Newport Storm '03
Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co.

Im pouring a cellar temp bottle into a snifter. Ive had the bottle since release and its been in my cellar waiting for me.
The cork pops out with little fanfare nor noise. Beer pours a rich chestnut color with very minimal beige head foaming up to some froth in the center of the glass and fading to a thin edge layer almost immediately after the pour.
Aroma is malty and just a little oxidized with molasses and some brown sugar, I also get dark fruit like plums. There is definitely a little bit of booze on the nose too. Fairly complex and big nose, with no hop character that I can pick up.
First sip is a silky smooth texture and pretty thick body with almost no carbonation.
Flavor is heavy on malt and complex with molasses and dark fruit also some brown sugar and a little bit of a roasted flavor. there is some heavy booze flavor but it isnt really accompanied by any heat.
The beer is a robust complex brew and proves interesting and tasty even after 12 years. A little sweet up front with some depth and a bit of a sipping finish.
Glad to have tried this one and had it sitting on it for a few years. A nice beer that I wouldnt wait to drink too much longer.

 

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a snifter glass.

A: The beer is a deep brown color, with a very thin off-white head, that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains brown sugar, bourbon, dark fruit, caramelized malts, alcohol, some lager yeast and a little bit of hops.

T: The taste starts out very sweet with flavors of dark fruit, caramel, bourbon and brown sugar. Then a hearty malt character comes in along with some additional lager yeast breadiness. The hops presence is very mild which is to be expected given the age of the beer and the high ABV is well-covered. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and a little crisp, medium body, light-to-medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Flavorful, goes down ok, slightly filling, strong kick but well-disguised kick, nicely aged representation of style, this is a decent vintage beer to drink for a while, but at over 8 years it seems a bit past its prime.

 

Really glad to be able to review this.. the last piece in my 00-10 ticking orgy. I loves me some Newport Storm, and feel lucky to have finally completed the set.

This beer pours a nice brown with almost no head. Large, thin-walled bubbles... after a minute or so a slow sandy tan head rises, no more than a 1/2 cm. Settles to the outer rim of the glass.

S- Sweet orange peel and candied plums. Maple syrup.

T- Lots of red apples, kind of mealy. Lots of bready malt. A bit of brandy and some plums, just a hint of smoke and ash. Def. oxidized, some cardboard dashes in and out of the background, faint though.

M- Thick, not really boozy, not really carbonated, well, it is a bit... but you know what it kind of works. Feeling in mouth after sip is kind of like sucking on a hard candy from your grandmother's coffee table.

O- Past it's prime, I'd pass on this one if I saw it again. 7 years might be too long for a doppelbock, even if it's ~11%.

Thanks goes out to roopy40 for this brew.

Poured into a chalice a nice dark brown color, some nice carbonation, little fizzy tan head, with minimal sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with some very slight chocolate notes, slight spice, some raisins/figs/plums, and slight alcohol. The taste is malty, sweet, some chocolate notes, nice little touch of raisins/figs/plums, spice, nice little note of alcholo. Medium body. Drinkable, this one is still holding up pretty well for about 7 years. Glad to have gotten a chance to try it.

Finally popped this one open after a few years in the cellar, sort of forgot about it.

A- poured redish brown, no head at all, into my DFH snifter. there was a small ring of bubbles around the top.

S- smells like boozey mollases and dried fruit, sort of like port. at first it reminded me of triple bock...

T- There's a lot going on there, almost overwhelming, or just hard to describe. Raisins, alcohol, malt, dried fruit. No hops, but a slight bitterness. Tastes like a thin port, or a malty wine.

M- Thin bodied, but sort of sticky, Almost no noticeable carbonation.

D- interesting to say the least. I wish I had tried this one sooner. not something I'd want to drink everyday, but nice to try something different every once in a while.

Pours a dark brown and viscious with no head at all. Some bubbles clinging to the edges of the glass but that's about it. Blue bottle!

Smells like banana runts, and figs dumped into a snifter of Capt. Morgan's Private Stock.

Dark fruits (raisins, plums) and lack of carbonation really give this beer a port-like taste up front. Watery dark malt and brown sugar underneath. Thin mouthfeel.

