Nutcracker Porter
Black Oak Brewing Co.

Nutcracker PorterNutcracker Porter
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From:
Black Oak Brewing Co.
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
American Porter
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.88 | pDev: 11.34%
Reviews:
52
Ratings:
82
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 21, 2017
Added:
Jan 16, 2003
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  3
Our Nutcracker Porter is a full-bodied ale that is perfect for the cold-weather holiday season. This brew pours a thick, inky black and the cinnamon sticks that were tossed into the brew give it a spicy warmth on both the aroma and the palate. It is perfectly balanced with notes of roast and toast with a subtle hop backbone.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mrmanning:
Photo of mrmanning
Reviewed by mrmanning from Canada (ON)

3.53/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap-Black body, topped with a foamy mocha head. Aroma is nutty,black coffee , roasted malt and toffee with a good hit of spices. Roasted malt , sweet nuts and black coffee taste. Finish is creamy, with a smooth and delicate mouthfeel all the way. Nice beer.
Mar 09, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.88/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Dark brown with a ruby tinge when held to the light. Lots of carbonation and a half finger of reddish, beige tinged head.

Smells of dark toasted notes, coffee, and chocolate.

Tastes of chocolate and dark toasted notes, then a seasonal twist of cinnamon and perhaps some ginger comes in. They are soft and in the background, making the porter the highlight.

Medium body, smooth, slightly foamy carbonation.

Got this in Bracebridge yesterday, drinking it in Muskoka tonight, Dec 20th, 2017. Excellent brew, a nice twist with a holiday theme.
Dec 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.36 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

Jun 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.04 by DaPan from Canada (ON)

Mar 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.24 by ikidunot from Canada (ON)

Aug 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.29 by boszormeny from Canada (ON)

Feb 03, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by fortyfield from Canada (ON)

Jan 19, 2016
Photo of kevinlater
Reviewed by kevinlater from Canada (ON)

3.98/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
650ml bottle into snifter. brewed with cinnamon and toasted wheat. "2514 A2 2239" printed on the bottom of the bottle. consumed nov 25 2015

a: pours a dark chestnut, developing into pitch black with a slight chestnut glow at the bottom of the glass. nice light brown, creamed-coffee head

s: deep roasted coffee and cocoa, smells very good. slightest hint of cinnamon

t: like the nose, very chocolatey and roasted coffee-like with a pinch of cinnamon spice. toasted bread flavours as well. the lack of cinnamon flavour is a little disappointing

m: light with medium-minus carbonation

o: barely any cinnamon detected but a great, super-roasty base beer anyway!
Nov 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.87 by Glorithm from Canada (ON)

Nov 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.69 by CurtisD from Canada (NB)

Apr 28, 2015
Photo of TheHammer
Reviewed by TheHammer from Canada (ON)

3.39/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Poured with a pinky finger of head, the body is a dark black with a couple of subtle ruby red notes to it. Decent lacing but very poor retention on the head.

Smell: Deep roasted malts with notes of coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, fig and dark chocolate that requires a good portion of warming up to come out, but when they do, it's quite good.

Taste: Uhh....well I hate to be a downer on this one, but it tastes like a Porter with cinnamon added to it. I mean it's a good porter, it starts with a fig like sweetness with a hint of chestnut that turns to a heavy roasted malt, dark chocolate that get into a tug of war with a misplaced cinnamon yank and ending with a thin touch of yeast fruitiness and coffee.

Mouthfeel: The cinnamon yank that I spoke of earlier, is more out of place then an Iguana at a dog show. It ruins any smoothness this beer should have. The carbonation also falls lacklustre incredibly quickly. The mild cinnamon aftertaste is the only thing that saves it.

Drinkability: It's heavier then you'd expect, given the spicing, but then again it is a porter so I'll give it some slack here. After a while it does come across as a bit boozey, but it's drinkable.

Final Thoughts: Fitting this beer is an Xmas time beer, as it reminds me of fruitcake and Xmas cookies you don't really want to have. Sure the first one is alright, but it quickly overstays it's welcome and your left just waiting for it to end. All in all, it a positive experience, but one I'd probably not care to repeat. My thumb is sideways on this one, which is in a way a bit of a disappointment for me, given I've always had great experiences from Black Oak.
Mar 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by Mr_Hoptimistic from Canada (ON)

Mar 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3.79 by Wajohnst from Canada (ON)

Jan 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.45 by WillAndSarah from Canada (ON)

Jan 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3.4 by lgmol from Canada (NS)

Dec 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.71 by sdm9465 from Canada (NS)

Dec 23, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by hunterjames from Canada (ON)

Nov 22, 2014
Photo of Jeffo
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands

4.2/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Got this one from hopsolutely this past summer. Thanks for all the stuff guys. Really appreciate it.

From a bomber into a snifter
14.1 degrees Plato
Porter brewed with cinnamon

APPEARANCE: Clear brown pour yields a 1+ finger, medium looking, creamy, light tan head with very good retention. Head slowly fades to a nice cap and sticks to the sides of the glass. Transparent bistre brown in color, almost black, with medium levels of carbonation. A faint wisp remains with some dots of lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Nice roasted notes, leather, chocolate, light vanilla and fudge notes on the nose. Very nice, and definitely bold enough.

TASTE: Roasted flavors, chocolate chips and fudge initially, with some leather coming in through the middle into the swallow. Bold and lingering finish of chocolate fudge, leather, roasted and burnt malts, and a touch of chocolate bitterness as well. Some nut flavors round it out as well. This is really good, complex and enjoyable. Exceptionally flavorful and interesting up front as well.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Creamy smooth on the palate, goes down smooth and finishes slightly mouth-coating.

OVERALL: This is excellent. Really, really good, with a lot of flavor and complexity from the beginning straight through the finish. Not much in terms of cinnamon here, or perhaps the cinnamon has combined with other elements to give it much of the fudge and leather character this one has, but on the other hand, too much cinnamon can be overpowering, so this is probably for the better. Really good stuff and I’d love to drink more of it. Thanks again for the brews Hopsolutely. Highly recommended.
Oct 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by joemcgrath27 from Canada (AB)

May 31, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

May 11, 2014
Nutcracker Porter from Black Oak Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 82 ratings