Port Brewing Old Viscosity

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: American Strong Ale
San Marcos, California USA

22oz Bomber I get the opportunity to try this thanks to Taynor, thanks again Dana. The name fits. Old Viscosity pours like motor oil into my snifter. A creamy tan head grew to three fingers as I poured. The head falls to a half finger cap and leaves tremendous lacing on it’s way down, totally caking the glass. I don’t think this beer could look any better than it does. As this beer warms the aroma intensifies greatly. Mostly dark fruit upfront with a sprinkling of sweet vanilla that I’m guessing is from the barrel ageing. Molasses and highly roasted malts shine through. I wasn’t very appreciative of the smell of the bat but warming worked wonders. Flavor follows closely to what I mentioned was in the smell. There’s a touch of coffee like bitterness on the backend along with a noticeable alcohol presence. The roasty dark malts show up in a big way along with super dark chocolate. This ends up being a damn tasty brew. Thick viscous body. The carbonation is on the lower end of the spectrum but there is enough to keep things moving. This is without a doubt a sipper. Easy drinking but a beer to end the night with. I’ve been on this bottle for over an hour and the complexity keeps growing. Another good beer from Port Brewing. They seem to constantly come up with quality brews. This does seem to be a hybrid style ale leaning more toward a porter than an imperial stout. 2/23/08

22oz bottle. Almost black beer with a sticky and lasting tan head. Aroma of burnt malt, coffee, alcohol, and brown sugar. The flavor has a lot of roasted malts, with some ashiness. Dark chocolate with some sugar, and a little vanilla/wood character. Finishes bitter, dry, and hoppy. Thick and creamy mouthfeel. There are some good flavors in here, but kinda feels like a stout with a shot of whisky in it. Drinkable in smaller doses. rerate: 22oz bottle. Black with a lasting tan head. Aroma of chocolate, vanilla, wood, caramel, and coffee. The flavor is smooth dark chocolate and coffee with light caramel, some wood and vanilla. Almost no alcohol and medium sweetness. Full bodied but not very heavy for style. Much better than I remember and honestly ridiculously good. An imperial stout if I’ve ever seen one, and very nice.

Bottle. Black, deep tan head that fades slowly. Sweet to the nose, sweet to the tongue, slight tingle to the aftertaste. Would move this to the Imperial Stout category possibly.

Fresh 22oz bottle pours pitch black with a big frothy tan head. Has a WTF smell of grassy, buttery hop pellets and some blackened malts. Full bodied and smooth. Decent taste is blackened malt with a black licorice sweetness. Has a strong alcohol bite to finish. Different best describes this beer. Aged bottles of this are better, a cellared bottle update is in work. 31207

Pours somewhat thinly to a deep blend of garnet and black; watery lacing and a wisp of grayish foam. Aroma is lightly bitter and forcefully sweet, with caramelized sugar and butter, maple, honey, and strawberries; hints of charred blonde brownies, apple peel, caramel and hazelnut latte. Mildly roasty, with bold and even dimensions of malt, but almost overpowering in sweetness. Flavor has a very soft and savory bourbon presence of vanilla, pineapple and toasted coconut, offset by a balanced bitterness of acerbic berry skins and roasted espresso. Thin sweetness of honey and sugar water hollows out the mid palate, leading to a searing hop bitterness of cascade and plastic like wood tones. Very smooth in the mouth, soft and milky, with mild carbonation; medium to full bodied, and slightly loose. Hint of cinnamon and Mexican chocolate with more bourbon and pineapple in the finish; long, but laid back, and still very sweet. Whimpers of coffee and dirty earth acridity linger throughout. Pleasant for the most part. Thanks Alex!

Bouteille de 22 oz obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur de mélasse, de chocolat et de cerises avec une pointe de vanille. Apparence: La couleur ets noire opaque. Présence d’un mince col beige mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de chocolat et de petits fruits avec une pointe de vanille et de café. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est plein avec une texture huileuse. Forte effervescence en bouche. Présence de chocolat avec une pointe d’alcool en arrière goût. (Rating #1474)

Thin head that does not last long. Reduces to a thin creamy foam on top. Rich roasty and malty aroma. Lots of molasses, brown sugar, roasted grains and a bit of vanilla. Color is a very dark brown with a hint of red around the edges. Rich malty flavor. Lots or roasted malts, some burnt toast, sweet chocolate and a nice hops bitterness. Noticable alcohol presence that warms as it goes down. There is plenty of flavor and body to offset the alcohol. Finishes rich and smooth and creamy. Lots of lingering roasted grains and sweet malts. Just a very complex and powerful brew with loads of flavor. A very good ASA.

Bomber. Jet black (apologies to the Stranglers!!). Nose of alcohol, liquor, spices, candi sugar. Taste of overwhelming alcohol/bourbon but not in a bad way. A bit of fruit, taffy, bubblegum. Mouth is viscous, sticky, not a quaffer-duh....Listening to John Coltrane puts this toward a scotch on the rocks at the bar chilling out with great jazz....Excellent..