Fear & Trembling
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

 

Polished dark brown nearing mahogany with a tall tan head that retains thick and puffy while leaving coral lacing all over the glass.

Silky smooth and softly frothy, the smoke is mild, but the formidable roast level of the malt amplifies and accentuates the effect as it comes to a slightly sharp and woody yet nutty swallow. With time, it becomes chocolatey and even acidic like espresso.

Though it starts off somewhat viscous, it thins out in the paper dry finish.

From a 500ml bottle, ‘bottle conditioning since December 9, 2022.’ Served in a tulip.

Pours an unhighlighted mahogany-black with two fingers of sturdy, foam insulation-like, beige head. Retention is exceptional, leaving a bubbly cap and a solid blanket of sudsy lacing.

Nose is roasty and earthy. Smoke character is subtle to the point of having to have read it on the label to be certain it was there. Aromas of crackly bread crust and perked coffee.

Taste makes up for the nose by putting the smoked malt front and center. Tasting burnt whole wheat toast, creamed burnt coffee and dates. A little toasted marshmallow, not a sweetness per se, just sort of that quality of… caramelized smoke? campfire and vanilla.

Feel is smooth and creamy, medium bodied and brightly carbonated. Very smooth and easy drinking.

Overall, almost entirely quite excellent. My only reservation is that, by the very end of the bottle, the smokiness had taken on something of the character of last night’s damp campfire and was becoming mildly tedious. A problem that would easily have been solved by sharing the bottle and not hogging it all to myself, I mean, right?

Wow. Precision. Expertise. Manifested perfection.

 

 

Poured from a 500 mL bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Dark, dark mahogany brown pour. Nearly black with a finger of mocha colored head. Solid retention/lacing.

S: Bourbon and booze. Rich roasted malts... a hint of smoke and vanilla.

T.F: Semi-sweet and rich. Smooth and creamy. Bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Not picking up as much of the wine barrel (red I'm assuming)... a bit of tanins as it warms with some dark fruit. A very pleasant hint of smoke... not overdone in any way. Dark chocolate, leather, and a bit of char.

O: Absolutely fantastic Baltic porter. It picks up the best of the base style, the smoke, and the barrels. This was a wonderful slow sipper.... complex and delicious.

Poured into a willi becher, Fear & Trembling poured a dark mahogany that allowed little to no light to penetrate the glass. An inch and a half tan creamy tan reached reached for the rim of the glass and lingered for some time. The aroma was beautifully toasted malt while sitting next to a smoldering campfire. The smoke didn't hit you with every inhale, but the occasional shift in wind carried the scent to you. As it warmed, the smoke became more prevalent. It was not hard to give it that time to develop as this was clearly a beer that demanded your patience and attention from the first sip. That first taste revealed a remarkably rich and robust porter with just enough smoke. Dark chocolate malt, toasted grain, and a bitter and dry finish defined the opening notes. The longer I sipped, the more smoke made it's way closer to the top of the flavor profile. Everything was in perfect balance. The mouthfeel was silky smooth with a body that was well past medium, but not quite full. Fear & Trembling was an absolute stunner.

Bottled on 8/12/20; consumed on 1/19/21

Pours a deep jet-brown/glossy black body capped with multiple fingers of rich, creamy, pale hazelnut-hued foam; excellent head retention yields a finger of equally creamy cap, a moderate, frothy collar, and thick, chunky rings of lacing circling around the walls of the glass.

Aroma initially presents soft notes of sinewy, delicately smoked bacon informing the front of the bouquet before embracing a fluid, milk chocolate sweetness; a middle of underlying coffee and vague nuttiness eases toward a touch of campfire, with hints of maple syrup absorbed by the building malty roast on the close.

Taste opens with hints of milk chocolate taking on an almost mineralic, clean smoke, touched with meaty bacon into a mid-palate embracing bittersweet coffee and toasty malts; dark chocolate implies a brief, robust richness into a back end of charry roast pronounced into smoke and raw cacao showing further on the finish.

Mouthfeel features a plush, pillowy-slick, medium-light body along with a creamy puff of otherwise moderate carbonation; a roasty texture appears quickly upfront and remains consistent across the palate, evolving with a taut, almost chalky, drying bitterness over the back end before reaching a mild char on the finish.

Distinct yet beautifully understated, with all elements, from (Rauchbier-esque) smoke to roast to sweetness, evolving with each sip; the touch and effortless composure Hill Farmstead brings to this beer really shines throughout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DLD - Bottle share (2017); 5/19/2018

 

 

 

Poured from a 16.9 oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Pours a near pitch black color with 2 fingers of creamy tan head. The head leaves a literal wall of lacing as it settles into a thick blanket of foam.

The aroma brings notes of dark chocolate, smoked dark malts, bacon, wood, and roasted coffee. There's a faint hint of maple syrup on the back end.

The flavor brings notes of molasses and maple syrup, followed by smoked bacon and dark chocolate. Finishes with some roasted coffee and charred leather.

The feel is medium-full bodied with soft carbonation. Very smooth and rich with a dry finish. A bit syrupy.

Overall, a fantastic Baltic Porter that is wonderfully complex, bringing forth an array of flavors and aromas that are somewhat atypical of a porter. Has lots of elements of a German Rauchbier that cannot be ignored.

Purchased at the brewery over a year ago. Such an awesome porter! Oily black with a fluffy, dark tan head. Syrupy smells with maybe a little bourbon. A complexity of flavors with a slight tartness from the wine barrells (?) melding with a soft and smooth bourbon/maple syrup sweetness. Mouth feel is awesome...so soft and excellent. Overall, a wonderful beer.

 

 

 

Near black pour, larger light tan head, good retention, gobs of lacing. Aroma of smoked malts, black coffee, light woody notes, bakers cocoa. Moderate smoke up front, dark malts, light black strap molasses, strong black coffee. Medium body, very light smoky aftertaste. Pair with a rainy day and some Alpha Tolman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle Date: 9/13/16
Palate Contaminants: other beer

The look is an opaque deep brown. Fair amount of tan head, mostly fine, but with some larger bubbles.

Smell is chicory and non-bitter dark chocolate. And this might seem strange, but I get roasted coffee without the coffee. (In other words, just the roast.) It's somewhat lactic, as well.

Taste is roasted chocolate, if that makes sense. (i know, I keep getting things in combinations that don't make normal sense.) Dark rum. Lots of barrel, but not overly charred, which sometimes drags the whole affair down. Green tree stems. There's some burned coffee, but it's more bitter than acidic, although the bitterness doesn't overwhelm.

The label says it's a niner, but I can't pick out the alcohol. Carbonation is fairly coarse, yet not prickly. In the aftertaste, whatever was burnt recedes back to toastiness.