Senor Besos
Calvert Brewing Company

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Calvert Brewing Company
 
Maryland, United States
Style:
American Porter
ABV:
7.1%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.62 | pDev: 31.22%
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
5
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 02, 2019
Added:
Apr 13, 2016
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by ThisWangsChung:
Photo of ThisWangsChung
Reviewed by ThisWangsChung from Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
Pours a dark brown color, befitting a "brown" porter. The head is a finger high and off-white in shade. Typical of many barrel-aged brews, it's quick to fade, but what little collar remains has a soft texture. No real lacing sticks to the glass. Not the most attractive porter, especially to those expecting a high SRM.

But oh my, the aroma accomplishes everything it sets out to do. The oak barrels are immediate and alluring, bringing tones of vanilla, banana, and even coconut - oh yeah, forgot to mention the red wine notes. I seem to pick up fruity esters (like cherry) from the base porter, as well as notes of chocolate, caramel, unrefined brown sugar, and marshmallow. Cripes, this smells amazing, and it's only 7.1%!

Lots of wine flavor opens the flavor profile up. Suddenly around the midtaste, the flavor shifts to milk chocolate, caramel, and brown sugar around the middle. It finishes with nuanced oak, vanilla, and coconut. I didn't pick up cinnamon on the nose...but tasting it, I get some on the back end. The more I sip this, the more I'm impressed with how the oak barrels express themselves in this beer. Even better, it's not straight-up tannin water, but a complex and nuanced offering that's balanced sharply to boot.

If there's an aspect I can slag this offering on, it's the body. Or, the lack of body. It's a very thin beer, but due to the creamy and soft texture, it still manages to transmit flavors to the palate decently. And hey, it's absurdly easy to drink, as nothing about the beer's mouthfeel obstructs the palate excessively. Carbonation is low, yet it finishes quite dry due to the tannic nature.

This is one of the best barrel-aged beers nobody knows about - might even be the best in my mind. I had this when it was just something Calvert's head brewer decided to homebrew (and it utilized two different barrels), and it was fantastic then. Even with the slender body letting the flavor profile down slightly, it's amazingly complex yet easygoing. A must try for those who can get their hands on it.

4.25/5: A benchmark for smaller barrel-aged brews
Aug 17, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.08 by mjw2808 from Maryland

Sep 02, 2019
 
Rated: 1.38 by Evan from Maryland

Nov 05, 2016
Photo of cyclonece09
Reviewed by cyclonece09 from Wisconsin

3.94/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Beer poured on tap into a snifter. Beer pours pitch black with a small light brown head. Beer smells of grapes and dark grain. Beer tastes of grapes and caramel and slight chocolate. Beer is full bodied and a nice sipper, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.
Apr 28, 2016
Photo of Lucular
Reviewed by Lucular from Maryland

4.46/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
"Porter aged for over a year in red wine barrels from Maryland's Running Hare Vineyard. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate beautifully evolve into fresh oak, tobacco, and coffee, with a nose of earthy floral spice and a lingering finish."

This is a phenomenal beer. It comes across more as a wine-barrel-aged Flanders red than a porter, but all the flavors from the description are there. I don't know that I've ever tasted a beer that took on more wine barrel character than this one. It's astonishing how much flavor they coaxed from the barrels - tasting this beer blind, I would have guessed that actual fruit and spices had been added. Wow.
Apr 13, 2016
Senor Besos from Calvert Brewing Company
Beer rating: 3.62 out of 5 with 5 ratings