Port Brewing Older Viscosity

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

357ml bottle, Batch 1. sampled next to Old Viscosity first batch and 2007 vintage w/ portion aged in bourbon barrel. pours black with no head. nose is very bourbony, oaky, coconut, and lots of alcohol (really reminds me of GI BCS). flavor is pretty hot bourbon, coconut, chocolate, but then the finish comes on strong with bourbon flavor. just too much and hot. I bet this in 2-4 years would be awesome. really reminded me of GI BCS but not nearly as good. 3.5.

4/25/08, Batch 2. aged 6 months. wow this is like night and day compared to batch 1. this is softer much more balanced and wonderful. really smooth and well blended. awesome brew. 4.1.

Early August ’09, sampled a bottle of 2007 bottle, pours black with creamy tan head. looks good and with nice level of carbonation. this really become quite fruity, i mean lots of dark fruit in the nose and flavor where the bourbon, oak, and alcohol have really faded out. tasty but lost something special.

8/28/09, 2009 batch, pours black with a slim off white head around the rim. the aroma is a smokey nutty bourbon with chocolate undertones. flavor has some sharp dark fruit and bourbon notes, smokey, the chocolate is there but underplayed and soy sauce and licorice rounds the whole thing out while charred malt/oak and alcohol sits on the palate. the barrel aging as really thinned this beer out but it really never started as some motor oil impy. in the end this is a tasty beer and best consumed within 6months of release. this vintage is almost flat and would improve with slightly more carbonation. anywhere near worth the asking price? hell no. 3.9. 10/29/09, ’09 batch on draft at maproom. wow lots of bourbon in this compared to the bottled stuff. strong strong bourbon in a tobacco charred wood way, at times a bit rough going down. still enjoyed. 3.9.

4/9/07 375 ml. 2007 vintage. Black, no head. No carbonation pop on uncorking. A light aroma of Bourbon and Worcestershire. A surprisingly light body . Taste of salt, worcestershire and bourbon

Date: December 01, 2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Strong Ale Fest
Vintage: 2006
Appearance: black, headless
Aroma: light sweet malt aroma
Flavor: huge bourbon flavor, lots of sweet vanilla, too much bourbon

Date: February 13, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2006
Aroma: rich sweet alcoholic aroma
Body: thin body
Overall: sweet bourbon and vanilla, still lots of bourbon but some roasted and chocolate is finding its way through

Date: April 28, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2006
still too hot and thin

Date: June 24, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: RBSG tasting
Vintage: 2006
still hot but some ripe fruit is starting to work its way through the bourbon

Date: January 12, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2006
Words: vertical
Aroma: 06 is more bourbon and dark chocolate aroma where the 07 brings in more oak and a vanilla sweetness
Flavor: the 06 flavor is still very boozy compared to the the 07 which has more sweetness and dark malts to balance with the bourbon
Overall: a blend gives the perfect amount of bourbon and chocolate

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

Date: December 01, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Pizza Port Bottle Shop
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: black, fine tan head, drops of lace
Aroma: sweet dark chocolate and bourbon candy aroma with a touch of dark fruits, a bit of the alcohol comes through
Body: thick chewy body
Flavor: incredible rich dark chocolate flavor, lots of bourbon for added depth, lots of vanilla brings in the sweetness, roasted malt follows the sweet vanilla to balance it back out, the ripe fruits show up for the second act
Overall: all of the flavors are in perfect harmony and even fresh out of the gate is much better than the 2006, this should be an excellent vintage for years to come

Date: August 30, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2007
Aroma: sweet dark chocolate aroma, light bourbon, touch of fruity tartness
Flavor: rich dry dark chocolate flavor, picking up more of a roasted character that is bringing in an extra bitterness and drying out a lot of the bourbon and vanilla sweetness, eventually the bourbon sweetness comes out but not like when it was fresh

Date: December 07, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2007
Aroma: sweet roasted vanilla and chocolate aroma
Flavor: roasted flavor is still strong but lots of bourbon character and vanilla sweetness keeps it in check, fleeting touch of cherry tartness, light oaky bitterness

Date: April 05, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2007
Aroma: same sweet roasted and dark chocolate aroma enhanced by the vanilla
Flavor: still the rich roasted flavor, bourbon and vanilla is fading, lots of bitter dark chocolate

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4

Date: May 16, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Cellar Stock
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: black, fine brown head, sticky streaks of lace
Aroma: roasted malt aroma, light sweet bourbon, dark chocolate
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich dark chocolate and roasted malt flavor, touch of bourbon is the initial source of sweetness until a bit of vanilla shows up to assist, light bitterness from the dark chocolate character

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Date: August 23, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: South Bay Drugs, San Diego
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: opens with a soft pfft, pours thick and solid black, wispy head, bits of lace
Aroma: sweet winey and fruity aroma, sweet dark chocolate with a bit of caramel, touch of roasted
Flavor: sweet chocolate and bourbon flavor, touch of hot alcohol, light roasted with a touch of bitterness, lingering warm bourbon finish

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Nose is ancient smoked wood, bourbon,liquorice and alcohol, burgundy, red at the sides, zero head, oily on the glass. Very strong alcohol taste, sour, malty, extremely woody(go figure) Full bodied, quite bitter, unbalanced. I think this will mellow with time. Terrific treat!

Thanks to BBB63 for sharing this during one of several Dark Lord Weekend room tastings. Pours virtually flat, black and opaque. Complex aroma of tobacco, leather, and bourbon. Dark fruits dominate the flavor, but the alcohol is there too. This might be fantastic in time if properly aged..

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Black with no head. Dark molasses, some vanilla in the nose. Sweet dark molasses and roasty malt flavors, light vanilla and tobacco. I didn’t get much bourbon, but my palate was nearly shot by this point. Still, very good! Re-rate, C&C 375 at monk’s in Philly. Jet black, oily, ringed brown head. Luscious! Well integrated bourbon and wood, vanilla, toffee, sweet molasses, just WOW! Rate reflects this sample.

Bottle shared by Ryan (frumpty) with Bob and Liz in their warehouse apt in jerz. Bottle popped out with absolutely no carbonation. I think this has been oxidized a bit which is too bad, cause you could easily tell this beer is something great. Nose was strong bourbon and barleywineish. Lots of roasted malts, light cocoa, bourbon--but all a bit subdued. Flavor is similar. I now see why people think this and Old Viscosity tastes like an imperial stout. Definitely share a lot of traits and characteristics. Mouthfeel was thinner than expected but this could be do to oxidation. Not sure if that effects the body. Alcohol noted, but I could easily drink one of these to my head.

RFD Pizza Port/Port/Lost Abbey tastin 6/20 - More mellow then the Old Viscosity. While still an insanly good beer, probably lost a bit of it’s edge.