Port Brewing Old Viscosity

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

650 mL bottle. Dark brown to black with short lived light brown head. Sweet aroma of licorice, chocolate, and alsohol. Full bodied palette, but not mush else going on. Taste initally malty sweet with hints of fruit transitioning to an intense but pleasant bitterness and finishing with a lingering chocolate and aclohol taste.

Having been blown away by the Older Viscosity just a few hours prior, I thought there was certainly no way this brew could live up to its bourbon barrel aged brother. Boy, was I mistaken. The brew pours a deep, dark, chocolaty mahogany brown. A minimal, swirly film coats the top, with a thin bubbly edge leaving behind minimal spots of sudsy lacing. The aroma is intensely rich and roasty. Dark chocolate, nougat, dark cherries, and figs all play huge roles. Moderate earthy hops are present, though the roast tends to drown them out a bit. I swear I pick up some bourbon in this version, though its probably just the alcoholic fumes blending with the caramel and nougat. The flavor is incredibly rich and chewy, with chocolate, caramel, nougat, and oak fighting one another for top billing. The mouthfeel is thick and viscous, considerably more substantial than the Older version. Finishes incredibly long, roasty, and warm. Awesome brew. Just as good as the Older, though very different. I’ll be buying more of this for sure.

To my beloved Casey...my soccer loving sucker: The luscious black pour is opaque as nightfall and thin layer of tan foam lays on the surface like the illusion of skin...as the delicate nose rises like smoke from my shapely tulip glass, the roasty malts tickle the forest of nosehairs before getting to the place where fine aromas light themselves...graham cracker crust chocolate pie is the first memory that jars my olfactory sense...then a time when I was in line at Starbucks behind a nurse from a zit doctor’s office...her name was Casey and she reminds me of this beer so much...a thick chewy flavor rolls its way into my mouth...flavors of licorice, peanuts, stale bread, and alcohol dance merrily into my mouth...the finish seems to have some menthol qualities...I do hope my rating does not disappoint...since if I were to disappoint, perhaps my beloved would realize that no one likes her at all...seriously.

22oz bomber. thanks to alafito for this bottle. great label. pours a very dark (not pitch black) color with small head. aroma is really something special, super sweet chocolate, coffee, molasses, smoke, dark fruits, vanilla, and piney hops. nose reminds me of expedition stout. mouthfeel needs to be thicker, otherwise this is probably an imperial stout? (i think it might as well be). taste has nice syrupy semi-sweet bitter dark chocolate notes alcohol warms on the way down (bottle says 10%, site says 12%), molasses, dark fruits, and caramel. gets better as it warms up. i do wish this had a bigger mouthfeel and gave into it’s wannabe imperail stout ways but this really is great beer, the last 4 ounces were amazing...8/5/8/4/16=4.1...

9/11/07, with holdenn. We put the first batch (no portions barrel aged) cellar aged a year next to a 2007 vintage with portion aged in bourbon barrels and next to Older Viscosity (see that rating for results).
First batch (aged 1 year) 22oz bottle, pours black with very small tan head that quickly turned to having no head. nose is really bourbony (i thought this wasn’t portion bourbon aged), rich caramel, and licorice. a really complex nose. flavor notes of chocolate, caramel, burnt roasty character, with a subtle bourbony and alcohol finish. 8/3/7/4/14 = 3.6
22oz portion barrel aged 2007, pours black with creamy tan head. nose is bready, nuts, and baker’s chocolate. flavor is chocolatey, lots of dark fruits, caramel, subtle alcohol burn, and nutty. mouth feel is pretty creamy. carbonation is smooth. flavor just doesn’t seem very complex, and surprising that this was the least bourbon flavor of the 3...7/4/7/4/15 = 3.7.
The 3 beers were surprisingly very different. I’d like to age the first batch another year and maybe it won’t feel so hot and harsh. The 2007 vintage could use a year or two to develop some complexity of it’s own and maybe the chocolate and bourbon notes will come out more. overall, this beers score took a big drop from previous rating and i feel it’s appropriate to use the score of the fresher 2007 vintage.

From Voldby, DK. Bottled, 120209. Dark brown with small head. Aroma of chocolate and liqourice. Flavor is roasted with hints of sweet fruit and alcohol

I had this on draft at the 2006 Pizza Port Real Ale fest in Carlsbad. This brew has absolutely perfect mouthfeel: silky smooth. The flavors and aromas are explosions of chocolate. Loved it.

Pours very dark brown; smallish, but thick chocolate head. Great aroma of chocolate, roasted malt and caramel. Earthy. Flavor was much of the same; very much like a stout. Smooth and oily on the mouth.

Bottle. Black color with a light brown head. A robust dark fruit (raisin and plums) and chocolate aroma with a warming alcohol in the nose. There is a quick bite in the flavor with chocolate, coffee, burnt malts, and molasses. A long coffee aftertaste. Smooth, silky, and rich.