Anderson Valley Port Barrel Stout

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Boonville, California USA

Serve in English pint

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

On tap at Apex with mcberko, pours a solid black with a red tint and no head. Aroma of vanilla ice cream, port, oatmeal, dark fruits and candied sugar. Favour of lots of port and hints of sour fruits to start, followed by oatmeal and candied sugar, then turns lightly smokey and woody, but maintains the sweetness throughout. Unusually flavoured. Unsure if it works or not. Palate goes on an interesting journey.

Draft at DBGB in NYC. The menu called it "Anderson Valley Port Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout". A small, grayish-khaki swirly of foam sits atop a deep cola to mahogany brown body. There’s a nice dark cherry sheen to the edge. A light soapy wash completely rejoins the body below. The aroma shows loads of chocolate covered cherries and darkly toasted oats, burnt caramel, and dry cocoa. A soft, vinous, cherry-grape character is tannic and oaky, with a slightly tart twang to it. Smells nice. Flavors show more silky cocoa dusted cherries and soft malty roast, followed by that drying, vinous, cherry skin tannic finish. Oats are distinct, lending a creamy, slightly chalky taste and feel. The palate is medium bodied, silky, and lightly carbonated, with that aforementioned drying finish. Overall, a very solid and unique beer.

On tap at Apex in Portland, split with Matts_Property, pours a red-tinged black with minimal head. Aroma of port, sweet liqueurs and vanilla. Flavour brings out incredibly sour port barrels with a vinous quality. The sourness is not pleasing, hinting at something gone wrong. Barely drinkable.

Deep black with a huge beige head. A very big, port-fruity wine-grape nose. But in the mouth its vinegary, not much stout flavour there at all. Very sour, very tart. The only present flavour I was expecting would have been the hint of vanilla that is very full on around in what comes across as quite a mess of a beer. I think there was probably something wrong with this.

A: The pour is dark brown in color with a rather tall tan head. S: Nicely tart from the dark fruit and port aromas. There’s a fair bit of oak and wine along with a nice sweetness to go with a mild roast and dark chocolate character. Seems to be a strong graham cracker note. T: Sweet wine/port flavors abound. Plenty of oak to it as well. The roast is somewhat mild and instead the more dominant flavors are dark fruits and sweet graham crackers. Light chocolate notes, perhaps some hints of caramel. M: Medium bodied with low to medium carbonation. O: This is such a solid beer. I’m not always the biggest port or port barrel aged beer fan, but this is good stuff.

Crazy random share at Woodshop, very kind person poured me some of this after inquiring about some of the beers I brought to share. Pure madness! This thing poured dark with a tan head, not much else in terms of lacing/retention. Dark almost completely opaque body. Smell is a chocolate cherry and slight vanilla. Whoa at the intensity of cocoa and vinous port character. The barrel has consumed the base beer I’d say, but it’s bizarre how intensely the port comes off. I’m baffled but intrigued. Weird beer, not bad at all, just the port went way more of a wine direction than I ever would have thought the base beer to go. Velvet feels with mild to missing carbonation.

Tap at the Davis Graduate. Pours black with a little head. Sour, vinous aroma. Full bodied, sour, portish, turning a bit towards sweet burnt malt. All kinds of things - even ash I think. Finishes rather sour. Very interesting. Extremely good ale.

Bottle 119 of 150 a big thanks to JohnGalt1. Pours out a thick and rich dark brown almost black topped with a small sand head. Aroma was over the top lots of sweetness milk chocolate, vanilla, roast, and fruit. Taste was just as good as the aroma more of the sweet chocolate. Cherries stood out as well as the wine barrel.

Bottle 119/150 - Thanks JohnGalt!!! - Gave up on trying to get this long ago...Pours thick and almost black with a beige rign for a head...aroma is sweet, cherry, milk chocolate, vanilla and dk malt...very enticing...flavour is vinous, sour cherry, toffe, thin coffee and some baking cocoa...much thinner in the mouth than I expected...I’m a big fan of the idea of wine barrel aging, but I haven’t really been blown away by too many of them yet...

Bottle. Super dark pour with a small head. Aroma is nice and sweet, some sour, grape, wine, sherry, port, and alcohol with some roast and vanilla. Taste is sweet and strong alcohol. A bit winey with some barrel and roasted malts. Bone dry finish and was actually pretty nice to drink. A whole different animal than Barney Flats.