Oaken Barrel Snake-Pit Porter

Brewed by Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Greenwood, Indiana USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Bottle:   Nearly black, moderate sudsy tannish head, fairly heavy, sparce lacing.   Soft roastiness, chocolate, slight ash, and some prune like aromas.   Very smooth on the tongue, roastiness is mild, maltiness is good, with a background of aged dark pitted fruit.   I held onto this for a while, and it turned out fairly tasty.   Has a very slight tart prune aspect in the back, along with soft coffee and chocolate notes.   May have been a robust Porter to start, but now its smooth, flavorful, and probably fading.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Hops are gone, but the smooth malt background is good enough for me.   Smells more complex than it tastes, but thats okay.   Yeah, its like one of those old London Porters in that it has a slight sour or tart prune like tinge to it.   Very enjoyable.

12 ounce bottle
Hiding in the back of the fridge I found this little bottle. Not wanting to go with anything heavy for the time being I gave it a shot. I would have plenty of time for that in Baltimore a few days later with a visit to Max’s Tap House. I discovered why this is a so-so release. Pick one up on sale but there are better six packs in the Indianapolis area.

Aroma / Appearance - The brownish base had a brackish nature (not due to sediment but just the general color). A ring of sandy brown head tried to provide interest but the nose brought it crashing back to earth. With a combination of coffee, diet soda, and malt it was overly saccharine. Mellow and smooth, I found myself thinking "where is the rest of this?"

Flavor / Palate - The fluid mouthfeel is a bit on the soft side. Burned chocolate bars, ash, and black coffee range from somewhat engaging to downright boring. This is easy drinking but not because it is flavorful. It just lacks enough flavor to really require more than a few sips to get a handle on. In fact by the end it takes on a syruppy nature. If you can only try a handful of central Indiana beers there are many other things to pick up instead.

12 ounce bottle. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours dark brown with a 1/4 inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both decent. The aroma is light, it smells like roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Good thing the taste is stronger compared to the aroma. It tastes like roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and burnt/charred malt. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s a bit coating with low/moderate carbonation. I liked this brew, it’s certainly worth a try. $1.99 a single.

Bottle. 4/11/13. Pours opaque brown-black with a fluffy, bubbly beige head. Aroma is fruity, pineapple, earth , grass, chocolate; quite a bit of pineapple. Taste is dry; fruity, chocolate, nutty, earthy, bread. Fun, simple. Some nice lacing. Medium carbonation. Chewy. Enjoyed this more than I thought I might.

Bottle. Fruity prune and chocolate malt aroma. Blackish brown with an excessively large, creamy tan head head. Chocolate malt and roasty flavor. Medium body, lively carbonation. Just a tad too carbonated.

A pretty good porter, licorice and coffee flavors and a dark chocolate aroma. Slightly hoppy.

Pours a deep brown with a very low, filmy, off-white head. A good amount of brown malt comes through the nose, light chocolate with a faint sweetness but a pretty full nose for a porter. Flavor starts off with a good brown malkt kick, light toasted bitterness from the malt, dry bite in the middle with a modest chocolate malt kick. Finishes with a sweetness that fits the porter style well. Modest density, slightly but a little watery feeling at the end. Good porter overall as everything is well balanced and it fits the style well.

Wow, thanks Tom! Tasted fresh from a chilled brown bottle into a nonic English pub glass. It poured an opaque dark brown color, reddish hue at the edges, with everlasting fluffy beige head of tiny bubbles and sticky lace. Gorgeous. Who needs a gimmicky nitro widget? Aromas of sweet malt, coffee with cream, dark chocolate, plums, faint molasses and fruity ale yeast esters. Oh God, the flavors: Excellent balance of malt sweetness with burnt grain bitterness and tangy English hops. Mashmallowy, tart, with that Fuggles/Goldings earthy and citrusy thing of classic examples. Mouthfeel was so, so creamy, silky smooth, bready, chewy even, reminiscent of chocolate milk or a fine milk stout, which lingered clear into the aftertaste. Medium body, low carbonation, 100% true-to-style but extraordinarily well-crafted. I really enjoy the porter style, and this was one of the best I’ve had. I can hardly believe the high rating myself, but I calls ’em like I sees ’em.

Bottle. Chocolate malt and hay/grass aroma. Dark brown with humongous head. Light chocolate malt flavor. Body on the light side. Not bad - would have like a maltier flavor

Pours deep brown with a tall, pillowy, dark tan head. Aroma is dark chocolate, malt. Taste is creamy chocolate, roast coffee. Well balanced.....tasty. A great porter.