Death By King Cake
Oskar Blues Grill & Brew

Oskar Blues Death By King Cake White Porter, 6.5% ABV. Pours cloudy orange with a two finger off-white head that left some lacing. Nose is vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Taste follows, plus chocolate, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Decent mouthfeel if a bit undercarbonated. Overall very good, I've had worse, though I had hoped for more.

 

12 ounce can into a snifter. Canned 1/19/21, had 7/6/21.

Pours a mostly clear light caramel color, with a half inch foamy head and soapy lacing. Aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, orange peel, nutmeg- strong as it warms, some caramel, light pecans, a little chocolate. Flavors of vanilla, nutmeg, malt, cinnamon, some chocolate, light orange peel and caramel. Smooth, an okay lighter body, well carbonated but a little bubbly.

Had been wanting to try this one. It’s kind of interesting, with the spices and vanilla most prominent. Kind of fun for the first few sips. But this is one porter you want to drink cold, because when this warms, the mouthfeel drops off a ledge. Itch scratched.

 

12 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 1/13/2020. Pours slightly hazy golden orange color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing on the glass with a good amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas and flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel, pear, apricot, red apple, herbal, grass, bread; light cocoa, dark fruit, peppercorn, and yeast earthiness. Light-medium herbal/grassy bitterness, cinnamon spiciness, and light tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium body. Creamy/bready malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Lingering bitter/spicy dryness, with no cloying/astringent flavors. Minimal warming 6.5%. Not sure what this is trying to be, but it sure feels like a spiced Belgian pale or blonde ale. Well balanced yeast and spice flavors. Very drinkable and unique.

Pours a mostly translucent deep bronze color with a fast receding white foamy head. This beer is weird right off the bat. I have never had a porter this color to begin with. Smell is figs or raisins with cinnamon.This feels like a weird concoction that somehow tastes like a vanilla cake. I have never had a king cake , hopefully won't have death by king cake. Lacking carbonation,somewhat oily and slick. Overall this is a freaky experimental beer that is not terrible. This Porter is 7 months old. I will try again when it is much colder which could reflect my score.

 

 

 

12 oz can dated 1/19/21 into Bearded Iris Willie.

Has a dark caramel-honey color with an off white head of 2 fingers. Leaves lots of lace behind.

Aroma of cinnamon, tin, and caramel sauce. Smells a bit like Lucky Bucket's Snowsuit (winter warmer). Kinda figgy, too.

Flavor is cinnamon-forward, also giving the impression of red hots. Some hefty caramel malt comes in behind that, so cinnamon/caramel - kinda weird. A little bit of pecan, though barely; banana, fig, and then some sugary vanilla buttercreme icing turns the volume up on the sweetness. More fig. Has a winter warmer vibe to it. This does not hit the notes that I associate with King Cake.

Feel is hot and burning; prickly, slightly sticky, and dry on the finish. Way too much heat for a 6.5% beer.

Overall, this doesn't remind me of any King Cake I've ever had, heck, not even the faux-king-cake that gets baked anywhere outside Mardi Gras land. What it is - a cinnamon forward blonde ale brewed with loads of caramel malt, with an added nip of vanilla sweetness. It's a sad beer. Wouldn't revisit in any regard.

 

 

Cleverly sneaking a taste of Christmas into the Easter season, Oskar Blues gives their Death By Coconut a facelift that's fit for a king. Modeled after the gluttonous Mardi Gras King Cake, the porter goes pale and the nuttiness goes to pecan. Wrapped in a blanket of pastry spices and we've got a dessert in a beer glass.

Mid-amber as it pours, the Death By King Cake floats a thin white sheet while reeling in the nose with the perfume of citrus, cinnamon, nutmeg and nuttiness. Sweet on the tongue, the bold maltiness of caramel, vanilla and an all around pastry character charges the early palate.

Much of the same transpires as the pastry and spices swirl with a taste of cinnamon rolls culminating on the middle palate. As a mild suggestion of orange cuts through the spices, a tepid bitterness does much the same with the lingering sugary malts. A late taste of spicy sweetness leaves the session in the same way that it found it - pastry focused.

Medium-full and trending slightly cloying, the beer's one-dimensional focus on spicy sweetness has the "pale porter" tasting fine for a sip, the the session wears on the palate as fatigue comes quickly. A linger of spice wins the duel as they win out slightly against the simply caramel sweetness.

 

12 oz. Can
Canned On: 01/19/21

Poured into a Surly glass a pretty nice slightly hazy golden amber color, with some pretty nice carbonation, with a pretty nice thick/creamy one-finger plus light tan head, which also leaves some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, hoppy, with a nice slightly chocolate/toffee notes, with a pretty nice touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, cacao nibs, orange peel, pecans, vanilla. The taste is pretty nice, malty, hoppy, with a pretty nice touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, cacao nibs, orange peel, pecans, vanilla. Medium Body, ABV is hidden very nicely, with a pretty nice dry/bitter finish. Overall, a pretty tasty brew. A different take on the style.

A white porter with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cacao nibs, orange peel, and pecans? Sounds intriguing! Poured from 12-ounce can into a petite snifter, this shows a clear deep-golden color with reddish-orange highlights and a dense two-finger eggshell-colored head. Good retention, with a bit of spotty lacing. This sample was barely two weeks past the canning date. Big aromas and flavors of vanilla up front, with nutty cocoa in the background and overtones of citrus and spice. The flavors are not overpowering and complement the slight sweetness of the base beer very nicely. Medium in body, with a silky mouthfeel and a decent amount of alcohol warmth. Finishes with a bit of astringence and a hint of citrusy sweetness lingering on the palate. Overall, a pleasant little sipper. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Tasted chilled from the can in a tulip
golden with slight haze and thick foam of cream with good retention
The smell has citrus and spice with faint nutty aroma and hint of cinnamon floral essence
the taste and feel is decent with dry qualty low bitterness and effervescent yet mildly sweet texture yet spiced in finish and semi bitter with subtle alcohol in back with flavor of cinnamon and warming quality yet orange and cacao is low in flavor with some nuttiness but malt sweetness is balanced for the most part
overall kind of a novelty spice cake beer yet done well one I would drink again just not my first choice of Oskar blues "Death by" offerings

 

Nabbed a 4 pack (4x12 fl oz pull-tab cans in a cardboard box) for Mardi Gras.

It's a melange of shallow flavours with no real focus. Doesn't fulfill the "white porter" style designation and doesn't really adhere to any stringent style conventions...I don't honestly know what they were going for here or what style to call it.

It also doesn't taste anything like King Cake to me, but then I've only lived in New Orleans for 18ish months...

More mediocrity from Oskar Blues. They've really gone downhill in the past decade.

D+ / NOT RECOMMENDED