Deer Horn
Wren House Brewing Co.

Pours an opaque, pitch-black coloration with a small, creamy head. Smells of slightly roasted and caramel malt, with some chocolate, dark fruit and red berry coming through, with notes of fig, cherry and redcurrant, as well as hints of tobacco and licorice. Taste follows the nose, with a decent balance of slightly roasted, caramel malt, chocolate, dark fruit and red berries, with notes of fig, cherry and redcurrant, as well as some fudge and hints of vanilla, licorice, tobacco and oak. Finishes with a light bitterness, sweetness and tartness, as well as some red berries lingering in teh aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

This is a very odd brew to me. Not necessarily bad, but definitely odd. I don't get why you would take a perfectly fine(?) barrel-aged stout and then "water it down" with a porter. If you'll pardon me for being cynical about this, the certain, tart red berry notes here suggest to me that this is actually an attempt to save an infected BA brew by cutting it with something non-infected. There are hardly any real barrel notes to this except the merest hint of vanilla and oak and frankly I feel ripped off, even though I should have read the label more carefully. Body and mouthfeel are just okay as well.

Canned on 2/22/2022; consumed on 1218/2022

Pours a jet-brown, root beer-adjacent hue capped with multiple fingers of wispy, khaki foam; good head retention leaves a half-finger of creamy cap, equally frothy collar, and an extensive display of chunky, webby/spotty lacing spread across the walls of the glass.

Aromas of chocolate graham cracker meet blackberry compote as an air of fresh fig is underscored with a balancing, astringent black coffee; slight vanilla/powdered sugar develops over time while a distant rye spice warms the bouquet.

Tastes brings a soft malt roast enlivening bakers chocolate as dark fruit esters linger through the mid-palate, leaving residual bright blackberry and prune juice flowing over the back end while distant oak sensations fade on the finish.

Mouthfeel features a body on the lighter end of medium and a fluffy, moderate-high carbonation settling to a creamy texture cut with an airy prickle; soft roast over the mid-palate finds a fluffy dryness over the back end to a largely clean finish.

Porter prominence sees a delicately punchy roast imparted via the barrel blending, proposing a steady composition favoring lighter sensibilities with brief interludes of malty, whiskey-laden edge.

Not a bad beer. Drinks like a porter.