Vitis Reductus Porter
Outer Banks Brewing Station

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avoid. This trio of stale wine, porter, and burnt rubber are just not doing it. I think the idea was great, but the execution was lacking. The bacteria used in this are just not harmonious with the beautiful roasted coffee and sweet smooth grain characters of the porter. The grape must gave some funky off flavors as well, and its just a jumbled mess. I'll end the same way I started....Avoid.

 

 

 

 

 

11.2oz stubby bottle into a snifter. The brew appears black in color with a rich dark brown froth atop. A full sudsy wall of lace hold all along the glass as the cap slowly fades. A swirl effortlessly revives the cap. Overall the brew looks really good but sadly looks is the only thing this beer is good at.

The aroma is char, roast, earth and somewhat like licorice. There is a fairly decent hint of vinous aspect as well before some mineral and sulfur inclusion becomes readily evident. The funk is almost sooty like mushrooms and damp/earthen oak. This smells like it was infected with mold.

The flavor has a mild vinous tang with a fruity alcohol kick before going to char and roast. It is earthy and ashy with a hint of licorice. The combination of funk/barrel character is like mold or mildew and mushrooms moreso than the expected pleasant wild attributed typically found in wild ales.

This is a light bodied brew with a modest to high level of carbonation. This offering sounds awesome from a label perspective but is quite clashing in the other sensory departments. The funk is more off-putting than enjoyable yet so strikingly similar to their other barrel aged attempts that is just not clean. I am not a fan but it does have some desireable character if you can see past the mold/mushroom aspects. I am a sucker for not liking their previous barrel releases but still seeking this one out. I wont be fooled again at $9 a pop.

The pour colors like a porter but fizzes unlike one. The nose knows it's something extraordinary! A hint of sweet grape unfurls from the black hole of a dark beer! The taste doesn't match the look at all! What have they done here...cooked a beer with a sherry/muscadine reduction? It looks like it'd feel creamy but, instead, it's a little funky and a bit bready. Unlike anything I've ever had, I wonder what you pair this with? Some sorta cheese, I reckon! Beer outta Kill Devil Hills sure does sound good, and time will tell if brews of this ilk will really emerge as masterpieces...!

Batch #1, bottled 3/20/13. Well, I wish I had a second bottle of this to lay down for a while longer to let the Brett really shine. At this point, you get a taste of it, and it's stating to sour, but I wouldn't say you get full blown Brett action yet. That being said, although I'd like to see some deeper sourness to offset the licorice and roast of the stout base, there's still plenty going on here. A very nice pour, with a pitch black color to the beer and some good viscosity. A thin head, but what's there sticks around. The sourness is probably most prominent in the nose, and it's starting to develop a whiff of cheesy funk as well. The taste is a nice balance of bitter chocolate, licorice, sourness, and the barest hint of funk. The finish drifts back into an earthy, dry licorice note. I like the interplay here, and I really think it will just get better over time- and more complex. As it is, it's delicious now.

 

Batch 1, bottled 3/20/2013. Only 593 bottles made.

A: This poured an opaque black with some thick tan head.
S: It smelled like sweet grapes and brown sugar, with some tart vinegar and funky oak and sweet caramel malt.
T: It tasted like tart vinegar and funky oak, with some sweet white grape and caramel malt, and a little roasted coffee and dry cocoa powder. It had a clean sour aftertaste.
M: It was somewhat thick with a little carbonation. Nice slick body.
D: This was a great dark sour ale, with complex and unique scent and taste. The body was solid, and the finish was smoother than expected, so it was pretty easy to drink. Would probably age well, but doesn't need it. Great brew.