2016 Double Porter
Bemidji Brewing Company, LLC

barrel aged 2016. a heck of a first impression of these guys for me, something special here. i know almost nothing about this brewery here, but the beer is something else, a wintery porter with a nice whiskey barrel aroma and flavor, almost has a baltic porter lagered type dryness, and the whiskey really runs with that. good vanilla and even a faint spice complexion too here, lots going on, but very cohesive, not too big, really awesome. deep chocolate malt notes, a general richness, and layers of interesting malts all stacked up. coffee, dried fruits, cocoa, whiskey. something else here too, maybe rye, there is a spice bit about it. smooth but not too big, drinkable for what it is. seems like something that could have come from a bigger, more well established operation, it presents itself as refined and highly professional, which i was not expecting from a place i had never heard of before. well in line with what you could reasonably expect from the style, but just really well done. a wonderful surprise in a great session! will be seeking out more from bemidji after this!

 

From a bottle. Perfect carbonation. Body is maybe a little thin. Deeb brown with amber hues....

Aroma has toffee, caramel, and hints of licorice.

Taste leans more towards the licorice with lighter notes of caramel and toffee. Black currants and raisins also evident.

Overall this is a very nice Baltic Porter. It took Bronze in the 2016 World Cup and I can see why.

Even better is their rye whiskey barrel aged version of this which is splendid and which I will review at a later date.