Black Oak Nutcracker

Brewed by Black Oak Brewing
Style: Porter
Etobicoke, Canada

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Picked up from the brewery. Advance screening before it hits the LCBO shelves. Aroma: Lovely deep roasted coffee notes. Dark bready/toasty aromas. Appearance: Opaque and black. Nice tan head, creamy look and some nice lacing. No visible carbonation. Flavour: Toasted pumpernickel bready flavour, with dominant coffee flavour. Some spice, cinnamon I think or some nutmeg. Very seasonal. Mild hop bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy, fairly full bodied with not too much carbonation, some warming alcohol feeling in the finish (the 5.8% abv gives a nice winter warmth). Overall: Gorgeous porter. Ken at Black Oak is a really solid brewer and this is one of his favorite seasonals (I inferred from how excited he seemed while telling me about it!).

From notes. 12oz bottle at Black Oak. Pours a very dark brown with a nice small tan head. Aroma is coffee and nuts, nice sweet malts and noticeable alcohol. Mouthfeel is thick and full bodied.

On tap, pours a deep dark brown with a tan head. Cinnamon & nutmeg on the nose with bitter hops. An enjoyable winter seasonal.

Cask at C’est What. Pours black with a tan head. Smells of nuts and cinnamon with heavy malt. Tastes a medium bitter with a strong sweetness and spices. Full bodied. Light carbonation. Finishes cloyingly.

550ml draught
5.8% ABV
I tried this beer on November 25, 2011 on tap at "C’est What?" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The beer poured a solid dark brown with a 1" creamy brown head. The aroma was roasted malt, cinnamon, and chocolate. The mouthfeel was medium to full bodied with medium carbonation. The flavour was coffee, dark fruits, and some weak spices. Very enjoyable seasonal ale.

Roast coffee taste with a small hint of tree bark. There’s a bit of a sour aftertaste. Good thick palate, light carb.

On cask at Bar Volo. Pours dark chocolate brown. Frothy tan head. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon and maple. Lighter than expected. Up front it’s cocoa, burnt and a little bit malty sweet. Finishes a little bitter, with an almost mineral quality (iron?). Good but not as rich as I was hoping. Little bit of a let down. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

drank at mondial 2011 in mtl. pours dark brown with a decent beige head. very nice roasted malts, some smoke, light acidity, no cinnamon here. light to medium body, fizzy carbonation - a tad too much.

341ml bottle. Pours a dark brown with a nice tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, some spices (couldn’t single out cinnamon though), bit of chocolate and coffee, and some hops. Nice taste - not overly sweet, well balanced, dry with a decent finish. A very smooth and full-bodied porter - wish they distributed this outside of the local area.

nice porter, courtesy of jb84. drinks very easy and smooth, dry but not too much, sweet but not too much. the cinnimon comes through a bit more in the aftertaste, nice stuff. well balanced, and while not mind blowing, is very solid and well rounded, no flaws really.