Port Brewing Old Viscosity

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

Rich black color with creamy brown head. Chocolate and roasted malts on the nose with just the faintest hops. Vanilla, intense oak, roasted oatmeal, chocolate, and just the faintest bitterness at the end. Sweet and smooth.

650 ml. Opaque black with a lasting 1/4 inch of creamy foam and nice sticky lace. Cocoa, caramel, oats and oak on the nose. Chocolate, cherry, coffee and fruity oat on the gulp. Charry smoke, tobacco and roast on the finish. Medium-heavy body is smoothly carbonated and dangerously drinkable, with a roasty dry finish.

Pours opaque deep brown with a foamy rootbeer head that lingures. Aroma is coffee, chocolate & slight bourbon. Are you sure this isn’t an Imperial stout?! Flavor is more of the same, with the subtle coffee taking a back seat to the chocolate and a touch of vanilla and smoke. Excellent 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.

A vigorous pour into my snifter provokes a 1.5 finger head to materialize out of the beeradvocate-background-colored liquid. 10 minutes later the coffee + creamer hued foam is gone, without so much as a trace of lace to remember it by, but oh how it will live on in my nasal memory. As the vapors enter my nose I feel bombarded by single malt scotch and espresso, while milk chocolate makes a much less violent foray into my senses, slapping feebly at my olfactory faculties. The hairs therein struggle to remain unsinged by this roasted malt powerhouse. Coffee inundates my tongue, flanked by dark chocolate and another regiment of roasted coffee beans. Alcohol fires warning shots across my palate but never mounts a serious offensive. Mouthfeel is sublime, small bubbles march across the entrance to my alimentary tract, providing support and cover for the tank battalion that is this beer’s taste. Well I’ve run out of steam for this absurd war analogy, perhaps that will give you an idea of the drinkability (I wouldn’t have been this creative if I wasn’t slightly buzzed). Nevertheless I want another. And another. I just wish my truck could produce it like the label shows.

22oz bottle. Pours a deep motor oil black. Nose is soy sauce with hints of chocolate and caramel and whisky. Flavor is tons of caramel and dark malty goodness. Some chocolate and dark cherry round out a wonderful expressive palate. World class beer.

Sample at Bishops Arms, Folkungagatan in June 09. Nice black color. Fluid reminded a lot of oil, so beautiful. Nice aroma with a lot of hops, hints of caramel, chocolate, vanilla and roasted notes, pretty sweet. The taste is a minor explosion of a lot of good stuff. Wood, chocolate, coffee, coconut. Body was heavy and so was the bitterness. The beer also had a pleasant alcohol warming. Great, great beer!

22oz. Bomber: This one pours a slightly thick, extremely dark brown. It looks a bit like used 30 weight oil. It forms a small but dense tan head. Coffee and chocolate are the first things that hit the nose. Some bourbon and possibly a hint of vanilla in the background. Very tasty. There is a hint of the alcohol right up front, along with the chocolate malt. A hint of fruits follow, but no real sweetness to it. Feels a bit warming in your mouth. This is excellent. I’ve got to try and get a few more before they are gone!