Small Batch Baltic Porter Aged In Peruvian Rum Barrels
River Horse Brewing Co.
- From:
- River Horse Brewing Co.
- New Jersey, United States
- Style:
- Baltic Porter
- ABV:
- 11%
- Score:
- 89
- Avg:
- 4.01 | pDev: 5.74%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 5
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Sep 01, 2017
- Added:
- Apr 26, 2015
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 6
SCORE
89
Very Good
89
Very Good
For close to four months, our smokey Baltic Porter was aged in 20 year-old, dark Peruvian rum barrels to make the perfect barrel aged porter. Several specialty roasted malts combine with black strap molasses to complement the cane sugar and rum flavor to create a well-balanced barrel aged beer.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by captainkrad from New Jersey
4.25/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours dark frothy black. The nose is toasty and sweet. Goes down smooth. Layers of flavor here! Toasted smokey caramel with sweet malt and rum. Pleasant and memorable...
Oct 03, 2015
Reviewed by alpinebryant from Connecticut
3.78/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.78/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Hand numbered Bottle 1564 of 2132
A: Pours a dark cocoa head with a slick looking middle of the glass once the bubbles had settled there.
S: Aromas of cocoa, brown and chocolate malts as well as black malt. There is a faint licorice as well blending with a very malty body. No alchohol in the nose at all.
T: The taste of this is dry wow is it dry. I had never imagined it would be this dry. Did I mention dry? Mostly chocolate and cocoa flavored at first, there is malt and a slight bitterness from hopping, but a lactose like taste that is slightly sweet as well. It could be from specialty malts, but Im thinking lactose. Licorice competes with malt flavors, and only minor hints of any rum barrel are here clearly beaten by dark black patent and chocolate malt flavors.
M: There is a thin to medium bodied base with a higher level of carbonation than I was expecting for this beer which is labeled at 11%. Where this 11% is , I cannot tell you since it is so attenuated that I question by taste alone that it is even above 6 or 7%. The dryness is astounding and I give credit there to the cane sugar and molasses. I brewed once with molasses and ended up with many unfermented sugars and later on a few bottle bombs. That is clearly not the case here, and perhaps that was the result of being in the barrel for four months. Duly noted!
O: Overall this is a solid sweet stout. I am biased by having had many bottles of Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog and still think that is the best readily available Baltic Porter out there aside from having the great Steadman art on the bottle. The Barrel Aged Gonzo is even better for me, but a luxury that I have only had three or four times and thoroughly enjoyed each time. Recommeded to try this though. While the Rum Barrel flavors are faint, they are there and I can always appreciate a well made beer , even more so in this style.
Sep 30, 2015A: Pours a dark cocoa head with a slick looking middle of the glass once the bubbles had settled there.
S: Aromas of cocoa, brown and chocolate malts as well as black malt. There is a faint licorice as well blending with a very malty body. No alchohol in the nose at all.
T: The taste of this is dry wow is it dry. I had never imagined it would be this dry. Did I mention dry? Mostly chocolate and cocoa flavored at first, there is malt and a slight bitterness from hopping, but a lactose like taste that is slightly sweet as well. It could be from specialty malts, but Im thinking lactose. Licorice competes with malt flavors, and only minor hints of any rum barrel are here clearly beaten by dark black patent and chocolate malt flavors.
M: There is a thin to medium bodied base with a higher level of carbonation than I was expecting for this beer which is labeled at 11%. Where this 11% is , I cannot tell you since it is so attenuated that I question by taste alone that it is even above 6 or 7%. The dryness is astounding and I give credit there to the cane sugar and molasses. I brewed once with molasses and ended up with many unfermented sugars and later on a few bottle bombs. That is clearly not the case here, and perhaps that was the result of being in the barrel for four months. Duly noted!
O: Overall this is a solid sweet stout. I am biased by having had many bottles of Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog and still think that is the best readily available Baltic Porter out there aside from having the great Steadman art on the bottle. The Barrel Aged Gonzo is even better for me, but a luxury that I have only had three or four times and thoroughly enjoyed each time. Recommeded to try this though. While the Rum Barrel flavors are faint, they are there and I can always appreciate a well made beer , even more so in this style.
Reviewed by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia
4.26/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.26/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Bottle shared by Darrell. Thanks man.
Deep dark brown body with a quarter inch of beige head. Aromas of roast, chocolate, oak, dark fruit. Sweet, dark malt. Smooth on the palate. Nicely done.
Aug 12, 2015Deep dark brown body with a quarter inch of beige head. Aromas of roast, chocolate, oak, dark fruit. Sweet, dark malt. Smooth on the palate. Nicely done.
Reviewed by metter98 from New York
3.99/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
3.99/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A: The beer is essentially jet black in color—only slight traces of dark reddish brown hues are visible near the very bottom edge of the glass. It poured with a two finger high dark tan head that gradually died down, leaving a patch of tan bubbles on the surface and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light aromas of rum are present in the nose—these become a little stronger as the beer warms up. Some hints of chocolate malts are also noticeable.
T: As in the smell, the taste has lots of flavors of rum from the barrel aging, but these aren't strong or overpowering and are accentuated by notes of underlying chocolate malts and cocoa from the porter base.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer does a very good job at hiding its alcohol and doesn't taste anything like something that is 11% abv. I wouldn't say that it's a good Baltic Porter, but it is a very good rum-barrel aged beer if you like this kind of liquor.
Serving type: bottle
Jul 19, 2015S: Light aromas of rum are present in the nose—these become a little stronger as the beer warms up. Some hints of chocolate malts are also noticeable.
T: As in the smell, the taste has lots of flavors of rum from the barrel aging, but these aren't strong or overpowering and are accentuated by notes of underlying chocolate malts and cocoa from the porter base.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer does a very good job at hiding its alcohol and doesn't taste anything like something that is 11% abv. I wouldn't say that it's a good Baltic Porter, but it is a very good rum-barrel aged beer if you like this kind of liquor.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed by mzingie from Virginia
4.19/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
4.19/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
**Warning, I wrote this after drinking a 1 pt 9.4 fluid oz bottle** Whata beer! Dark as night with the darkest head ive ever seen. Not much lacign or retention, but the color of it's head had me intrigued right out of the pour! Smell was faint but very pleasing. The rum is only slightly present with the malt and subtle fruity tones consuming most of what I could detect. This porter tasted amazing. Surprisingly, I tasted an overwhelming amount of grape, it was fantastic. For being 11% alcohol, I was amazed that I could hardly detect alcohol in this beer. If there was anymore grape flavor, I would have thought it was a wine. Classic porter maltiness also played it's role. The mouthfeel was about right. Im not usually a huge fan of porters because their mouthfeel has an empty quality to it, this beer possessed none of that. This is my favorite porter of all time, if I can find it, I will buy it again.
Jun 17, 2015
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