Innis & Gunn Winter Treacle Porter Oak Aged Beer

Innis & Gunn
Brewed at Wellpark (C&C Group)
Style: Baltic Porter
Edinburgh, Scotland

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

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Porter? Nonsense. Translucent red with small white head. Aroma of cloying sugars and some light biscuit. Flavor is very similar, and offers over the top cloying sweetness and little else. This is not good. Period.

For fucks sake. They call it a treacle porter, but then brew a dark lager. This is laughable. You generally get more body, character and flavour from a strong East European lager. Think of a Dunkel matured on fresh oak chips, and that’s what you have. Crap. Added to which I’m probably in the minority of RateBeerians who doesn’t like oak chips in my beer. For me beer is about the magic in the fermentation of malt by yeast, and I like the breweries who do that in an interesting fashion, like Harvey’s in Lewes. This is crap.

Une robe brune assez éclatante. Une tête plutôt surprenante. Au nez, le caractère de la barrique et les notes caramélisées bien fidèles à cette maison m’amènent à croire que je suis devant un porter délinquant. Au goût, les saveurs de bonbons caramélisés, de chêne et de whisky fruité ne sont pas désagréables. En bouche, le liquide coule à merveille. Sa stature est moyenne et son effervescence assez active. Sa texture huileuse est agréable. Sa finale d’épices rôties et de notes boisées cherche à mystifier mes capacités sensorielles. Je ne sais pas pourquoi cette bière est classifiée comme étant un porter.

Bottle: Poured a clear brown color ale with a medium size foamy head with medium retention and limited lacing. Aroma of caramel malt with toffee notes and some whisky notes. Taste is a well rounded mix between some caramel malt with some whisky notes and some light toffee but overall mix is not overly sweet. Body is light with somewhat of an oily texture and good carbonation. Enjoyable though there is something in the aftertaste that I am having a hard time identifying but is common with this brewer that I more or less enjoyed.

It pours mahogany with a brownish tint, it’s translucent; the head is off-white and foamy. The aroma has notes of: toffee, biscuit, fruity-whiskey note, and a little peat. The taste is light sweet that finishes with a light astringency; there are notes of: treacle, toffee, whiskey, and a slightly bit of red-fruit jam. The palate is medium-light bodied, with medium carbonation (tiny bubbles), oily, and a medium finish with slight astringency. Overall, meh.

caramel, grass, leaves, alcohol, red, brown, clear, frothy, tan foam, medium sweetness, lightly bitter, umami, light body, creamy, average carbonation, bitter Dark ruby pour with two fingers of tan foam. Decent lacing remains. Aromas of sweet malt and fresh green grass/hay initially. Some alcohol up front at about the half way mark. Sweetness really comes out at first with only a subtle bitterness underlying - interesting balance. Vanilla and dark sugar near the bottom of the glass. I’ll try this at a warmer temp next time, the flavours more varied, and alcohol warmth more apparent. Thin bodied but average carbonation and creamy mouthfeel both quite pleasant. Hint of bitterness with a sticky finish. I need to check how I rated their rum finished Scottish ale. This seems strikingly similar, and not what I’m used to having as a porter. I guess this style varies considerably. Still this is a good session beer.

On tap at the Knick. Nose is a mix of Twizzlers, oak, Flemish brown ale, caramel and treacle, marshmallow, and vanilla. Terrific aromas. Dark coppery caramel-brown clear, with creamy off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium-high carbonation. Starts sweet with lots of treacle, oak, caramel. Smooth and well rounded with very little bitterness at the finish. Has a nice oak-sweet after. Not as dark as I’m used to for a porter, but really nice.

Draught at Market Porter, London. Clear golden beer with a small offwhite head. Malty vanilla aroma,licorice notes. Malty vanilla flavour, whisky, licorice, sweet raisins. This doesn´t look like a porter or taste lik a porter - is it a porter?

[330ml bottle from Sainsburys, Marlow] Mahoganywith a moderate beige head. Far too fizzy. Blackcurratn up front, then very evident, raw alcohol. The usual Innis & Gunn wood & vanilla is there, but more subdued than normal. Licquorice and some sourness comes through in a fairly sweet and sticky finish. Feels unfinished, and needs moe time for the flavours to marry together. I’m something of a fan of I&G normally, but this is definitely not one of their better efforts.

Bottle from Sainsbury’s Team Valley. A very dark red-brown beer with red fruity flavours, vanilla notes, sweetness, oak and warmth on the finish. Very good but not your usual porter.