Inglenook
Town Hall Brewery

A- Half inch foamy tan head that dissipates quickly with no lacing. The color is a very dark red/brown that looks black unless held up to light.

S- Citrus, lemons and herbal hops, hints of smoke and caramel. Some good fruit aroma that starts out smelling like a cider but as it warms up has more berry characteristics, raspberries and blackberries.

T- Dark chocolate, hints of coffee and mild smokiness. Some herbal spice and dry roasted malt bitterness. Hints of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Some light fruity flavors come through towards the end, peach. Dark chocolate and dry smoky aftertaste.

M- Light crisp and very smooth. Good carbonation and pleasant dryness.

D- Very drinkable yet very complex.

Overall a good porter with a lot going on in the aroma and flavors.

Tawny reddish brown appearance,nicely roasted tan head, Sticks around at a slim 1/8th inch.

Sweet nose. The wine and the oak really taking over in the aroma, nothing "porter-Y" really stays on top. Some creamy cocoa and toasted toffee.

Tasting it:Clean, smooth, tasty....again, the wine character has subsumed all the regular characteristics we'd be looking for...a bit too light-bodied for the style, could be fuller.

A neat experiment, but I'm not digging it that much. Drinkable, but not terribly enjoyable. A bit too listless.I don't think a porter really benefits from this type of barrel-aging, for the flavors aren't an ideal complement.
Yet, I did like the wine barrel stouts they did in the past...
This one, though...Just doesn't thrill me...

A: Deep mahogany body with a sticky thin tan head.
S: Smells of sweet dark malts, cream, and a bit of smoke.
T: Reminds me initially of Sam Adam's Black Lager. Initially pretty sweet and malty. Shifts into a smokey pine flavor and then ends pretty woody. I feel like I should be camping.
M: A bit high in carbonation for me for a porter but still good.
D: A great porter but don't think I could have more than a couple in a session as I think I'd get tired of the flavor after awhile.

On-tap at the brewery, served a little colder than expected. Appears pitch black with a low head. At first there's a lovely toasted oak aroma and flavor over dark chocolate malts, but as it warms, unpleasant clove oil flavors overtake the subtler wood and malt flavors. It's a shame, this is otherwise a darned tasty beer.