Sometimes the sample man brings you stuff that you are too polite to say bad things about. That happened when a plain brown bottle of this was brought to me and I drank it with Sample Man and others. I couldn't say why it left me unmoved, and thought about going to the taproom for a growler. Glad I didn't. I did give it a second chance, picking up a bomber at a store (why didn't he bring this, instead of a bottle filled from the tap the day before?), putting eight dollars of my own money into the effort of giving this beer a fair shake.
Dark brown, opaque, small head turns to nothing in no time. Eh.
Aroma: Barrel tones, whisky, vanilla and such, plus dark malt, cocoa, coffee, sweet dark malts, molasses. Pleasant.
In the mouth: ah, I don't know about this one. Whisky-ish elements board the tongue, and little else. There's not much porter-y below. The barrel doesn't really embellish a fine beer beneath it, it seems to cover up not much of anything. My tongue is left wanting. In full truth, I am left very unhappy with this unpleasant flavor in this disappointing beer. There's nothing here, and I'm sad that they sent it out into the world. Each new sip confirms it: there's not enough of a good beer here to stand up with the barrel-aging (honeycomb spirals, I was told). It's weak in body, lacks real integrity, and feels limp and sad in the mouth. how else can I put this? It's bad covered in bad.
Some chocolate malt flavor comes through with confidence later in, but it's wasted bravado. Too limp, too weak, too sad, and lacking in what we want in either a porter or a barrel-aged beer.
Aaargh! I hate to hate a beer, but I hate this beer. I got a sample of this from the brewery, and it don't move me at all. So, I gave an $8 bomber a chance, and it's just as bad, if not worse. Argh! Don't sell this, Tin Whiskers! And don't buy it, people!
Ah, man, I don't know if I sold this one hard enough, but...drinking this is no joy. In fact, it makes me sad. I don't turn to beer to make me sad.
Sigh...The website says This: An oak-aged porter with strong vanilla notes and just a hint of cherry • 7.5% ABV.
The bottle says: Appearance: Deep brown with a light tan head. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a lower carbonation. Taste: Malty chocolate with notes of oak, vanilla, and cherry. Aroma: Strong vanilla and malt aromas with a hint of cherry.
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