt, cream, light vanilla and wood. Medium bodied, moderate carbonation(hand bottled), with an excellent satisfying creamy mouthfeel.

Sample courtesy of BuckNaked. Dark brown with ruby edges and a beige head. Aroma of roasted malt, vanilla and wood. Flavor has notes of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, oak and bitter hops. Has a slightly burnt, bitter finish. Medium body with subtle carbonation. Really nice stuff. Wish I can get it around here.

The aroma is smoky and big and inviting, but not complex. Flavors are definitely sweet - plummy all over. A very big, almost oily body, slippery. Roasted malt and cocoa notes. Very drinkable. Has an ending lasting dryness that I would attribute to wood aging. Delicious and thanks to TAR - most magnificent RateBeerian that he is. (Of course we won’t go into my pet peeve, which is that Baltic Porters are made with lager yeasts! - but I get the stylistic influence here...).

A handbottled gift from Jeff, thanks buddy: Pours a rich ruby brown with a small head but displays a nice oily film on my glassware. The aroma has notes of coffee, mocha, plum, burnt malt, floral and earthy esters, and a hint of pepper. The taste starts bittersweet with major coffee and roasty backbone. A subdued fruity twang and moderate pepper character added some depth. The finish is burnt wood and molasses. The feel is quite sharp and more lively than expected, oily richness is followed by a woody dryness. Nice and quite enjoyable, but lacks the boldness I hoped for. Perhaps I was expecting to much based upon the glory that is Owd Macs.

Bottled by csbosox, shared by beerbuzzmontreal. Mega thanks to both!!

The Lure:
Peppery roasted malt and red meat veins attract, yet point towards the slight non-conformity to the style proposed. I really don’t care though.

The Festivities:
Molasses run languorously on the dark chocolate and create a full, sexy roastiness. This roastiness exudes a mild bitterness which clashes with the feathery soy suggestions. A velvety palace of a mouthfeel.

Transcendence:
A valiant soldier ready to serve.

Couleur brune opaque et nuageuse, reflets rouge rubis. Les arômes chocolatés possèdent une forte empreinte des levures, rappelant à la fois la viande rouge et aussi l’oxalide (pain d’oiseau) et le trèfle vert. Douce carbonatation dans un corps d’épaisseur moyenne. Les flaveurs de sauce soya et de fleurs de violette laissent tantôt place au malt rôti qui s’exprimant plus vers la fin. Ne possède pas tout à fait le coté fruité et vineux habituellement associé au porter baltique.