Bourbon Barrel-Aged Porter
Clifford Brewing Co.

Appearance: Black as night as a good porter should be, produced a half finger of head that did retain but produced no lacing at all. Completely opaque, even when put up to the light.

Smell: Rich chocolate, vanilla and mild whisky with ample potency which warming brings out. Smoked malt in the background but it's buried. It's really good, but the beer seems to have been overwhelmed by the barrel, which is all to me that is holding this back from a perfect score.

Taste: Rich toffee malt to start with a hint of smoke and mild vanilla that turns to an masterfully done cocoa bitterness masterfully balanced and restrained by whisky, oak and a sweet note I can't quite place. There's nothing here that I can find wrong here, it's just all around awesome.

Mouthfeel: The transitioning is exceptional on this one, what's not is a low carbonation that I think would greatly benefit this beer. The aftertaste is a mild whiskey with a mixed vanilla chocolate that clings slightly more then expected but for the most part is well done.

Drinkability: On the heavier side of medium bodied, which is where a good porter should be. The low carbonation does mean that it settles down well. I like that it doesn't drink like a meal. There is a slight dry note to it, but the powerful flavour more then makes up for it. It's very easy to drink.

Final Thoughts: Apart from the carbonation, this is an excellent beer. If that could get sorted, this would likely be among my favourite beers. Correction, this one is already among my favourites, being tied for 11th at the time of this review. If they can carbonate this one a bit more somehow, this would likely break into my top 5. This beer being as good as it is, isn't surprising given how good their normal porter is. If you at the brewery, you need to pick a bottle of this stuff up.

It has elements of chocolate and roast with earthy undertones and the balanced bitterness of Clifford's Porter aged for 3 1/2 months in Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey barrels. Enjoyed at Bar Hop in Toronto.