27 Anniversary Ale - Imperial Porter Aged on Oak
Heavy Seas Beer

 

Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz bottle poured into my snifter. Date stamp is 2022, bottle has been refrigerated since purchase.
The beer pours a rich cola brown color with no light passing through my glass.
A dense creamy tan head of just over 1 cm foams up and remains as a sturdy edge layer and partial surface covering. There is also dense lattice when I swirl or take a sip. Beer looks like a hefty porter.
Aroma is some dark chocolate and toffee with a good dose of charred wood and some peppery booze too. Not any hop character on this one.
First sip reveals a sort of thicker body with some stickiness and coating on my palate. ALmost no carbonation is felt in this beer. I do get some boozy heat on the finish.
Flavor is some dark chocolate, roasted notes, a bit of molasses and some charred wood. The alcohol is also a little bitter along with the heat on each swallow. Again , no hops here in this beer.
This is a good oak aged porter that doesnt really hide its booze and I find enjoyable. glad to have tried this one.

L: Thick but not viscous-looking dark brown with a tight brown cap that leaves good lacing
S; Nice and dry with lots of barrel sans heat. Roasty and chocolatey with a suggestion of brown sugar sweetness cutting in
T: Bigger and bolder, and I'm loving the oak; dryness with vanilla sweetness building; deceptive, as the 10% doesn't add much heat and the dryness hits but is smoothed out as it goes; No lack of flavor and good complexity overall
F: Mostly dry, but the sweetness cutting through keeps it from chalky. Nice balance, as it's thick while being recognizable as a porter; medium-full body, not too much without being thin
O: A nice beer with a good, even balance between dry and sweet, thick and thin; easy to put back despite 10%

12 ounce bottle poured into a nonic pint glass.

Pouring dark brown with a large cap of brown foam with good head retention for 10% ABV. The foam as well as the viscous beer sticks to the glass. Nose is moderately strong and full of chocolate and roasted malt with whiffs of molasses. Taste is similar, roasted malt, somewhat of a chocolate character and hints of cinnamon and white oak. My first couple of sips had a mineral quality. Aftertaste has a dark chocolate and caramel sweetness/bitterness to it. The medium-full body is smooth and creamy with enough carbonation to notice without giving a crisp bite. slightly warming but no harsh alcohol taste or burn.
No complaints. A big Porter that doesn’t loose it’s English flavor. In my opinion, of course.

 

Heavy Seas Beer "27 Anniversary Ale"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle coded "22185 VIN 2022"
$21.49/Frozen Seas Sampler 12-pk @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: A black body is capped by a thumb's width of tan foam. I've been waiting for it to settle while the beer warms a bit and it's taking its time. The aroma is chocolatey with some caramel, a bit of fruit (apple and berry), a touch of molasses, and just a suggestion of oak. The flavor opens everything up and reveals more oak, brown sugar, more caramel, soft molasses, a hint of apple-like fruitiness, alcohol, and just a flicker of coconut. A moderate to median bitterness is all that's needed in combination with the alcohol to bring it to a mainly dry finish with some maltiness lingering. I was expecting a little bit more but I can't complain as it's 10% ABV and the alcohol is kept in check and there actually is some oak to it, although not much. I certainly don't mind that it's aged on oak as opposed to being barrel-aged (I actually support that) but I think they could've given it a little more time. On the other hand I have been to the brewery and I know that they can't tie up even a few of their tanks for very long. This one works, and as it warms I'm getting even more out of it. There's a hint of nuttiness, and even something that's reminiscent of licorice root or something like that. It makes a nice end of the night sipper. Let's wrap it up ~ the head retention and lacing were fairly good for a beer of 10% but certainly not great, and the mouthfeel is medium bodied leaning toward the upper end and fairly creamy-smooth.
Review #8,421

 

From the back label: "22185 11IN 2022"

Appearance: The body is black and there is a creamy textured brown head which is medium-large in stature.

Aroma: A touch of wood comes through at first, which is sharply overwhelmed by a cola scent. There is a bit of a horehound root aroma with a touch of black licorice. The aroma seems complex but each character tends to envelope each other thereby dominating the nose. Some alcohol is present which seems acceptable given the advertised "10% Alc./Vol." on the neckerchief. The dominating aroma is cola-like.

Taste: Teriyaki sauce comes through with some heavily charred notes following. Alcohol presence is very high and very apparent. A bit tart and sour on the finish.

Mouthfeel: It feels like a lacquer on the tongue which doesn't spread overly thick but fills every pore. It appears heavy and weighty on the palate, moving very slowly while also burning the tongue with the heavy alcohol character.

Overall: The label says that this is an "IMPERIAL PORTER AGED ON OAK" and that it is the "27 Anniversary Ale." The beer seems to phone it in for an anniversary ale. It lacks any nuance or delicacy. The oak character is largely absent; some char comes through. This might be a worthwhile cooking beer but otherwise I would recommend passing on it.

Pours black with very dark brown highlights at the edges, light brown head with so-so retention, spotty lace
Aromas of cocoa, burnt toast, hints of vanilla, coconut, and wood
Tastes like it smells, a bit sweet, dry woody finish
Heavy body and low carbonation, which suits it
Pretty good, I'll open another one in a year and see how it's doing.

Nice black body with brown head. Nice rich dark chocolate flavors and aromas. A little roast but subtle. Oak smoked background once again subtle. Body a touch thin. Nice winter sipper but the fireplace. I got 4 of these in my 12 pack sampler. Will stash the other 3 to spread over the holidays and winter.