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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Clear golden brown - light gets all the way through. No head. Aromas: yes, treacle, but with loaaads of butter. Also, wintergreen. The closest I have ever come to having a beer that tastes like root beer. Really quite a lot like root beer. Plus booze. Not satisfying as a porter, and judged against "beer" in general, it doesn’t stand up, but something about it is just hard to dislike too much.

(bottle) clear dark amber, medium tall brown head; aromas of stewed fruit, lightly bitter flavour, bit of coffee in the finish, little porter character overall

Beer into trappist glass.

Aroma: Typical Innis and Gunn caramel/vanilla/oak scent but a little more sour and chocolatey. Pretty much what it says on the bottle but it’s quite faint and somewhat one dimensional.

Appearance: Clear reddy brown color with a minimal off white head.

Taste: Typical Innis and Gunn...again...but with dark chocolate notes. However you can really taste the booze in this and as far as complexity goes, there isn’t any.

Palate: Thin, alcoholic, but not horrible. Quite good but not what I’d expect from a self proclaimed "Winter Beer" as it’s too thin and not quite complex enough.

Overall: Alright, very quaffable, decent beer but nothing special.

Winter Beer 2012 - bottle from Half Time. Pours ruddy dark copper with some temporary beige smear. Aromas of dark fruit/treacle and light oak. Med body or better. It has the signature malt/oak flavors, heat is slightly noticeable, but the main thing is the way the treacle works with the oak. One wonders how oak is handled here, but the flavor is pretty nice, and the finishing dry oak astringency (despite the treacle) is quite good. An ale that is both beautiful and fairly tasty.

330ml bottle poured into a chalice glass on 1st January 2013. Mahogany black in colour, showing clear ruby highlights with a thick buff tinged head. Superb aroma of vanilla pod with treacle toffee and butterscotch notes which are surprisingly long in intensity. Smooth and oily mouthfeel. Poor lacing overall. Dark malts deliver a rich, moist clootie dumpling base with sweet notes of vanilla fudge, butterscotch, treacle toffee, mocha coffee and drinking chocolate powder. Very little in the way of hop resins detected in the non aftertaste but roasted malt present. Smooth finish with sweet malt very much in evidence with dark chocolate, vanilla, treacle and a hint of liquorice. I really enjoyed it - where can I get this on cask? Well done Sainsburys.

29-DEC-2012, bottle @Johan, brought by Erik. Clear borwn with low lasting off-white head. Sweet malt aroma with syrup and cognac? Taste is sweet malt, caramel, oak, syrup, touch of smoke. Not very bitter, sweet, thin body, soft carbonation. Thx Erik.

330ml bottle. Pours a deep, clear amber, slightly dull, with a thin head. Spicy, woody aroma, caramel, toffee, vanilla, slightly sour, loads and loads of diacetyl and butterscotch. Semi-sweet, medium body and bitterness, creamy CO2. Sugary, spicy taste, wood, vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, slightly acidic, syrup. Sticky, artificial, vile. Yet another I&G poured down the drain. (2012-12-31)

Bottle from Sainsbury?s. It pours deep brown with a medium off-white head. The nose is soft roasted malt, cocoa powder, dark fruit, treacle, wood and sweet liquorice. The taste is roasted malt, cocoa powder, wood, earth, cola, light sourness, caramel, treacle and some dark fruit with a dry finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Hides alcohol fairly well. Not bad.

Aroma: Smelling of bread, orange, caramel and vanilla.
Appearance: A clear brown beer. A low off-white head with some lacing and some curtains.
Taste: Tasting toffee, bread, orange marmalade, oakish vanilla and nettles.
Palate: Medium carbonation, a soft texture. A small body with a somewhat coarse dry finish.
Overall: Still not really enjoy the extreme oak profile on I&G.
Note: Bottle 330 ml. (Vintage 2012) Reviewed 2012-12-31.

Bottled, from Systembolaget. Clear dark mahogany colour, small head. Aroma of treacle, raisins and banana. Sweet with medium body and clean, rounded mouthfeel. Rhum, licorice and caramel, notes of butter. Low bitterness.