Tart Cherry Porter
Bearded Lamb Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

I had high hopes for this beer, and was very happy with the excellent flavor. The color is a very cloudy brown, could be better. The smell was fine, nothing unusual. The flavor was outstanding, imagine a great Porter but take away any bitterness and replace it with a light sourness. It was nicely balanced with the tartness offset by a dark chocolate flavor. I didn't notice much Cherry flavor, but that is OK with me. I'm sure the cherries added to the overall complexity of this brew. There was a lot of flavor here. I really enjoyed this beer and ordered a second pint.

 

Appearance: The fudge brown liquid arrives modestly capped but still manages to leave some lacing behind

Smell: Black bread, black cherry and hints of chocolate and coffee; the black cherry aspect really grows as the beer warms

Taste: Black bread and black cherry flavors arrive, up front, with the black cherry building through mid-palate, where some chocolate and coffee tones add complexity; the finish adds some cherry pit flavors along with an earthy undertone

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: This version is two years old and the complexity it shows off is incredible; one of the best beers i have tasted in some time

 

 

Oak aged version, aged for close to 3 years if memory serves and then bottled in swing top liter bottles. I've had both the regular and now the oak aged and they are vastly different.

Poured into a brandy snifter

A: Ruby crimson, chocolate brown, very slight tannish head swirls on the surface

N: Red wine, seltzer water, vinuous, some brown bread, funk, pepper; I smell vodka or even brandy but it's not boozy, more like subtly alcoholic like a high end vodka; wet cement floor, some wet grains, very little of the oak/leathery shining through.

T/M: Tartness but not cloying, a chalky presence lingers in the back of the throat; ripe cherries, grape skin, very minerally and more of the seltzer water. This is not so much a porter anymore, but more of a sour brown ale, there is very little of the dense malts and toffee character that I would look for in a porter. Gets washy and thin as the beer warms, puckering in the finish followed by velvety carbonation, the drinkability is fair but i wish this wasn't a liter bottle. This has stood up well considering the swing top and that it has been sitting in my cellar since early summer.

For a tiny operation that started less than 3 years ago in buttfuck MI, pretty damn good foray into barrel aging if I say so. I don't believe I have seen anybody else age porter w/ ripe cherries in oak.

Liberty Street Brewing Company's Tart Cherry Porter has been served to me many times in Plymouth, Michigan and each time it was a delight. I say "was" because it is no longer on tap, but I will not soon forget it.

It arrives in a 20 oz. imperial pint glass. It has a dark tan, reddish head. The beer itself is very dark but not opaque. A very unique and good looking beer.

The smell is chocolaty, malty, coffee, and just a hint of sweetness that I know is cherries because of the name but would have been hard to put a finger on otherwise. Not much in terms of hops in the aroma.

The taste is fantastic. Full of flavor. Slight chocolate, roasty malt all the way through. It's not until halfway through the pint that I start picking up black cherry flavor. Amazing in the way that the fruit flavor is so wonderfully balanced that it would almost go unnoticed if one was not paying attention.

Feel is smooth. Very low cabonation and thick. Goes down wonderfully. Slightly warming but the alcohol flavor is masked better than Zorro. For the style/ABV it is dangerously drinkable.

An instant classic and one of my favorites. It actually just won 1st place in the "fruit beer' category at the World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth, Michigan. I'll be waiting patiently for them to bring this back to the taps.