Lightning Barrel Aged Black Lightning Porter

Brewed by Lightning Brewery
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Poway, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes  

Craft Brewers Conference 2012
Big barrel and bourbon aroma with flavor. This was a super strong dark black porter good chocolate and awesome barrel flavors. Love this beer. It is a sipper.

Black color with tan foam. Bourbon, wood, semisweet chocolate, deep roast aromas. medium body. Dry wood, bourbon, semisweet chocolate, black coffee flavors--tasty

Bottle (#44 of 50)… This beer rocks!... Pours black and sits that way in my glass with a small, creamy, khaki head. Great retention. The bouquet is a lavish swirl of coconut, dark chocolate, bourbon and vanilla. Full-bodied and velvety with soft carbonation. The flavor offers a ribbon of bourbon, macadamia nuts, mocha and bitter, woody tannins. Finishes burnt, bitter and mildly boozy. As soon as I received this bottle, I looked it up and saw all the oxidation and infection issues listed in previous reviews, so I threw it right into the fridge and didn’t keep it long before opening it to share. Looks like that keg at Churchill’s was a weak link or the line was dirty. It’s a shame so many folks had issues with this one, because it’s a gem when untainted. Kudos to richiesd for snagging this world class brew for me!

Only hopscotch could wrangle up one of the 50 bottles released to the public. Thanks for sharing. Pleasant mellow bourbon nose. A nice body with chocolate, muted bourbon, toffee, and roasted malt flavors. A very impressive BA porter..

On tap at the brewery: I had Black Lightning Porter at O’Brien’s a couple of years ago and it was awesome. This is not the same. Barrel aging did nothing to enhance this batch. It still has a nice porter flavor, but the lack of carbonation made it seem thin and watery and there was no hint of oak or whiskey.

On tap at Churchills. Pours with a black body and a long lasting tan head. Aroma is a bit estery, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate and roast. Flavors are rich. Decadent. Tobacco, brown sugar, pencil shavings, roast, estery, fusel, earthy, barrel and some bitterness. Alcoholic with a tannic finish.

Not a great beer at all, not terrible, I wouldnt buy it again. I was expecting substantially more. thin and boozy.

A: At least this beer looks good, because that’s all it has going for it. A black pour with a nice fluffy mocha colored head on top. S: Truly one of the worst smelling beers out there. Cheesy feet and bile come to mind right off the bat. No bourbon, no vanilla, no roast. T: I think I can now say I know what sour old socks and cheese mixed with vomit tastes like. Again, the usual bourbon and porter flavors are nowhere to be found other than perhaps a bit of roast and alcohol. M: Thin for what is normally a fairly robust beer, with a moderate carbonation. Add that on to the fact that you really don’t want to keep this on your tongue. D: Truly one of the worst tasting and smelling beers I’ve come across. I don’t really know what happened here as the regular porter is a decent beer.

On tap at Churchills. Pours a dark brown, very small head. Dark roasted malts, sweetness, chocolate, light oak flavors, alcohol, and a bad sourness. This is not working for me.

Churchill’s. Nice rich dark brown to black puur, with tan head that disappeared immediately. Strange and pungent nose and taste. Had a funky chemicalness to it.