3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
at brewpub 5/7/11. good aroma, smoke and bourbon mainly, little chocolate. little oak/vanilla. Dark orangy brown, small head that faded to a ring, little to no lace. bittersweet flavor. Medium body, smooth creamy mouthfeel, dry finish. Interesting, barrel hides the smoke a little, aroma wasn’t as strong as bartender braced me for, but barrel still dominated aroma and flavor. Good to try, but not sure I’d have another....
5 AROMA 10/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 20/20
This Elijah Craig oak barreled aged smoked porter was perfectly improved by the sweetness from the bourbon! It’s smokiness was tamed by the added sweet flavors to a even more tolerable level.
3.8 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: MAY 15, 2011 Draft at busy bee.
Served way too cold. Dark pour with a thin beige head. Aroma of meat, vanilla, oaky tannins and roast. Beer was entirely different once it warmed up. Cold -smoke dominates all around with a twist of vanilla. Once it warms the barrel character begins to shine. Not sure of the low rates but I really enjoyed this one . It makes me wonder if this one surfaced mid January would the initial rates still be so low? Nice mix of smoke, barrel character and roast. A little hot on the finish but it’s a barrel aged beer in the day when dumb brewers are over-blending their BA beers to take away the characteristic that I have grown to love and expect out of my bourbon barrel aged beers. Hope to see this one again!
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
On tap at the brewery. Pours dark brown with perhaps a slight reddish tint. Not much head to speak of, but it retains a ring and shows a bit of lacing. Nose hits with the bourbon first, but then the more traditional elements of a porter come through. Oak, vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and a hint of smoke. The smoke barely registers on the palate (which I why I entered this as a porter instead of smoked... correct me as you wish, Fullsteam friends), and the bourbon comes through tangy and a bit thin. This hints at amazing possibilities, but at the end of the day this beer just doesn’t have the body and full flavor to integrate totally with the bourbon without letting it take over. The smoke and the bourbon compete rather than complement each other, and the bourbon wins... which, to be clear, isn’t a bad thing.
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