High Water Aphotic Baltic Porter 2011

High Water Brewing
Brewed at Devils Canyon Brewing Co.
Style: Baltic Porter
Chico, California USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

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Deep dark brown coloured body with a nice thick tan head - about three centimetres tall. Aroma of cream, alcohol, nuts, earth, prunes, cherries and a good amount of caramel and other sugars.Full-bodied; Strong oatmeal flavour at first with a touch of smoked peat, some cherries and tart flavours next followed by a lot of cream and then some tobacco notes with a lot of alcohol warmth at the end. Aftertaste is also quite complex with some oak dryness, some pungent pit fruits and a very strong and malty finish with tons of alcohol. Overall, a nice and super complex beer that shows off the style well with the extra complexity of the oak aging. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Healthy Spirits in San Francisco, California on 05-March-2012 for US$8.99 sampled at home in Washington on 28-May-2012 in honour of Memorial Day.

Dirty yellow-beige head over black beer. Bourbon-barrels, vanilla oak obvious, sweet and lactic, but not sour - lactose? Sharpish alcohol flavour, bitter chocolate, bit smoked, vanilla and the rest of the oakflavours. Sharpish, alcoholburn, pretty viscous and smooth. Too little porter, too much barrel aging, IMO.

A - Pours a dark black with a hint of brown with a finger of frothy chocolate colored head atop. The head fades down very slowly leaving behind a thick layer of lace. S - Aroma is lots of oak and vanilla, with some strong roasted chocolate malts, a hint of coffee, a bit of dark fruit and some booze. T - Starts off with vanilla and roasted chocolate malts with a bit of dark fruit sweetness and a bit of black licorice. Through the middle, some strong oak flavor comes through with with some dark chocolate and roasted coffee flavor and and a bit of earthiness. The finish is a mix of oak, vanilla, milk and dark chocolate, dark fruit, and a bit of booze. M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and thick, with a warming, sweet, and dry finish. D - Very drinkable. The Bourbon barrel aging added some great flavors to the Baltic Porter base. The balance of barrel flavors is really nice here.

Bottle from Ledgers Liquors. Pours black with a nice tan head and atreacle aroma. There is a strong coffee, chocolate and dark molasses flavor. Little carbonation, but lots of oak. Complex and tasty.

Bottle shared with marcus. Color is get black with a slight brown head. Taste is co co, coffee an pick up a slight coconut also

Bomber. Pours viscous and dark with thick tan head that yields plenty of lacing. Dark roasted malt aroma with notes of coffee. Bitter coffee comes through on the front end but faded into a smooth vanilla bourbon taste. Solid

22oz bomber pours deep darkness with tall firm mocha like head of foam. The aroma offers up pretty rich bites of dark roasted malts, burnt malts, toffee and dark roasted coffee. The taste is very imperial stout like with rich dark roasted malts to burnt malts, chocolate brownie and dark roasted coffee. To midway a brief yet somewhat firm sweet dark fruity ester note is noticed in the form of faint blueberry notes that are quickly smashed by burnt malts and dark roasted maltiness and dark roasted coffee. I’m not sure how this is a Baltic Porter but it is a damn nice Imperial Stout.

750ml, from City Beer in SF. dark pour with dark khaki head. chocolate notes with light coffee, good dose of bitterness, dark roast. pretty good

Bomber thanks to Robert. Pours a pure jet black color with a medium brown head. A slightly sour oaky and rich roasted malt nose, something akin to blackberries. The flavor is superb; rich roast and coffee, more lingering sourness that is rich in line with oak and tannins, lots of metal which often mirrors sourness, lingering black licorice and coffee. Big on the oak with the power to balance it out. Very tasty. In fact, this reminds me a lot of Duck Rabbit’s Baltic Porter, both have sour components. Damn good.

Tap at Monk’s Kettle, SF. It pours opaque black, with a thick tan head. The nose is tangy, coconut, vanilla, smoke, over-ripe pineapple and some meat. The taste is roasted malt, tang, caramel, burnt malt, smoke, liquorice, coffee, charcoal, wood, vanilla, fruit (more dried pineapple) and earth, with a dry finish. Full body and moderate carbonation. Well balanced and flavoursome.