This beer is past its prime in my opinion. Pours with no head and no carbonation and a dark brown with good clarity. The smell is still pretty nice even though there is some evident oxidation. Rich, and sweet, with dark malts, raisins, walnuts, and sherry notes. Some brown sugar throughout as well. The taste has faded a bit more and become quite sherry-like. Somewhat thin and vinous with an oaky, very slightly sour finish, and more oxidation and nuttiness. Mouthfeel is a bit thin and slick with some sourness at the finish. I didn't finish the bottle, but its not bad. If you have any in the cellar, time to drink up.

750ml bottle: I thought that after 3 years I would finally give this one a shot. The beer pours a very dark mahogany color. There was no head to it whatsoever. I’m not sure if that is a result of the age or it was like this to start. This has a pretty potent aroma. Definitely some chocolate, mixed with toffee and dark fruits. It has a silkiness to it when it hits your mouth. A touch lighter than I would have expected in body, but rich nonetheless. It is quite a complex taste, the components marrying well after all these years. The toffee, chocolate and fruit are in there, but it has become something more. Very Nice. I wish I had a few more!

Shared this one with Zithal. It poured a dark chestnut with a short, light brown head. The carbonation seemed a little low off the pour, but the retention was decent and it did produce a little lace. Very malty aroma with lots of caramel and toffee, mild dried fruit and a hint of chocolate. Mild bitterness was balanced well by the malt (again with the toffee), but less fruit was evident here. It also came off a little salty in the finish. Solid body, not quite full though, with low carbonation - I think this made it feel heavier than it was. Quite enjoyable and it held up quite well over the past couple of years.

750ml cobalt blue bottle from Julio's, Westboro, MA.

Poured roughly into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/4" tan head over the reddish brown brew. Head quickly fades to an uneven layer of bubbles, with passing tan lacing. Heavy, dark fruits aroma, with an almost soy tinge, and alcohol somewhat apparent. Taste is upfront dark malt sweetness, with dark fruit notes, which segues into the warming alcohol. Mouthfeel and drinkability are okay, but just doesn't come together for me at this point in the aging. Not sure if it ever will.

Thin, creamy burnt head. A few trails of delicate lace with decent strength. Molasses/murky brown in color with a bit of sediment.

Creamy toffee, milk chocolate; molasses, hazlenut. Semi-sweet aromatics with shades of aged vinous fruit soaked in alcohol.

Semi-sweet full malt profile; caramel, toffee, and powdered milk chocolate. Oak and light nut flavors. Alcohol shaped fruit: plum, dark cherry, even date. Creamy yet not overly sweet or thin.

Full bodied; a nice balance of creamy sweetness, yet a mellow smoothness.

Big, yet smooth on the palate; nice balance of flavors and alcohol content.

Appearance: A shade of brown a bit darker than cola, the very thin veiloh head swirled around in my glass and looked just like the brewery's symbol, kinda cool!

Smell: Interesting mix of sweet and strong, digging through that sea of hooch I was able to detect some kirsh cherry sweetness.

Taste: A thick slice of multigrain bread, toasted on a old woodstove, a light touch of butter (too much makes me gag, this one had just enough), and a generous portion of caramel spread and rhubarb jelly. I felt the booze burn in the back of my tongue. Long lasting sweet finish. Bitter, burnt toast aftertaste. A real treat!

Unique and extreme, very nice with multi-course dinner. Dark thick syrup. Vey malty and barley. Alcohol kicks in. Very quaffable. Bittersweet chocolate, maple syrup, cocoa, stout,mollasses, sweet almost cloying but popular. Thanks for bringing back Vaino.

Way too sweet--even for a doppelbock. Pours a deep, dark brown with some red tinge. Essentially flat. Nose is molasses and licorice. Flavor is very sweet. Malts come across as if I am licking different types of sugar bowls. I got hints of brown sugar, granulated sugar, and fine sugar. Also, more of the licorice and molasses, as well as cherries and figs. Mouthfeel is full, and the alcohol is not particularly noticeable, but more of a slow burn than a biting tang. Slight dry finish.

courtesy of mr poitras,

poured still and thick with a wisper of co2 small bubble in the bottom of the glass, clear brillant deep amber copper brown. good amount of alcohol in the aroma with a thick chew dense malty sweetness. bit on the thin side at first then a warming alcohol hits you with some peppery spicyness mixed in with some oxidation ffom the corked bottle...has a drying quality in the finish.

