Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter With Chilies
West Sixth Brewing Company

With the growing love affair that America has with spicy cuisine, its mark on the tap list also continues to grow. The talented team at West Sixth take their Pay It Forward porter and lay it down for a long slumber in bourbon barrels and saturated with chili peppers for added layers of savory and spice.

Hazy and brown, the tawny and suede beer pours with a swirling mocha froth of short longevity. Robust in its scent, strong notes of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, coffee and nuttiness overshadow the faint tinge of red pepper flake. Initial sweetness of malt and whisky share those vanillans, caramels, coconut and chocolate flavors for a sultry upstart.

As the flavors unfold, the barrel and pepper character begins to grow. Malt sweetness slowly fades and the more verbose character of cocoa and coffee take on bitter and earthen complexities that bleed well into the charred oak. With the savoriness of whisky outlasting the sweetness, a spicy taste comes way nutty oak and vegetative hints of bell and cayenne pepper.

Full, lavish and sultry, the strong porter has a relaxed sense as the oak aging has rounded off the sharper edges of toasted malt, its low-lying carbonation lies weightily on the tongue, saturating with sweetness and limiting the beer's robust cream textures. Barrel caramel and vanilla wrap around the alcohol heat and give it a long, simmering warmth.