Oregon Trail Bourbon Barrel Porter

Brewed by Oregon Trail Brewery
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Corvallis, Oregon USA

Ah my wife. My lovey wife. Never did I mention this beer to her, never did I say "I have my eye on it." Never did I utter a sound. And yet, she knew I wanted it. One of her Father’s Day beers. She reads my beer mind. Vanilla. Oak. Bourbon. All the flavors float there for awhile in your nose before you drink. And when you drink, lovely. Like my wife.

Poured black with a sweet, candylikearoma. Flavor is sweet vanilla, oak witha light alcohol and wood finish.

It most certainly is a deep dark mohagany with just the thinnest of rings of tan bubbles around the glass. Aint no mistaking where this thing has been sleeping. Lots of bourbon and oak and vanilla and a little roasted malts,but not enough as the bourbon is damn heavy. Thin on the tongue and a little like you peeled a board up from an old saloon and stirred it around in your glass. Has a bit of booze,tobacco sluice and a few other things that are not defined enough to make this stand out. Still...not bad. Thanks to Matt at Liquidsolutions.biz for this one.

Bottle. Deep brown, approaching opaque black, body with a tan head, mostly diminishing. Strong bourbon aroma and taste that mutes much of what else is in this beer — hints of roasted malts, sweet caramel, vanilla and oak. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately sweet and lightly bitter. The taste of bourbon and alcohol dominate, but the notes of caramel and roast leave a slight earthy taste in the finish. The velvety/oily texture turns watery in the finish. Medium body with very light carbonation. Nice beer to sip on, but like so many bourbon-barrel beers, it’s more about the bourbon than the beer.

Shared at the RateBeer gathering at the Captain Lawrence brewery. Poured dark brown with a white head. Aroma of coffee, butter, and heavy bourbon. Flavor is hot and slightly acidic with some coffee, boubon, and whiskey flavors. The barrel overpowers the actual beer rather than accentuates it.

22oz bottle courtesy of Travisd13. The bottle says No. 4 on it, I don’t know if that means anything. Pours very dark brown color with a light brown, creamy, sticky head that leaves some lace. Lots of vanilla on the nose with some wood and bourbon in the background. Tastes of vanilla, bourbon and wood. Awesome! The barrel flavors do overshadow any real "beer" flavors but it’s damn good anyway. Full bodied, not too thick, nice and smooth, almost velvetty carbonation.

Bottle - Thanks BuckeyeBoy! - Pours slightly thicker and dk browm with a fluffy tan head...aroma is bourbon and wood predominantly, some sticky malt in there as well, dark fruit...flavour is pretty nicely balanced, sweet and warming, roasty grains, oak phenols, light vanilla and bourbon...good mouthfeel, it got a bit acidic for me on the finish, but that might have been the alcohol, overall very tasty!

22 oz bottle via LS.Pours This one pours a near black with an average tan head. Not much going on in the nose..some subtle port and toasted grains. Taste is hoppier and fruiter than expected, with some vanilla....but it tastes like a phoney fruitiness, maybe a fruit extract with peaches, apples, melons. The bourban barrel oAK is strong but not completely overpowering, albeit close. Thin/medium body. Light/moderate carbonation. If you like the oak/bourban thing then you should like this more than i do. Even though i am not into this style, it is obvious that this is ok for what it is.