Port Barrel Odin
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery

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From:
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
Baltic Porter
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.9 | pDev: 14.87%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
17
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 22, 2014
Added:
Feb 28, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
The result of our Baltic Porter - Odin and a port barrel having an intimate relationship for the last 15 months. Beautiful collision of malt and vine.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by zestar:
Photo of zestar
Rated by zestar from California

4/5  rDev +2.6%

Aug 22, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by ControlledBurn from Illinois

Aug 19, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by FreshmanPour77 from Minnesota

Nov 28, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by tbeq00 from California

Nov 28, 2011
 
Rated: 4.5 by zeledonia from Washington

Nov 15, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by sideshowe from Pennsylvania

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of ktrillionaire
Reviewed by ktrillionaire from Florida

2.58/5  rDev -33.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
A – Pours a very inky brown, and is capped with next-to nothing frothy, just a few bubbles here and there. Sinister.

S – The nose is vinousness, astringent unripe berries, and apple juice concentrate. There is a wicked sweetness wafting from the glass which is reminiscent of the smell of an apartment the morning after a cheap wine bender. This also smells like new carpet.

T - The brew is very sweetly vinous and saccharine, like cheap port or even schnapps. Dark fruitiness is obscured by a nasty plastic taste. Notes of acetone are perceived as well. There is a lot of unrealized potential here, but no lamenting here, I'm on to the next brew.

M - The feel is nice, and has more effervescence than the appearance suggests. Perhaps my favorite aspect.

O - This beer is very interesting, but so is a trainwreck. I might like it if I were in the right mood; not so much today.
Jun 14, 2011
Photo of woosterbill
Reviewed by woosterbill from Kentucky

3.4/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Growler into a Birra del Borgo tulip. Big thanks to Hopstoopid120 for bringing this to the tasting. Czar Jack was awesome; let's hope this can live up to the example.

A: Thin-looking black body with a ring of fine tan bubbles. Uninspiring.

S: Acetone (which I actually like) and half-rotten apple. Super, super appley - almost Jolly Rancher level. Crazy.

T: Apple, solvent, port, and just a bit of chocolate malt. Tart, weird, and actually quite tasty.

M: Fairly thin, with light carbonation.

O: Very disappointing, but just bizarre enough to be fun to drink. I would never want to have this again, but the aroma of green-apple nail polish was certainly memorable. I wish the Port had been more noticeable than it was (the brief glimpses of it that showed up in the flavor were actually quite compelling), and that it had at least a little bit of body to support the big flavors. This one was a huge failure of barrel aging compared to Czar Jack, and a moderate failure compared to the average example. Kudos to Town Hall for trying something new and cool, and better luck next time.

Cheers!
Mar 22, 2011
Photo of jrallen34
Reviewed by jrallen34 from Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
At this point Mike was just trying to hurt us, growler... This pours dark brown throughout, a light tan head, ok lace, good retention. Looks good... The aroma is not what I was expecting at all, love the sweeter notes of a baltic but those are all gone and replaced by the barrel. Oak, smoke, and tons of red vinous notes. Not what I was expecting but interesting... The taste shows off even more of the red wine, almost exclusively, hard to find anything else, lacks depth.

Sweet beer + sweet liquor its a winey mess. The concept is interesting and would love to something else in this vain, needs a much stronger base beer though.
Mar 10, 2011
Photo of AgentZero
Reviewed by AgentZero from Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Cheers again to BCGabbo, who sent me this growler and had to put up with the wrong box being sent to him.

A - Dark brown beer that poured with a tan head. Some spots on the sides of the glass.

S - Smells like a lot of apples and red wine. Not exactly what I was expecing, although on a sweeter baltic porter I suppose this could be the result.

T - Really tastes like a lot of wine with some apple juice notes. A lot of the base beer is killed by the wine aging here, and it's not great.

M - Dry finish, medium bodied, fairly high carbonation.

D - Hard to drink a lot of, taste is kind of overpowering with as much wine as this is putting out there. Somewhat disappointing, and not what I was expecting.
Mar 10, 2011
Photo of Verecund
Reviewed by Verecund from Texas

3.65/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to beerness for sharing this on 03.05.2011.

Mud brown, bordering on black, with a one-finger light cappuccino head.

Adult apple juice. As soon as someone said the words, I couldn't smell much else. Honey and brandy sweetness, sour granny smith apple, and some complementing vinous red grape.

Baltic porter what? The base beer is disappointingly all but gone. There's some dark fruit (raisin), oak, and a long stretch of slightly sour and vinous grape or red wine, with a little madeira sweetness on the finish. I really don't get much of the malty BP base, just tons of barrel (though there's a good bit of roast on the front). I wouldn't say it's bad, but it certainly isn't nuanced or all that interesting.

Medium-bodied with medium carbonation, with some bit of chalkiness. More warming than its ABV suggests.
Mar 09, 2011
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

3.88/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I think Mike acquired this as well, but I'm not 100% certain. I'm baffled as to how I wrote such detailed notes, yet can't remember what kind of glass I used.

A - Pours with a finger of tan foam that settles to a thin cap and thicker collar, leaving spots of lace. Very dark brown body that is slightly lighter at the fringes.

S - Huge red wine and vinous notes. Some oak, and hints of smoke as the beer warms up. The base porter is nearly obliterated. The smell is quite nice, but seems terribly out of balance.

T - Taste is also heavy on oaky red wine. There's some roasted malt and smoke in the periphery, but this somewhat monodimensional.

M - Somewhat high carbonation, medium body which isn't totally unacceptable for only 7.5%. Could stand to be more creamy. Finish is dry and tannic.

