Nordic Porter
Roosters Brewing Co. - Ogden

 

No dating that I can find.

Pours black with a short lived head of tan foam. Lacing could be better.

The smell is strong of the whiskey; doesn't smell particularly spicy as some others aged in those barrels. Lots of caramel as well, dark pitted fruits, smells very much on the sweet side.

Taste has dark pitted fruits, whiskey, again not very spicy, caramel, is there coffee? I'm finding it hard to pick that one out. Very sweet overall.

Body is a bit thin for the abv.

Not worthy of a repeat visit.

when i saw this on the menu at their b street spot, i had to have it. a well dressed bottle here, different label aesthetic than their other packaged beers, waxed in regal red, and a pretty ambitious recipe, done with that increasingly popular kveik yeast, and aged in local rye whiskey barrels. its inky and shiny and viscous near black as we pour it, not much head just a few lazy bubbles clinging to the edges of the pint glass, they should have probably served this with different glassware, but whatever. its got a unique aroma, almost saison-esque, estery from the yeast but its not as intense here as it can sometimes be, well integrated, covered up some or tamed by all the dark grain in this, im not sure ive seen this yeast used in a beer like this before, and it really works. there is a little tang here, an almost astringent flash, but its short lived and this comes smooth before long as i drink it. subtle fruit to it too, dark cherry and raisin notes in the mix, tobacco and licorice spice too, i love all the body, and whats more, it can easily be appreciated as rye barrels instead of bourbon, even if this isnt overly barrel heavy. its got a little earthiness to it with the wood and the rye, less of the corn and vanilla that comes with bourbon. light black pepper and funk here as it warms, and the alcohol comes out some too. the complexity is nice, its layered and definitely different, but i wish for a little more carbonation and dryness, it seems just not quite complete to me, and maybe not as mature as it could be. that said, i appreciate the effort and enjoy this being something unique. definitely the most evolved beer i have ever had from roosters, hopefully a sign of things to come! neat yeast profile for a porter.