Winter Beer 2012
Innis & Gunn

Winter Beer 2012Winter Beer 2012
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From:
Innis & Gunn
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
English Porter
ABV:
7.4%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.68 | pDev: 12.5%
Reviews:
35
Ratings:
136
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 26, 2017
Added:
Oct 28, 2012
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  7
Porter brewed with molasses.
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Ratings by thehyperduck:
Photo of thehyperduck
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

3.48/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
330 mL bottle from the LCBO. I used to be a big proponent of I&G, but in recent months I've begun to tire of their offerings - there's just too much overlap between most of them. I like oak and vanilla and all, but let's see some more variety, huh? I went out on a limb and purchased this one anyway.

Pours a deep, clear, brownish-amber colour with ruby highlights, topped with slightly more than two fingers of dense, creamy, light tan-coloured head that seeps away over the next few minutes. Besides the soapy film left behind on the surface, its only remnants are a 1 cm-wide collar of foam around the edge, and a continuous swath of lacing stuck to the glass above it. The aroma is very reminiscent of most I&G offerings, with the oak, vanilla and toffee notes making themselves very apparent, but with the extra addition of a sweet, syrupy, almost roasted note from the molasses/treacle.

Decent flavour, but as I suspected this comes across more as a tweaked version of their flagship oaked ale (or maybe their rum cask) than an entirely new beer. Caramel, toffee and oak come through at first, leading into the powerfully sweet molasses notes. Together, the treacle, with the dark fruit (dates or figs) and buttery feel, give off a bit of a maple syrup vibe. Finishes with some pleasant toffee sweetness and a weak hint of ethanol; the aftertaste is lingering oak and earthy hop dryness. Medium-bodied, with a decent thickness/chewiness to the body. Leaves a slick feel on the palate after swallowing, and the mild carbonation helps facilitate this. Not especially well-balanced, in that I could see the treacle sweetness becoming annoying after more than this serving.

I still feel that I&G makes good beer, but I have come to terms with the fact that they are a one trick pony. It's not that these oaked beers don't taste good, because they generally do. Rather, it's that they all kind of taste the same, with only a few discernible tweaks with each new specialty release. This bottle was a relatively cheap pick-up, and thank goodness for that because I might have skipped it if it were one of those bottle-in-a-carton deals that cost an extra 2-3 dollars.

Final Grade: 3.48, a serviceable B-. Innis & Gunn's Winter Treacle Porter is pretty much what I expected - a sweeter, boozier version of their base oaked ale. I&G fans with a sweet tooth may wish to give this one a try, but anyone who doesn't fall into that category (and isn't a big I&G homer to begin with) probably wouldn't be missing much if they skipped it. I could go either way on this one; I don't like it as much as their flagship oaked ale or their rum cask, but it's still a decent brew - just not one where the tweaks were tailored toward my preferences. The porter name is also fairly misleading, as I'd be more inclined to stuff this into the "English Strong Ale/Wee Heavy" box than the "stout/porter" one.
Dec 30, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of Phineasco
Reviewed by Phineasco from Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
5 year old bottle
Look: Dark amber, with thin white head that recedes quickly.
Smell: Caramel, toffee, butterscotch, maple syrup, and molasses.
Taste: Caramel, toffee, butterscotch, black cherry, maple syrup, and molasses.
Mouthfeel: Thin.
Overall: This beer was probably past its prime, but solid.
Aug 26, 2017
Photo of StoutElk_92
Reviewed by StoutElk_92 from Massachusetts

4.21/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
11.2 oz. bottle

Pours clear red amber with a creamy off-white light khaki colored foam head. Smells nutty, oaky, slightly sweet with big molasses, roasty toasted malt, oak, smoke, spice, caramel, toffee, some plum, cherry, fig, dried fruits, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Tastes like huge molasses, roasty toasted malt, some smoke, spice, oak, caramel, toffee, dried fruits, plum, cherry, fig, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Feels medium-light bodied, creamy with moderate carbonation. Overall a real nice oak aged porter with molasses.
Jul 08, 2017
 
Rated: 4.06 by Cuervo_PCB from Florida

Aug 22, 2016
Photo of q33jeff
Reviewed by q33jeff from New Jersey

2.84/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75
**
02/07/2013
AROMA: Potatoes and carrots on the nose. Seaweed?
LOOK: Dark brown, but clear color and a bit thin looking for a porter. Small head.
TASTE: More carrots and sugar throughout.

Very drinkable.

Loses some overall points for not really seeming like a porter. More like an amber.

**
Jun 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by skaboom420 from Pennsylvania

May 02, 2015
Photo of BlackhammerOhio
Rated by BlackhammerOhio from Tennessee

4.41/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Nice winter beer even after 3yrs.
Jan 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by RedAleMan from Canada (ON)

Dec 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by R_Kole from Canada (AB)

Nov 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.88 by dynosaurus

Sep 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by malfunxion from New York

Aug 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Howlader from Canada (AB)

Jul 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Cloaked_Phantom from Washington

Jul 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Loco_Joe from New York

Apr 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by TheBeerdedCharmer from Pennsylvania

Mar 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Mar 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Fettpopps from Massachusetts

Mar 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by shigg85 from Japan

Jan 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by paresis from Massachusetts

Jan 05, 2014
Photo of scotorum
Reviewed by scotorum from Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +19%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Some age on this, the bottle reads: "Winter Beer 2012, Porter Brewed With Molasses." It came as part of a leftover 2012 threepack giftset of different Innis & Gunn beers and one of their flute glasses. My local store was selling them for $7 over the summer. I bought six. Such a deal for a beer that normally sells for $11+/4 and does not usually deteriorate for years.

Poured from the 11.2 oz,. bottle into a Samuel Smith English tulip glass.

a: Clear reddish-brown with a huge two inch tan head which receded slowly to heavy rocky surface foam and some lacing. Light-colored for a porter.

s: Strong booze and caramel malt. There may be no barrel-aged beer with more immediately obvious and persistent whiskey or rum aroma than Innis & Gunn, and this version is no different in that department.

t: Sweet malt under heavy boozy flavor that lingers a long time in the mouth. Any smokiness from either the dark malt or oak barrels is totally overshadowed by the liquor the barrels originally held. Yet 7.4 ABV feels more like 5.

m: Light, almost watery, surprisingly light given the color and head retention. Sinfully easy-drinking as a result.

o: If you want normal porter flavor, go elsewhere. The booze flavor from the barrel aging dominates over the caramel malt all the way. If you like that, and I do, you'll forgive the fact that the taste is otherwise off style, or that the "brewed with molasses" noted on the bottle is not really evident either.
Dec 27, 2013
Winter Beer 2012 from Innis & Gunn
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 136 ratings