Thanks to PPoitras for this beautiful bottle.
Pours a brown and ruby red color. Soft medium colored tan head evelops and fades quicklyleaving little lace but showing lots of alcoholic tannins on the glass. Lots of protein yeasties suspended in the viscous brew.
Aroma is deep and lacivious caramel wtih some plums, dates and molasses or sorghum highlights. Just a bit of bready, spiced yeast in the background.
Flavor is caramel malt with a real sugray sweet brown sugar/molasses hit. Some very dark citrus notes emerge as it warms. Little bit of earthy, roasted peat and maybe some Hallertau and even Saaz hops providing the bitterings ?
Mouthfeel is definitely a unique texture, sor of medium to light bodied with a vinous sort of thickness, very unique. Semi-dry finish with the hop addition. Carbonation was too low for style which may be due to age but still not enough.
Drinkability is solid. Nice thick brew that probabl was just a bit past it's prime. Definitely mad with cae and grat thought and a nice unique brew.

A shared bottle with fellow BA's during the annual C-Town Opening Day festivities.

Color is reddish-brown with a tiny layer of tan-colored fizz that was gone in an instant. Sparse lacing. Diverse array of scents in the nose: rum-soaked dark fruit, booze, oak, sour cherries. Flavor is a hodge-podge of the aromas, yet not in a very pleasing way. Tasty, but all the components of the flavor just didn't seem to meld the right way. There's an ETOH-soaked fruit character, along with some chocolate-covered cherries, and molasses. End sees the kick and warming sensation from the alcohol. Hefty and thick mouthfeel. Lack of any carbonation makes this even thicker and more syrupy. A sipper for sure, and the big bottle was destined to be shared.

Dark amber brown with coppery-reddish influences as well, the liquid looks pretty! The head was beige and very rocky, it is a shame that at its highest point the foam was only a half finger. Head retention was average at best, in a moment it fizzed away to a clunky, soapy collar with wisps of foam in the middle. There was no subsequent lacing, which is disappointing. On the whole this beer looks very attractive. The nose, in a word, is yummy! I detect hints of charred wood, molasses, dates, figs, raisin bread, a snifter of cognac, an ounce of port, and succulent warm from the alcohol. Dark fruit with a tropical underbelly, lightly spicy, the more I sniff the more I’m enjoying it. This beer made my mouth water. That is the epitome of inviting! Moderate potency, I wish it said more but I’m a greedy dick. Lovely. The first sip of the palate said “combination of Samuel Adams Double Bock and Triple Bock.” All be damn, I think that fits the taste perfectly. It has all the good qualities of both like gallons of rich, chocolatey molasses, caramel, rum soaked fruit (grapes, dates, figs, raisins, and even melon). The palate is very rich it is like drinking an alcoholic chocolate cake with molasses icing smoothie. It is dessert in a glass. I am impressed. The hops have largely fallen out with age, which is not an issue. The finish is hot but not raw, it is like the ending of really good whisky. The high abv is well-hidden in the taste but I can fell it in the throat, belly, and mind. Still, this big ass beer is way too drinkable. I’m sipping and savoring but my glass is still empting too fast. With everything going on with this beer, with all the richness and sweetness there is still something that says, “Yeah, I’m a Lager.” I’m one to think this beer could be aged another year or so. I’m also one not to age Doppelbocks (aside from SA, one year please) but this NS ’03 still has some serious sweetness. Sometimes this doesn’t vibe with me; today with this beer it is working great. Somehow this big, sweet beer could really tango with cheese, something heavy and creamy like Havarti or if I was being truly wicked, cheesecake! Goddamn this beer is delectable. I really enjoyed this beverage! Almost full in body, the carbonation is low and this makes the mouthfeel heavy and sluggish. Somehow this works. Long aftertaste, this tasty beverage just doesn’t want me to forget what I drank. I won’t new buddy, I won’t. For a big beer with big sweetness and low effervesces this beer is surprisingly drinkable. Granted I’ll never get the opportunity to drink a couple bottles in a night and I’m willing to bet I’ll never drink this again but won’t hesitate to say this beer is supremely drinkable and I wish I had more. I need to send a huge ‘Thank You’ to UnionMade for supplying me with badass beer! Recommended.