Port Brewing Old Viscosity

A: An exceptionally aggressive pour into my DFH snifter resulted in a jet black body with a half inch mocha colored head. S: This is an incredibly complex aroma. I’m not sure I even know where to start. It is very apparent that some of this beer has seen the inside of a bourbon barrel. That is the primary aroma I smell here; sweet oaky bourbon. That is followed up by raisins, chocolate, and caramel. Reminds me a bit of World Wide Stout or some kind of strong Old Ale. T: Again, the oak and bourbon are right up front. This is a very boozy tasting beer. There are raisins and a touch of burnt something. The flavor fades into dark cocoa. In short, the flavor is very sweet and fairly boozy. M: Nice medium heavy body with good smoothness. Many times I’d associate a beer this oaky with a thinner body, but this one is nice. D: I’m gonna let a couple more of these age and try them in a while. It seems to me like they’ll get better.

Pours an opaque black with a chocolate milk head that takes its time and laces with vengeance. Smells sweet, cherries, chocolate and roasted coffee. Tastes very sweet. Every indication of a stout up until this point. Dried fruit, cherries, rum and a hop bite. Alcohol makes itself known. Thick and full in the mouth with carbonation a little present. She is a sipper. Worth a try and very tasty along with breaking its categorie’s mold.

Fresh bottle.

Pours deep black, thick as the name and byline indicates. Small tan head. Strong vanilla bourbon nose, hot with alcohol, plenty of cherry and some plum, hints of chocolate. The flavor is much as expected from the nose, maybe slighty sweeter and slightly hotter even, alcohol burning up into the sinuses, strong sweet vanilla bourbon following, raisins and dried fruit, dark but definitely not the roastiness of the imperial stouts to which so many reviewers compare this beer.

It’s very good, hits its stride as it nears room temperature (despite what that does to bring out an over-abundance of bourbon vapors), and it gets better as one gets further into the bottle (10% abv helps there, no doubt). I’ve enjoyed both bombers I’ve had. Still, I think this one needs a couple of years in the cellar to reach its peak. I look forward to doing the experiment. The 3.8 I’ve given it here is a hard-ass rating; I think it can climb to 4.something easily with some cellar time.

On a revisit of an ’07 bottle Oct ’08, I have no idea why I liked this beer. Basically this time around, it’s crap (LA/PB fanboy that I am notwithstanding). Burnt bitter coffee and way too hot and alcoholic, sticky and largely unpleasant. Yikes. Serious disappointment. I’d go about 7/4/6/3/11 =3.1 and that would be generous. I’m shading my rating in that direction accordingly.

Black pour, tan head. Aroma is roasty, sweet, chocolate. Flavor is sweet and sugary up front. Dark chocolate, mollasses, caramel sweetness and lots of anice and some raisens. Coffee in the aftertaste and still very sweet a little too much.

Dark pour with almost no head. Aroma of licorice, chocolate and some booze. Flavor follows suite, but it is much sweeter than I expected. Full and slick mouthfeel. Sweet finish.

Dark brown and a little muddy. Molassesy, a little figgy, with hints of coffee. Big flavour - alcohol, toffee, coffee, wood....crazy complex but not terribly cohesive. More interesting than wow.

220z bottle from FlacoAlto. ASA eh? Looks and initially smells more like a stout. Lets give it a shot. Definitely lots of roasted malt and dark chocolate. Much more of a malt forward ASA. The hops are hiding on the nose but make an appearance on the palate. Pours fairly rich dark brown, almost black with a creamy brown head. Rich, creamy and mostly full bodied on the tongue. Lots of bitter roasted malt, charred vanilla, grassy hops, medium toasted oak and alcohol. Not a hotness per se, but a pleasant warming bourbon note. Excellent right now, but I think this one could be better in a year or two. Thanks Sebastian!

Pours a cloudy dark brown. Roasty malt nose like a sweet pumpernickel bread. Vinous and roasty flavors mingle.