Phase Transition
Empirical Brewery

 

Bottled 11/3/15; drank 11/23/15 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque brown appearance.

A rough pour yielded a HUGE tan head; a strong, frothy curtain of lace.

Fresh earth, smoke & caramel notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Cream, fresh earth & bakers chocolate flavors up front; caramel & faint pickled hop bite on the finish.

A lot of flavor, but this had an odd finish. Interesting misfire.

 

 

 

Tasted in a pint glass from draught at Firkin on January 6, 2017.

 

More interesting than good.
From the dark English malts, I taste chocolate and dried fruits.
There also is something rummy, I presume from brewers sugar.
And then, there is a little kick. Now that makes it interesting

A Chicago brewers that I had never heard of.
Where are they coming from ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

not enough english porters being made in the states today, so i was happy to see this on the menu. however, its a pretty average take on it, and left me a little unimpressed. the good news, is that it takes to a rye whiskey barrel awfully well. the barrel aged version of this was one of my favorite beers from my entire trip to chicago, so it translates well, just seems a little naked in isolation. thin in appearance, not much head, but with a nice dark brown shade to it. smells like english ale yeast, which i love over the coffee notes in the dark malt and the bittering hops, which are ramped up a bit here. for how high alcohol this is though, its really thin in body, a sort of double whammy on two opposing qualities than ends up as a negative. back the booze off a touch and i dont mind the lightness, give me a little more substance and i dont mind the alcohol kick. this middle ground is weak i think. i like the flavors though for sure, and again, enjoyed it infinitely more as a barrel aged beer in the rye barrels. drinkable but unexceptional.

I picked this up because it's brewed just down the road from me and I was looking for a dark beer on a cold November night. Very black with a light tan head. Strong scent of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and roasted malts. Taste almost perfectly follows the nose. This is a particularly chocolaty porter. Texture is pretty creamy. Not quite mind-blowing but an excellent beer and a pleasant surprise from this new local brewery.