Port Brewing Old Viscosity

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

Thanks to awaisanen for this 2006 bottle. Pours a deep black with a small bubbly/creamy lightly lacing deep tan head. Aroma of sweet toasted/lightly roasted malts, caramel, light alcohol, some almonds and bar cherries. Flavors of caramel, milk chocolate, mixed nuts, some vanilla and woody notes. Nicely done, looking forward to trying the Older. Nice creamy palate.

22oz bottle: Oil can black pour with a thick, mocha head. The nose is pretty wild - the aroma ranges from coffee laden imperial stout to bitter strong ale to plummy doppelbock to molasses rich old ale. Wow - the barrel aging adds another layer of wood that brings everything together. The body is thick and viscous and starts bitter. Luscious notes of brownies, fresh coffee and barrel aging lead into a pleasant finish. Wow - this is one for the books. Originality is an understatement for this brewery.

Fun aroma redolent of rum and molasses with coffee liquor notes. Rich caramel, molasses, and coffee flavors come along with a very thick, sweet, mouth-coating body with a strong, warming alcohol character.

a thoughtfully crafted beverage. sweet caramel alcohol aroma, dark as night and a deep tan head. palate is sherry, smoke, charred wood, syrup - just delicious.

The second I poured this I knew I was in for it. Brown-to-black in color with a minimal head... quickly faded away into a ring of chocolate-colored bubbles. While you’re pouring it, you can actually see how thick and (true to it’s name) viscous it is. The aroma was a complex (almost confusing) array of roasted malt, burnt toast/smokiness, coffee, chocolate, molasses, some sort of leatheriness, and an interesting medicinal alcoholic hint. Ok and now for the flavors... just ridiculous and over the top maltiness with a nice rich sweet molasses/brown sugariness. A lot of smokiness, burnt grains, a very apparent wooden-barrel-ness, a certain leatheriness, with overtones of coffee, chocolate, soy sauce, a subtle spiciness... overwhelming. Maybe my favorite aspect of this beer is the SUPER slick molasses-like mouthfeel... starts out like some sort of liquid candy and then turns to a soft champagne-like bubbliness... just awesome. Yes, it certainly is an insanely "BIG" beer. But I didn’t have too hard of a time finishing it...

Okay, this is just a phenomenal beer. Black pour, thick short brown head, solid aroma of molasses, roasted malt, chocolate, and some hops. Strong taste of mostly the same, with leather, old wood, soy, and some alcohol in the finish. Very smooth.

Bottle: pours jet black with no head other than a very thin ring around the glass, aroma reminds me of Imperial Stouts that I have had - that strong roasted aroma and some hints of coffee and chocolate, taste is burnt, bitter dark chocolate. This is really good. I’m not sure I’d classify this as an American Strong...it’s more of an Imperial Stout to me and a damn good one at that.

From a 22 oz. bomber bottle with no bottled/freshness date, a short blurb along the left side of label, sampled at a cool cellar temperature in a chalice. Poured a dark, yes, oily, blackish brown with a foamy head that settled into a thin bubbly lacing, minimal amount of laced sticking. Aromas of toasted nutty grain, raisins, molasses, licorice and burnt chocolate, oaky, and floral hops that mingles with the alcohol. Good, moderate carbonation and a crisp, alcohol laced, creamy smooth fullish-medium bodied mouthfeel, a definite sipper. Delicious tasting and dangerously quaffable, raisins, nutty and grainy, a roasted, burnt chocolate malty bitterness, a touch of molasses, floral, spicy hops, a nice vanilla barrelness, the alcohol is there, but blends with the other flavors, warming in the palate and a dryish, roasted malty finish with a little sweet fruity alcohol lingering in the palate. This is a very enjoyable brew on any level, tasty and balanced, a wonderful strong ale, well worth seeking out and trying.