Imperial Porter (Lohin McKinnon Barrels)
Central City Brewers + Distillers

Whisky barrel aged beers are a different cat altogether compared to their bourbon cousins. This beer is a prime example. Rather than getting the rich and smooth characteristics of a bourbon barrel, in this beer, I got a peaty and smoky welcome. It is pleasant, but the smoke almost seems fake. The peatyness is a nice aspect though.

The barrel aging to me has muted some of the finer porter aspects...the feel is a little jagged compared to other porters, the roasts are still there, but they are not as smooth and integrated.

I am not sure why, but this beer just seems to have gone a little sideways for me. My mates at the tasting found it much more enjoyable than I did. YMMV.

Bottle: Poured a dark brown color ale with a deep brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of light roasted malts with some black chocolate notes with some woody whiskey notes also perceptible. Taste is a great mix of light roasted malt with some black chocolate notes with some rich whiskey notes with woody and vanilla notes pairing very well with the other flavours. Body is full with good carbonation and light warming alcohol notes. Wish I could have regular access to this beer.

 

650ml bottle - brewed in celebration of their 15th anniversary, and aged in their own single malt whisky barrels.

This beer pours a murky, very dark orange-brick highlighted brown colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat caked beige head, which leaves some alternating hill and valley profile lace around the glass as it quickly dissipates.

It smells sharply of acrid and boozy barrel staves, gritty and grainy caramel malt, a muddled black stone fruitiness, some free-range ashiness, faint bittersweet cocoa powder, and very tame earthy, musty, and lit-up floral green hops. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, a lesser biscuity toffee sweetness, some red berry forward fruity esters, still rather edgy and woody oak essences, dry mocha, and more understated leafy, herbal, and perfumed floral verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly low-key in its innocuous frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and not particularly smooth, as that woodsy intransigence doesn't make a lot of friends here. It finishes trending dry, the barrel character tightening its wan stranglehold.

Overall - well, if Central City wanted to show off the quality of their brown hooch operation, they've certainly succeeded via this offering. More whisky than porter, at times, but I'm finding that it's getting more gentle as it warms. Or maybe it's just me (warming, that is!).