Rock Bottom Chicago Barrel-Aged Coffee Porter

Brewed by Rock Bottom Chicago
Style: Porter
Chicago, Illinois USA

On Tap @ the brewpub- Pours a pitch black, small off white head. Aroma of butterscotch, booze, bourbon. Flavor is sweet, oats, caramel, bourbon, bitter finish. Very balanced, and delicious.

At RB Chicago: Dark black with a brown head and a BIG coffee aroma. True to aroma, nice coffee flavors. Lacks any bitterness ... this is mellow with a funky finish. Good though.

Before I started on RateBeer, I never would’ve guessed there were so many beers brewed in my native Illinois. And now, here I am at IL rating #200 (out of 1409), and what a dandy beverage it is. It’s very dark brown, but clear, with a frothy, slightly lighter brown head. The aroma is malty sweet with roasted malt, chewy toffee, a dollop of chocolate, maple, old coffee, and lots of bourbon. Thick and vinuous, it’s loaded with a barleywine-like sweetness, roasted barley, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, a touch of smokey woodiness, and, of course, bourbon. It’s undoubtedly the barrel aging that does it, but I would have thought this was an imperial stout. Mr. Crowley had better get working on the next batch!

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Bottom Chicago, Chicago, IL<font size=-1>

On tap at RB – Chicago. Poured near black with a short, fairly well-retained yellowy-brown head. The aroma picked up sweet bourbon and vanilla first with nice complexity coming shortly behind.. cold medium-roast coffee hit along with aged oak chips, darker chocolate, and more vanilla.. sweet and engaging! The flavor was on par.. well-roasted coffee bitterness hit the tip of the tongue with coffee and vanilla rolling in shortly afterward.. roasty chocolate and coffee middle with light vanilla and bourbon surrounding.. long, decadent coffee and vanilla finish.. the barrel influence was low, and it worked very well. Surprisingly creamy feel on the palate with moderate carbonation.. great contrast of sharper bourbon and coffee bitterness on the back-end.. long, strong caffeinated finish. Great brew!

Good Lord! Brewmaster Pete has three barrel-aged beers out in the summer! Oh, wait... it’s GABF time. In that case...
Draft at RB. The bourbon notes here are not that prominent. Perhaps because it’s cobining with the coffee to give it more of a Kahlua type smell. Seems nice and creamy at first, but then the coffee and hop bitterness combine to give a little tickle on the roof of your mouth. That said, it may not be "extreme" enough for a barrel-aged category, but it’s black, chewy, creamy and coffee-y, so what more could you want?

Delicate vanilla, coffee aroma. Very black, 96% opaque. It struck me that the body is a bit lighter than you would expect, and the coffee-bourbon leads to some very curious combinations of flavors (sometimes, e.g., having a "celery seed" hint). Very dry, with espresso beans and more roasted dimensions coming out later. Nice effort. (on tap, Rock Bottom, Chicago, IL)

tap at RB Chicago on 1/18/08....served in a snifter....an almost black pour with a lingering tan head. points for looking pretty tasty...nose was chock-full of rich dark chocolate and loads of roasted coffee. traces of vanilla probably coming from the barrel but i can’t seem to locate any of the bourbon at all....dark chocolate and roasted coffee make up most of the flavor with some lingering bitter roast qualities that follow through to the finish. carbonation level was pretty noticeable and provided a little burn. very little detection of any barrel aging in the flavor.....a pretty nice coffee porter

Sample from tap. Melon, peach, yogurt, and cold coffee in the aroma. Thinned roast flavor - tart white chocolate, coffee, grape. Too tart to fit what the beer is trying to do. 8 3 7 4 15

Pint re-rate 1/13/2006: Black body, thin brown head that laces well. A heavy bourbon dominates the aroma but it still has a good coffee/chocolate base. I’d like to see less bourbon and perhaps more vanilla come from the barreling. The flavor tips the balance more towards tart berry-like coffee and dark chocolate with the bourbon taking up the finish. I’d like to try this coffee porter w/o the barrel.