D - The intense vinous character is a little fatiguing, and the marriage of Baltic Porter and port barrels seems to be in opposition at times. Perhaps they should have use the Jim Beam barrels for this one, and put the Harvest beer in the port barrels?
Mar 07, 2011
Photo of tewaris
Reviewed by tewaris from Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
Port barrel aged Baltic Porter

Served in a wide mouthed 10 oz. glass at the brewpub on the first day of this year's barrel aged week. 02/21/2011 is the date.

Looks black but not thickly so, with a lighter colored head. Dark garnet highlights tell that the beer is quite clear. The head retention is poor, the lacing is not impressive either but all of that is forgivable for a barrel aged beer. Tartness, reminiscent of milder sours hits the nose first - sour fruit and green apple notes, followed by creamy oak. Smoke emerges as the beer warms up, and the glass gets emptier. Quite layered and complex aroma.

This beer feels fairly light on the palate - light to the extent of empty. There's plenty of tartness for an uninfected beer, some bitterness, and plenty of dark and sour fruit character with some roast. Finishes quite clean; actually tastes quite clean too, perhaps too clean. Later I find that it's not the taste that's disappointing, but the mouthfeel. The taste is actually very good, with layer upon layer of fruit, oak, alcohol soaked dried berries... and all that without much of roast - more like a regular Ale as opposed to a Porter. Eventually, the clean finish gives away to a longer and smoother finish with plenty of tart-bitter aftertaste but no tannic character.

The mouthfeel sucks. Thin and overcarbonated. I would want to ice distill this beer and have it flat. I could drink it as it is, but the mouthfeel... well, sucks.

Scores: Appearance 4/5; Aroma 4/5; Taste 4.5/5; Mouthfeel 2/5; Drinkability 3.5/5
Feb 22, 2011
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

4.54/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Served in a goblet.

Served with 1/2 finger of light tan head. Color is a dark copper brown that settles black,

Aroma: A lot of sweetness and wine notes up front. It has notes of honey and reminds me of Jesus Juice. Very oaky with grapes, plums, raisins, and a mix of other dried fruits. Has a malty profile with chocolate and caramel showing. Very sweet and complex. Hard to improve on something like this.

Taste: Port and wine flavors with grape and oak and lots of it. This BP is awesome. It has notes of toffee, caramel, and chocolate with heavy plum. Some licorice and molasses as well with a bit of vanilla. I also get a bit of tobacco notes in the finish. It does have a touch of sour cherry in the flavor as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Dry, clean, and warming. A medium to full body with a medium amount of carbonation. Ends a bit dry with some dark fruit and malt flavors.

Overall, it is a really well done baltic porter. I can't think of a better one that I have tried. A ton of complexity with awesome barrel aging flavors. This one drinks quick.
Oct 29, 2010
Photo of kbutler1
Reviewed by kbutler1 from Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Tap. Had several of these one night as I just could not resist this tasty brew! Poured very dark black color with a nice slight tan head that collars around the glass. The aroma wafting from this one is dark fruit, roasty malt, and a slight touch of barrel. The taste is just out of this world as is the mouthfeel which is a nice creamy medium/heavy feel that is just done so perfectly. The taste is so well blended and balanced that it is difficult for me to pick out specific flavors but I recall roasted malts, some chocolate, dark fruit, woody, and slight touch of alcohol. By far this is one of my favorite beers both from Town Hall and any other brewery I have had. Really looking forward to this again in the future.

Re-Rate: 10/28/10. The port barrel is much more noticeable in this batch, in a good way though. The wine taste is much more prevalent as well. Nice aroma of grape mixed with roasted malt. A solid sipper. 15 months in the barrel really shows!
Oct 07, 2010
Photo of koopa
Reviewed by koopa from New Jersey

4.32/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Growler received in a trade with DBhog...Bill you're the best!

Let it be said I've never had the regular Odin....

Appearance: Pours black as dolls eyes with a 2 finger off light brown crown that shows moderate retention and little lace. Attractive!

Smell: Wow this is one fruity porter! The port barrel totally dominates with a fruit sweetness over dark medium roasted malt! Seemless.

Taste: Nice roast notes and dry dark chocolate notes from the malt. The port barrel isn't as prominent as in the nose and it doesn't blend as seamlessly. Very bitter (coffee like bitter) finish mixed with a whisper of alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium in body with ample carbonation. Highly enjoyable!

Drinkability: It's got a big kick but I still wish I had another growler :)
Mar 12, 2010
Photo of younger35
Reviewed by younger35 from Minnesota

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Ran down quick after work because I needed to try this brew. Drank from a generic tulip.

Odin aged in French oak port barrels

Appearance- Pours a pitch ass black with a small half finger dark tan head. A decent cap and collar is maintained but hardly any lacing is left.
Smell- Slightly roasted with a touch of smoke and a lot of port. It's dark and fruity with loads of prunes, raisins, prunes, prunes and prunes. Maybe a touch of chocolate but basically the Odin that I had 2 months ago is gone.
Taste- Nice intense roastiness that's chalky and dry with a touch coffee and a touch of cocoa nibs. A hint of smoke and honestly, a light bit of something that reminds me of green olives (and I don't mean that in a bad way at all). Fairly dark and fruity with a sort of a raisin bite that sneaks in. Slightly boozier than the original with that somewhat brandy like candy thing mixed in.
Mouthfeel- Creamy with a sharp bite of carbonation. The body is on the heavy side of medium.
Drinkability- First, it's amazing if this thing has only been on wood 2-3 months. It's transformed from malty roasted chocolate thing to a brandied grape chocolate thing. The first couple sips weren't my favorite but this bad boy really grew on me.
Feb 28, 2010
Port Barrel Odin from Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 17 ratings