Port Brewing Old Viscosity

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

Bottle consumed next to the older viscosity. Pours a dark brown amber body with a tan head. Vanilla, licorice, alcohol latent fruits, light sugar with a thick viscous body. Lightly roasty with woody notes. Good brew but not on part with the older viscosity.

Poured an opaque brown color with a small, light tan head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of cherries, roasted malts, light chocolate, dried fruits, and some alcohol. Taste of more roasted malts, light chocolate, peat smoke, caramel malts, nuts, sweet cherries, wood, and moderate alcohol. Creamy mouthfeel.

Thanks to Brewfiend! Black color with no head. Nice, bitter roast aroma. The taste is an incredible balance between bitter hop and malt vs sweet malt. A little vanilla. I would not guess that this was bourbon aged at all. Excellent!

Bottle. Nice head with good duration. Color is black. Aroma and taste are roast malt, licorice, tar, bourbon and caramel.

2006 bomber shared with SuIIy on 1/18/07
Dark, near-black body shows a bit of dark mahogany on the edges. Medium tan head is only one-finger high and recedes somewhat quickly to partial cover….Kind of odd, you usually get better retention from PP (though this is the first stout/barleywine sort of beer I’ve had from them so what do I know). The head can be coaxed up again with swirling, but never remains long. Little/no lacing to be had either. Clarity is medium; despite my best efforts to leave the thick layer of sediment at the bottom, the beer is just dark and thick.
A delayed onset of slightly fruity, rather bitter and citric hops allows time for grudgingly sweet malt notes to waft up. Dark chocolate brushed with light char and almost creamy-sweet milk chocolate notes combine with a fine balancing act as a hint of cherry-vanilla can be found as well. Green, juicy but also rather heavily bitter hops finally come and soak in to the malt well. Interesting combinations of fruit (cherry, orange, apple), heavy pine/citrus and chocolatey-sweet malts produce a fairly domineering, but interesting aroma. A bit of ashiness dries things out on the very end, with notes of bitter cocoa, but enough residual sweetness makes it easily bearable. Medium-high strength of aroma, quite sniffable, but the hops sure give a big jolt initially. Dosent seem very focused and I’d be surprised if the brewer’s intentions were to toss a bunch of fruity and bitter hops in to different dark malts and lots of base malt and see what happened. But regardless, the overall excellence of brewing at Pizza Port wins out and no flaws or any real problems are encountered. Little to no alcohol heat in the nose relative to its strength, maybe a touch of dry vapors after warming.
Not quite as sweet to begin the flavor, a lightly gritty dark malt character scrapes at the palate lightly, while cigars, cherries, dry cocoa and vanilla all explode in every which way. Residual sugars do catch up and soften the texture a good deal, whle providing some creamy sweetness that is much needed, as the hops are very bitter and challenging. Citrus and light pine, quite dry and strong attempt to overwhelm the malt balance. Much of the acidity is soaked up, but some is left in excess and bites at the palate. Char reprise on the finish, with plenty of hops (bitterness and flavor) and light caramel breadiness. With warming, I find a lot of cherry and vanilla, quite enjoyably so, but the hop wallop fatigues the palate and dosent seem to die down. Alcohol rather apparent by the end.

65 cl bottle at Rotary "student pub", Göteborg
On Ferbuary 26, 2009
Black color, brown head. Sweet, raissin, alcohol, licorice, roasted scent. Salty, roasted, alcohol taste. Chocolate and alcohol aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel, high bitterness. Works very well with pizza.

Pours a very dark thick hazy brown, close to being motor oil black but has some wierd ornagey/ruby highlights and a deep frothy head that disipates to a coating film. Roasty aroma with lots of burnt malts, but isnt all too stoutish- due to the extra fruity esters, citrusy hops, chocolate nuttiness, and barleywine sharp crystal malts and slight alcohol. Fruity dry fig, and raisin flavor with more dry roastiness and chocolate malts. Finishes syrupy and thick though with lots of residual sugars to coat the mouth. For such a high abv, the thickness is nice in hiding the alcohol. Great strong ale.

(650ml bottle) Sampled at Oakes 2007 Christmas party. Brown head with opaque body. Nose is spicey and soya sauce, coffee. Flavour is straight cocoa with a mild spiced finish. Okay.