Barrel Aged Baltic Porter
Fernie Brewing Co.

 

 

Fernie Brewing 'BA Baltic Porter' @ 11.3% , served from a red/waxed 650 ml bottle
A-pour is cola brown from the bottle to a near black in the glass with a small tan head dissipating into a lace ring along the tulip
S-El Dorado rum
T-smooth El Dorado rum , with a wee alcohol bite on the swallow
MF-ok carbonation , feels full bodied
Ov-feeling the ABV as the bottle is emptied , with some age maybe even better
prost LampertLand

Appearance - Pours a dark brown with two fingers of tan head that quickly dissipates.

Smell - rum barrel, caramel, toffee, plum, raisin, earthy and leafy hops, hint of cocoa, hint of molasses, bready malts, and earthy yeast.

Taste - strong presence from the rum barrel. The caramel, toffee, plum, and raisin come through next followed by the earthy and leafy hops, hint of cocoa, hint of molasses. The bready malts and earthy yeast finish off the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes smooth with the elements of the rum barrel (caramel, and toffee) lingering.

Overall - A bold and well constructed barrel-aged brew that utilizes the rum barrel very well. The flavours of the rum barrel compliment the characteristics of the Baltic porter. The ABV is well-hidden which makes this a true sipper. A pleasant barrel-aged brew from the folks at Fernie!

650ml, purple wax-sealed bottle - aged in El Dorado rum barrels.

This beer pours a clear, very dark brown colour, with subtle amber edges, and three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy tan head, which leaves some decent honeycomb pattern lace around the glass as it slowly subsides.

It smells of bready and doughy caramel malt, raisins, molasses, bittersweet cocoa powder, a hint of free-range ashiness, and some plain earthy, musty, and lit-up floral hops. The taste is semi-sweet, grainy and bready caramel malt, brown sugar syrup, some black stone fruitiness, ephemeral wet woody notes, mild warming alcohol, and more well-understated leafy, musty, and soused-up floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is low-key in its palate-soothing frothiness, the body a so-so medium weight, and generally smooth, with nothing really getting in the way of a good time at this particular juncture. It finishes off-dry, the malt and dark sugary element showing the most lingering legs.

Overall - as usual, using rum barrels doesn't have the impact as ones that previously held Bourbon, and that's okay. We still have a well-made Baltic Porter, one where the near 23-proof booze measure is seamlessly integrated. I mean, you probably wouldn't want to chug this (gag reflex and all), but she's a pleasant sipper for an overcast and gloomy day.