Port Brewing Old Viscosity

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

bomber. fills the glass like spent oil. overall quite dark allowing no signs of light to pass through itself. a chocolate brown head roughly one finger high makes a brief appearance before it turns into a thin ring around the edge of the glass. seems to be an active little gut with many tiny bubbles rising to the surface. kinda unusual for a barrel aged beer. the nose displays many oak aged characteristics like vanilla and a little tobacco char, as well as hints of whiskey and plenty of black strap molasses. some alcohol is also detected way in the back. mouthfeel is solid, a tad thinner than i thought it might be, and the carbonation is higher than usual for a beer in this style. more going on in the nose than the taste. if you can smell it you will taste it, but you won’t find anything otherwise.more hops than i saw coming and it was a pleasant surprise. a solid brew i think this one’s a little overrated.

On tap at the brewery 07-10-09. Pours a super thick jet black with very little mocha head that did leave nice lacing. Amazingly sweet aroma of dark chocolate, hints of nut. Very sweet with almost too much fizz on the tongue. Though sweet, it is well balanced and amazing for what it is. Has a great finish with little bitter chocolate. Fantastic beer.

A very nice beer. I don’t know why they call it a American Strong Ale. It’s more like an Imperial Stout. Some of the best.

black body, (even my led flash does not penetrate the brew), medium, quickly disappearing tan head, nice lace. really attractive beer. nose of chocolate, roasted malt, maybe a touch of coffee. flavor seems to lean more toward roasty coffee, but there are toffee hints, chocolate hints and a roasty malty aftertaste. medium bodied, with a hoppy bitter finish. the alcohol is too well hidden (i enjoy getting hit over the head by a big alcohol mallet), but a very well done effort, which i would do again, although i am not sure it is sessionable.

Bottle. Tasty beer. Pours black with minimal head. Nose is smokey, coffee, roasted malt. Taste is big roasted malt, oak, vanilla, and molasses. Body is medium and drinkable. Finish is smooth

500ml bottle purchased in October of 2008 in Seattle...opened in August of 2009 in Madison. RATING 1000!! Opaque black with a brown-beige head. Deep toffee and licorice aroma, perhaps some alcohol-laced prunes as well. The carbonation has mellowed out just a pinch from the aging. Sandy, dry, and bitter hops coat the thick malt body. The sublime bourbon barrel taste almost works like a bridge between the thick, brown-sugary malt and the solid West Coast hop bill, smoothing it out with it’s deep, syrupy sweetness. An excellent beer, world class all the way.

Wow.... And that really should be enough said, but...Pours black as the ace of spades, thick and viscous like something out of the crankcase of that beater in your garage that you haven’t started since the Nixon Administration, and floating a huge oily tan head. Nose is sweet darkly roasted barley, dark fruits, touches of a weird tartness, coffee, chocolate, and oak. Thick and syrupy mouthfeel that coats and clings to the tongue, palate, tonsils, teeth, and uvula. Huge burnt flavors, dark grains, brown sugar, molasses, charred oak, chocolate, coffee, and again a touch of tartness, right alongside the substantial hop bitterness in the long lingering finish. Alcohol is ever present, but not overwhelming at all. Kind of a weird brew, stylistically, but really very nicely executed.

65 cl bottle. Black body with tan medium size head. Flavour is roasted malt, coffee and chocolate.