Port Brewing Santas Little Helper Barrel Aged

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Imperial Stout
San Marcos, California USA

Bottle. Black liquid with almost no head. Aroma is sweet, a bit alcoholic and very dominated by the bourbon barrel. Notes of dill and vanilla. Taste is sweet with very much bourbon and notes of dill, alcohol and oak. Quite good, but a very one-sided beer.

Thanks to Dr. Bill for bringing a keg to awaisanen’s baby shower. Huge bourbon aroma, low carbonation and a bit boozy in the flavor.

Almost no carbonation, but the beer itself is pretty nice. Rich, almost cakey, with chocolate, the bourbon barrel is almost perfectly balanced. The main problem is that it’s perhaps a little too sweet.

22oz bottle. pours black with very small tan bubbles for a head. the nose is loaded with bourbon, vanilla, and oak. flavors are lots of sharp bourbon, boozy, vanilla, charred barrel and chocolate. i didn’t mind the flatness of it nearly as much as the high booze level.

bottle. thick and viscous pour, dense black, no carbonation, no head. nose is rich and tangy bourbon-infused dates, plums and dark chocolate, only slightly hot, barely what I would call boozy. the bourbon note is unadulterated and pure, while the dark chocolate is decadent. very malt-forward and enticing. carbonation is near zero but this is the rare beer that benefits (or at worst doesn’t suffer) from being flat - rich, decadent, silky and tense malt density. extremely silky and rich chocolate and cocoa in the finish, some mild cream (irish cream? mint? not sure) with a slight twang/sharpness from the bourbon. wood character is minimal, thankfully, and hop bitterness is close to nonexistent. it’s equivalent to a rich and full-bodied red wine, no carbonation necessary. wonderful stuff.

Sinner’s Club tasting group. Pours black, oily golden lacing and no head. Aroma lots of nice malts, and caramel, medium bourbon, sweet vanilla. Flavor, it has bourbon written all over it, a tad on the low carbonation side, hints of vanilla, barrel, some grains, and caramel. Finish keeps lingering chocolate palate. Overall, I don’t think this beer suffered too much from the lack of carbonation though it could have used just a tad bit of it. Remains very solid brew.

Bottle at the release of Flaming Fury. Pours a still jet black with no head. Bourbon, vanilla, roast, and caramel. Smells delicious. No carbonation at all however. Flat as it could be, which is a shame because it really kills what would be an otherwise amazing beer. Delicious with coffee, chocolate, dried figs. Finishes up with dry crisp roast and char notes.

22oz bottle thanks to Odeed! No hiss upon opening--surprise! Black with about 12 bubbles of carbonation, and after about 10 seconds to fade to nothing. Still. Bourbon, roast and chocolate dominate with brown sugar and wood. Flavor is much the same-actually pretty good. Finishes with a little spicy tobacco and roast, as well as some alcohol. Bitterness @ a 3. Full syrupy body with no carbonation--not even a hint. Would have been great if the beer was actually carbonated. But, it isn’t, and it is incomplete.