Cave Aged Barrel Aged Series #4
August Schell Brewing Company in New Ulm, Minnesota, United States 🇺🇸
Porter - Imperial Baltic Special|
Score
7.24
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Keg at Three Cellars Oak Creek, 5/21/19. Black, large creamy tan head, good retention. Aroma of roast, chocolate, whiskey, raisin, vanilla. Taste is roast, cherry, oak, booze, whiskey, vanilla. Medium bodied, well balance, moderate booziness.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Got in a trade with The-Adjunct-Hippie. 12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 3/23/2018. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and rocky khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, vanilla, toffee, brown sugar, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, nuts, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, smoke, leather, raisin, plum, fig, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, vanilla, toffee, brown sugar, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, nuts, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, smoke, leather, raisin, plum, fig, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light herbal/roast/char bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, vanilla, toffee, brown sugar, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, nuts, dark/brown bread, light molasses/dark fruit, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mildly increasing warmth of 10.9%, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic Baltic porter! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Very clean lagering, not overly fruity. Very rich and complex malts, with awesome barrel integration/balance. Not overly roasty, bitter, or drying. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.