Origin of Darkness - Siren
Collective Arts Brewing

500mL bottle marked 2019 release poured into a Duvel glass at just above fridge temp 9.6% ABV. The beer pours opaque very dark brown with light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring rum, dark fruit and toasted / roasted malt. The taste is a bittersweet mash up of the rum, barrel, raisins, dates and prunes and malt. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. The oaky rum barrel really keeps the sweetness in check and there's a port-like character that is drying as well. ABV is fairly well disguised. Overall, very good to excellent.

 

Lasting some time, with all the sweetness preserving the original pastry porter. Still some head. Much on the sweet side, but still sippable. Not the best in this series.

 

 

 

Origin of Darkness from Collective Arts, Hamilton, ON. Purchased on 20 Oct 20 from Shangy’s, Emmaus, PA. $ 14.78 (Including tax) per single capped 16.9 oz bottle ($0.874/oz). On room temperature shelf at the store, stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 29/8/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
2019 Release, as marked on label. Served at 51.2 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 58.8 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), nearly opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. When rear-lite, same with minimal penetration at the extreme edges - amber.
Head – Small (Maximum 1.5 cm, aggressive center pour), goldenrod, high density, fizzy, quickly diminishing to a two mm crown and some small islands for a cap. Second pour produces a one cm fizzy head.
Lacing – Fair - Narrow (0.9 cm) band of torn curtain lacing
Aroma – 4 – “Dark fruit”, no malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins slightly sweet with marked raisins and dates. No malt, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (9.6 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Moderate gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Full, just short of creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 Heavy on the “dark fruit” in both aroma and flavor, not surprising since raisins, dates, and prunes were added to the fermentation. Seems a bit light on alcohol but that’s OK, it is well-hidden from both nose and taste buds although it is evident in the head and lacing. A good brew but a bit sweet for my taste.

 

16.9 ounce bottle, 2019 Release. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a half inch or so light tan head. Head retention and lacing are both good. I like the aroma, I pick up a lot of dark fruitiness at first, and there's also some rum, oak, dark chocolate and molasses too. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some dark bread and a bit of licorice flavor noticeable too. But as with the aroma, I think the dark fruit (prune, raisins, date) flavors stand out compared to the others. The rum barrel is subtle, at least it is compared to the dark fruit in this beer. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's slick and easy to drink with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this one, but recommend it more to people who like dark fruity beers since that's what I think is more noticeable at this point.

Pours black with a 1/2 inch tan head, which fades to a wisp. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is toffee, molasses, rum.

Tastes of rum, toffee, molasses, figs, raisins, dates, prunes. A bit of alcohol burn.

Full bodied, light carbonation. Thick, semisweet finish.

An excellent Baltic Porter. Naturally, when you find a good one, it's retired.

Pours jet black and completely opaque with one plus fingers width of tan colored head. Some nice lacing. Aroma is noticeable from the moment I pop the cap with typical porter notes up front including roastiness and a bit of smoky char. Next I get a very prominent cinnamon, not sure where that came from, molasses like sweetness, and gingerbread cookies. Rum notes are present but not particularly prominent. the dark fruits are definitely there and build as it warms. The online description equates this to sticky toffee pudding and I def see that. Quite the nose. Taste starts out with typical porter notes of big roasted malt, earthy herbaceous characters, unsweetened cocoa, and subtle raw wood. Rum notes are more present that on the nose but still not particularly strong. The dark fruits are there but are almost tart as opposed to rich and sweet, they truthfully provide some nice balance to the beer but the sticky toffee pudding likeness is gone from the taste. Mouthfeel is medium bodied but a bit light for my liking. ABV is well restrained and drinkability is pretty good. Overall this is a very good beer that exceeded expectations.

4.5/4.5/4.25/3.75/4.25

Poured hard from a tall bottle into a small tulip glass, forming maybe a finger of brown head before immediately fading to a thing ring. Deep black/brown color, but not thick or syrupy. Smell does remind me of a baltic porter with some raisins, pretty subtle. Taste is definitely a malty baltic porter, with a background of gentle rum and raisins/plums in the mid-palette. Light to medium bodied, with pretty mild carbonation and a little bit of oiliness. Excellent variation on a baltic porter, and not overpowering rum either. Wish I had gotten another.

Very much like drinking a quad and imperial stout blend - full of sweet dark fruits, amply covered in boozy chocolate and molasses and vanilla... Sweet and rich but not too heavy drank rather well... Hits a lot of marks but somehow falls a little short for me...

Traditional Baltic Porter nose, with notes of prune as it opens up. The palate is malt-forward and almost smoky; the dark fruits are present throughout on the backbone, but not at all overwhelming. Not much of any barrel. Decent, but I just hate Baltics.

This the cheapest of the Origin series, which kind of indicates that it doesn't sell that well, which points to it not being quite as good. Let's see.
It pours dark, but without much head, though a tender lacing remains. The nose matches everything indicated. The raisins, the dates, prunes, but especially the rum. The taste flips the script and the prunes become the main attraction. But, the mix is not that great and it even comes across thin. It's smooth to the feel, but the taste is a bit of a mess. The price point is warranted. This is not that great.

 

Pours a dark, dark brown tinged black color. Completely opaque. Thin one finger head dissipates leaving just a ring of foam along the outside of the beer. Relatively unremarkable in appearance. Aroma is absolutely lovely. Rich notes of rum soaked bread pudding, dark stone fruits, with some light notes of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Taste has notes of dark fruits - prune, raisin and dark overly ripe cherries - there is a certain tartness or tanginess to this beer that I can't quite place. Its not like an infection or something like that, its just a certain twang to it that I can't quite place. Notes of rum, oak and bread pudding all dominate the underlying baltic porter. Some light notes of lager yeast are present with a lovely richness to the beer. Feel is quite smooth, medium bodied, and somewhat warming. Moderate, smooth carbonation.

Overall this beer is quite good. If that tart/tang note was there in the flavor it would be great.

Purchased in NH on a whim because I've never had a beer aged in rum barrels. Zero research before purchasing.

Pours like ink - so far so good.

Cutting to the taste - tasted a bit like Plum Pudding Beer. The fruits were up front and distinctive. The beer was great. I enjoy the style and this was right up there. I won't say amazing, but it made my evening. I'm glad I took the chance.

very dark pour , not much head - very strong taste -you taste al the rau=isens ,dates and prunes -tangy -but swet - if your going to drink save it for the last one of the night , it is filling