Port Whiskey Barrel Aged Safety Third Imperial Winter Ale
Sawtooth Brewery

1741
Old Ale
Sawtooth Brewing
Port Whiskey BA Saftey Third
ABV: 12%
Date: 2019
I was in Ketchum working a construction job, and I stopped in the brewery to pick up this beer. I have had a few of their beers already, and they are decent, nothing to write home about. I want this beer to change my mind. White wax covers the cap; it took me a few minutes to wrestle the lid free.
I let the beer warm up to 40 degrees. I poured the beer into a tulip glass. It created a creamy light brown head. The retention of the head was good, considering the beer is three years old. No lacing was left on the glass. The color charts around SRM 30, dark rusty brown with a slight reddish hue. Since the beer is darker than I anticipated, no clarity exists. The appearance of the beer is average for an old ale.
When I pried the cap off, I did get a faint whiff of barrel aging. Nosing the beer, I smell toffee, caramel, medium roasted malts, and alcohol. I took several more attempts to identify anything else. Molasses, oak, and a slight vinous aroma were all that I detected.
During the first sips, I tasted a slight nail polish flavor. Working past that, I taste caramel, campfire, molasses, roasted malts, wine-like flavors, and oak barrels.
The mouthfeel is warming and dry. The finish is acrid and unpleasant. The body has a medium consistency with low carbonation.
The barrel aging on the beer is deep and intrusive; because of the charring on the barrel. The body of this ale needs depth. I taste the port-ish flavor, coming over the palate as wine. I wanted complexity with a deft hand in the aging process. What I got; was an over-aged beer with a simple grain bill.

Picked up a 500 ml bottle at the Atkinson market in Ketchum today. The label describes this as the 2019 version of this beer.

The beer pours a dark copper amber color with good head retention and considerable lacing. This beer certainly looks attractive enough.

The label indicates this is a port whiskey barrel aged beer, and I pick up plenty of both on the nose. The problem is, the whiskey and port seem to clash a bit aroma-wise, and drowns out pretty much anything else from the base beer. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, but there's also some underlying butterscotch, vanilla and spice in this moderately sweet beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a moderately long, spice infused finish. Alcohol is well integrated into the flavor profile, and frankly I was surprised by the 12% abv. listed on the label. So drinkability is really pretty good, outside of the odd whiskey and port flavor blend components.

This is a decent beer from this new to me brewery, and I appreciate their willingness to experiment. That being said, there's really nothing particularly outstanding about this beer, and I likely would not order this beer again.

500ml bottle split with the bros; pours a very dark brown with some sediment evident, and a creamy khaki/mocha head. Very nice aromas of dark sweetness, molasses and caramel, as well as figs and other dried fruits. Warm, woody, a touch vinous with nice barrel notes. Impressive.

Taster at brewery. Dark brown pour, skin of tan head. Caramel aroma, sweet, molasses. More caramel and toffee in the taste, with a healthy alcohol burn.