Imperial Skärgaards Porter In Cabernet Barrel
Nørrebro Bryghus

 

Bottle from Svend. It delivers what it says it will. Its black, with no head to speak of. Some aromas of the wine, or the porter. Middle mouthfeel. It tastes like a porter mixed with honey, with a lot of wine tannin on the finish, getting more merlot than cabernet, that's the stronger flavour.

I had at this at the brewery in Copenhagen.

Only one barrel of this was made, the beer was aged for 8 MONTHS in the barrel.

Pours black with light tan head, ok lacing and retention...The aroma is super sweet red wine, bourbon, not any typical stout notes at all. Trying to think of a sweet red wine, not one I can place, but its defintely tannic, bitter and sweet...The taste is super interesting, not say its good, but interesting. Chocolate wine comes to mine, light feel though.

This is an interesting concept, needs more playing around. What I do know is that 8 months is too long as it totally changes the beer into something new losing almost all stout character.

On-tap at the brewpub in Copenhagen.

Pours black with a half-finger tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of lightly roasted malts with good amounts of cocoa powder. As it warms hints of the barrel make an appearance but remain muted.

Tastes more robust than it smells. A combination of smooth roasted malt and sweeter dark malt flavors kick things off. Joining in shortly thereafter are solid amounts of cab barrel flavors come into play. They fade a bit near the end of the sip to allow mild cocoa powder flavors to carry through to a mildly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with smooth carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall I was surprised at how much flavor was packed into a relatively low ABV English Porter. The cab barrel adds an interesting dimension and makes it well worth a shot.