(512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter
(512) Brewing Company

 

Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter from 512 Brewing. Purchased from Total Wine, Selma, TX, 26/05/21 for $ 18.22 (Including tax)/22 oz bottle ($ 0.727/oz). On room-temperature shelf at store and stored at 37 degrees at home. Reviewed 03/09/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped “BOTTLE NO. 8168” on label as well as “2021”. Served at 50.1 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 57.0 degrees. Note: Label is marked “SERVE AT 50-55oF.”
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), cloudy.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, ruby at the edges.
Head – Large (Maximum five cm, aggressive center pour), brown sugar but lightening to camel as it retracts and oxidizes, high density, settling into a three to seven mm crown fed by effervescence and a thin partial cap.

Lacing – Good! A short wall of near-microscopic to tiny bubbles is dragged behind the head as the level lowers.
Aroma – 3 - Virtually none. Weak bourbon and extremely weak roasted malt, no hops, no yeast. Some pecan aroma arrives as it warms above 55o.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins slightly bitter with chocolate and malt and just a hint of bourbon, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (9.5 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Moderate lower gastric warming slowly evolves, peaks at mildly uncomfortable, and fades away. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Eventually, a bit of tannin and vanillin appear.
Palate – 3.25 – Thin, creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 The appearance is that of a stout so I must keep reminding myself that it’s only at the porter end of the spectrum and thus shouldn’t be evaluated like a stout. This is one of the few beers brewed with pecans of which I can actually detect a bit of pecan aroma. But no pecan in the flavor. Not exorbitantly expensive for a semi-organic pro tem barrel-aged porter.

 

12 oz bottle, poured into a goblet at ~40 degrees F.

L: Pours your standard porter inky black, and forms nearly no head that vanishes swiftly.

S: Redolent with pecan, butterscotch, and nutmeg, with some distinct oaky-vanilla barrel notes beneath.

T: Cold, this is a jumbled mess of vanilla and pecan, with some tannic oak and boozy caramel. As it warms, the jumble smooths out a tad, and some touches of nutmeg and butterscotch emerge.

F: Medium and smooth.

O: Not bad, as BA porters go.

 

 

 

 

 

From a 750ml bottle of the 2021 version. Black color with a half inch of thick brown head. Smells of coffee, chocolate, and pecans. Low carbonation and kind of a heavy feel. Tastes like it smells - coffee, chocolate, pecan and a dark raisin-like sweetness. This is great -- base beer is a porter, but after aging it reminds me a little of Belgian dubbels and strong ales.

2021 ed. bottle poured to a tulip

coffee colored body pours with a fluffy frothy foam khaki head that has moderate retention, leaving slick small bubbled lacing behind as it settles to a patchy cap with defined halo

aroma is a fragrant bloom of candied, boozy pecan drenched in chocolate.

taste follows that with caramel and molasses...it's sticky and fragrant and wonderful

mouthfeel is low carbonation and medium bodied, running pillowy, smooth, and occasionally prickly and boozy, with a semi-crisp finish and a chocolate, nutty bittersweet aftertaste

overall:
beautiful candied pecan and chocolate PORTER. not stout...get it right and set yourself accordingly

I like to get kicked in the teeth with flavor, but this brew was a bit subtle. Had great flavors, and was very enjoyable. Won’t seek out but will try again for sure if I’m at a bar.

2020 vintage
Poured from a 750 ml bomber into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown color with a one finger head of brown colored foam. The head fades super fast, leaving almost no lacing on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is rich of a nice dark chocolate and molasses smell mixed with a good sum of roasted malt and a decent showing of brown sugar and a touch of plum and raisin. Along with these smells comes a decent showing of some warming whisky and wood as well as a little bit of a decent showing so some pecan nuttiness. Overall a rather dark, rich, and warming smell.
Taste – The taste begins with a rather sweet molasses and brown sugar flavor that is matched by a whole lot of roasted and toasted malt as well as a touch of dark chocolate. As the taste advances the rosaty tastes get stronger, while the chocolate gets lighter. At the same time the sweeter molasses and brown sugar remain constant, all while some tastes of pecan and nut start to develop more. Toward the end the booziness that was sensed in the nose comes to the tongue, with a rather decent showing of bourbon and wood. With a touch more of sweetness with some raisin and cherry that come at the very end, one is left with a sweet, slightly boozy, dark pecan flavor to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is one the slightly more syrupy side with a carbonation level that is low. For the boozy pecan pie like tastes of the brew the feel is rather fitting and makes for a more dessert like feel for the brew.
Overall – A rather decent brew overall, although not worth the rather higher price tag of $15 for a 750 ml. Rich and fun. At least worth a try for a nice dessert like brew at a holiday meal.

 

 

Had this is March 2018. Not sure who rolled up with it.

Pours dark brown. As dark as can be brown without being 'black'. Produced a milkshake like head that was a full 1".
Pecan and whiskey makes for a lovely aroma. This did not disappoint. Makes you wanna get drunk and eat pie.

Taste was a nice southern journey, light whiskey sweetness meets a smooth non heavy roast robust porter, good smoothness without excessive hopping. I thought the claims of chocolate and coffee were overstated in the commercial tug job. Its not a heavy hand with the whiskey barrel exposure, I would guess between 90-180 days. Its plenty smooth so I'm guessing a hint of vanilla from the barrel even if you can't taste it. You could have told me this was a brown ale and I would have believed you.

