Zin Barrel Porter
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers

 

Ya gotta love the stuffed sandwich...

A: Tough to really see the color in my paper cup, but it looks dark brown and has some orange ochre clarity. Very frothy lattee like, tan head tops this off a leaves good lacing down the cup.

4

S: lactic and vinuous qualities aloft, this has lots going on. Notably unripened blueberry and dark chocolate.

4.5

T: not as tart as the nose leads on but very complex just the same. Bitter dark chocolate and oaky tannen meet along with think skinned grape resedue.

M: round and lasting, a touch chalky.

4

O: by far the best speakeasy beer I've tried, complex and complementing flavors meet and work very well together. I'd love to see more of this stuff!!

4.5

Shared by Azurelimits at my tasting on August 7, 2010. Thanks Pete!

This beer appears a dark brown color with a small head that leaves little lacing. The aroma is very vinous, with a subtle roasted malt character. Zin Barrel Porter is complex and tasty, with the wine barrel being at the forefront of the flavors. There are some notes of chocolate and roasted malt in there as well, but the zin barrel pretty much dominates the taste. The carbonation is very low and the beer has just a hint of sourness in the finish. This was a cool brew and worth a try.

16 ounce "growler" pour from DeCicco's in Ardsley, NY. This was just tapped in the past 24 hours. Pours near black, showing off a very dark tan head, that stays a bit, going to a splotchy thicker film and leaving a collar and respectable bits of lacing on the glass. Roasty malted up nose. Flavorful porter, with lots of roast notes, dark chocolate, espresso, dark malts, burnt wood. Faint lactic sour note also picked up. Nicely done. Well worth a try if you see this.

02.05.10 at City Beer

A: almost black, with mocha head; big, hole-y bubbles sit on top

S: very vinous, slightly roast-y

T: coffee and chocolate, especially at the finish; that vinous quality is definitely there

M: oddly refreshing and very smooth, very barely any fizz

D: quite good, a nice complex brew with lots of elements to discover

On tap at City Beer in SF. You bet your ass that if a -bal aged beer comes out around here, I'll be there to drink it.

Pours dark brown and fairly flat with no head, just a few bubbles.

Very nice aroma with red wine, roasted malt, oak, and mildly tart red berries.

Flavor is also great. The base beer and red wine from the barrel meld really well. Roasted and caramel malt, coffee notes, somewhat tannic red wine and other dark fruits, as well as oaky barrel flavors.

Mildly acidic on the palate with medium body and very low carbonation (but not totally flat).

Drinkability is high. Overall this is a very good beer from Speakeasy, an example of -bal aging done right.