Tyranena Dirty Old Man

Brewed by Tyranena Brewing
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Lake Mills, Wisconsin USA

12oz Stubby $7.99 4-Pack Steve’s Mineral Point Dirty Old Man is a rye porter aged in rye whiskey barrels. This concoction gurgles out of the bottle a coffee and cream brown but occupies the glass black without letting any light shine through. The head grew one finger high and was cocoa colored. As the head fell to a thick cap it became creamy and left solid sheet lacing here and there. You can see the carbonation crawling up the sides of the glass and keep the head alive. The nose of this beer is big and distinct. There’s a definite rye presence from both the porter and barrel aging that extends throughout the aroma. Coffee, roasty malts, and dark berries combine nicely to add layer upon layer of complexity. The oak is in there but seems more a component of the spicy rye then an aroma working by itself. I can hardly pull my nose from the glass. The flavor of this beer is just as complex and delicious as the nose suggested. All the porter notes hit at first. Dark chocolate, mildly roasted malts, and dark berries lead the way in that order. The rye is in there as well with notes from the porter and the barrel. The rye lasts throughout the drink. Mild damp whiskey soaked oak shows up mid palate and a very welcoming vanilla bean presence comes along on the swallow. There’s great depth of flavor here. The chocolate, dark berries, and vanilla make this beer delicious and the rye spiciness adds even more flavor. The body of this beer is on the lighter side of heavy which is helped by the carbonation making it incredibly velvety and smooth. There’s an ample amount of carbonation but it always manages to stay calm, making the body massage its way through the mouth. This is a sipper just from the depth of flavor. It’s a beer I would love to sip all night. Dirty Old Man is one of those beers that could be opened at any time of the day and fully enjoyed. I don’t want my glass to empty, this is my last bottle. Dirty Old Man is a great beer. One I would love to see available on a rotating basis. Hopefully this one gets made again. Of course I do love rye whether it be whiskey, beer, bread, or whatever. Tyranena has been doing some really incredible things with their Brewers Gone Wild series lately. They’re quickly becoming one of the top tier breweries in the country. I can’t get enough of their stuff. Serving type: bottle 6/30/08

12 oz. bottle. Purchased in Spring 2008; consumed on 1-18-09. Quite complex, pleasant, chalky, smoky aroma features cigar, mocha, and milk chocolate scents. Pours a clear dark brown with a deep burgundy hue and a small to moderate amount of soft, dark beige head. Dark chocolate and whiskey flavors. There is a light coffee finish, but the primary taste is surprisingly soft and creamy/milky. The beer lacks the spiciness for which I was hoping from a rye-whiskey-barrel-aged beer, but it’s refreshing to taste a whiskey-barrel-aged beer that isn’t over-the-top corn-sweet. Light, roasted coffee bean aftertaste. Silky in the palate. Medium to heavy body. Much easier to drink than I expected. The beer is strong across the board. I guess that the taste has mellowed and the palate and aroma have improved through aging. It’s very subtle, refined, and pleasant overall. I doubt that’s what the brewers were going for, but it’s very good nonetheless.

2008 Bottle - Thanks motortoddhead! - Pours black with a medium tan head..aroma is sticky brown malt, oak...flavour not as wild as some of the others, fairly sweet porter, good smoke and wood, faint whiskey, finishes with a pleasant bitterness...solid, good...booze well hidden...

pours black with a frothy brown head. smells sweet, slightly of bourbon but with other aromas such as malt and caramel. has a distinct rye taste with that funky whiskey flavor found in many a beer aged in whiskey barrels.

Bottle: Poured a deep black color stout witha nice fomay bhead with good retention and good lacing. Aroma of whiskey notes with some warmimg notes. Taste is a mix between some dry roasted malt with some notes of whiskey. Full body with some good carbonation and light alcohol noticeable. Lacking complexity but still very enjoyable.

Pours dark brown with a small beige head. Aroma is of bitter chocolate and coffee. No whiskey that I can detect. Flavor is more milk chocolate and only slightly bitter. Quite carbonated, but not in a distracting way. Palate is medium bodied. Smooth and easy drinking. Good oak and vanilla in the finish.

Sample at the Hopsnobbery Collective Porter tasting at Dogbricks on 12/4/08. Pours darkest brown with a minimal tan head. Complex aroma of malt, bread, alcohol, dark fruit and coffee. Malty, creamy flavor with some bread and bourbon on the finish. After having The Devil Made Me Do It many months ago, I am not at all surprised that this offering is also stellar. I have got to try some other brews from these folks.

12 oz bottle via trade. Wow is this one awesome smelling beer. Ever dream of having an alcoholic chocolate ice cream float? Well this is it big time aroma of a chocolate ice cream, vanilla, whiskey and wood. Flavor sadly did not live up to the aroma and loads of butter shine through along with some chocolate and vanilla mixed in with wood. Body on this one is rather thin for a porter and I would put it bordering on watery for this style. Still after an aroma like this it needs to rate high because wow did this one smell good.