I gotta hit up Austin one of these days, I don't know if these guys will fit into the trip, a couple of other breweries putting out better stuff, but I definitely like this brewery's pecan beers.

Dropping it into a chalice is like watching a Batman convention at midnight, tempting you to join it’s secret underground layer. When you do, it’s like going swimming in a pool of Dr Pepper that was accidentally knocked up a notch by the waitress who wasn’t paying attention to which table she was serving. It finishes smoothly as the Caped crusader Flies effortlessly into the night

 

 

Appearance: Massive, somewhat coarse dark tan head, atop an all-but-opaque mahogany body, The head retention is good; fat bubbles cling to the glass walls. Belgian-style lacing adorns the glass walls.

Aroma: Bourbon notes dominate the aroma, along with sweet alcohol, and wood. Also notable are sweet chocolate, cold coffee, and roasted pecans.

Taste: The taste begins with strong, but mellow notes of bourbon, and spicy alcohol. Soon after, milk chocolate, and mild coffee present. Restrained notes of oak carry throughout the taste. Vanilla, too, are on offer, as well as roasted pecans, and there is a hint of what I can only call marshmallow, something I cannot recall experiencing in any beer before. Finishes with a long and lingering note of bourbon, brown sugar, and wood.

Mouth feel: Very smooth and soft, full, with only the slightest hints of carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: Simply outstanding. In this, there is an artful balance of complexity that prevents (512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter from being a mere alcohol bomb. The brewers of (512) are entitled to a bow. This example had been refrigerated since purchase, long, long ago. Such is proof that special beers can retain their grandeur, long after they are bottled, if well-cared for.

Presentation: Packaged in a 750 ml Belgian-style brown glass bomber, with a pry-off crown and a black wax seal, served in a Samuel Adams Boston Lager Sensory glass. This bottle was part of the 2012 bottling.

11/26/2020:

Today I opened a long-cellared bomber of the 2013 bottling. Despite misgivings on my part, it was simply excellent, showing no signs of its age, except, perhaps, it had mellowed slightly in its intensity. All of the rich flavors of bourbon, coffee, roasted pecans, and bitter cocoa were on full display. In a word, superb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beer reminds me of a slightly boozy liquid Almomd Joy candy bar! Had it on tap. Dark brown, good lacing. Very distinct smell of whiskey and chocolate. The earthy taste includes chocolate, coconut, almonds, and sweet vanilla. A great desert beer!

On tap at Pinthouse Pizza in Austin, TX.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like earthy roasted pecans, vanilla, creamy coffee, oak, chocolate and roasted malt.

There’s a little bit of whiskey flavor here and it’s nicely woven into the whole beer. There’s definitely some oak and vanilla, with a killer toasted pecan flavor- very roasty and nutty, with just a little bit of sweetness. The base is super chocolatey. There’s basically no boozy flavor at all.

This is medium bodied, rich and creamy, with a good level of carbonation for the style.

This is a really fun beer. It’s nice to have a good beer with a less common ‘adjunct’- you don’t see many pecan beers.

 

nuts in beer fascinate me, i think the potential is enormous, but in my experience it has been really hit or miss. i have been looking forward to trying this one, after hearing about it for years. this is an interesting beer, it surprised me in that the base porter is pretty light and boring, not that great really, almost more of a deep brown ale than anything else, not as roasty or dark as anticipated, lots of cocoa and some sweetness to it, i think a more robust porter would be a better starting place for this recipe, but the rest of it i liked a lot. the pecan profile is great, they can be smelled and tasted effortlessly, with the roasted richness there, and a hearty and warming baked sort of profile that works with the residual sugars in here. the whiskey is way ahead of the wood, and more wood mellowing this would be nice. the booze aspect is strong, and it tastes kind of cheap to me, strong vanilla and corny sweetness, still nice with the nuts, but it doesnt taste like amazing bourbon to me, almost like some whiskey is actually blended into this instead of just the barrel ageing. i was a little disappointed overall by this, i wanted it to blow my mind and be the best nut beer ever, but its not. that said, still a really enjoyable product, nice for fall, and something i would gladly drink again. ambitious stuff, pioneering to some extent, but the execution could be picked up a notch i reckon...

 

 

 

 

 

(512) Brewing Company "Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter"
on tap @ Craft Pride, Austin, TX on 5 November 2015
$5.50 / 6.5 oz.

Notes: Listed at 8.2% ABV... not sure what year it is. The barrel actually brings out the pecan in comparison to the regular, unless of course there's actually double pecans in use - I tasted them side by side. Bourbon and oak are found in the aroma along with a mild dark roastiness. The flavor follows with an additional touch of fruit and chocolate and milky coffee; and then finishes with fruit, cocoa, a hint of alcohol (Bourbon) and coconut. Medium bodied with a median carbonation. It's unlike any beer I've ever tasted, and I've had other pecan beers before. Was it worth the cost? Probably when you consider that it's a beer you sip at rather than just drink down; and that there are added costs in the ingredients (mainly the pecans) to get it to where it is. In any case it's unique, and probably worth trying based on that alone, but I'd suggest you look for the standard version as well so that you can compare the two.