Bourbon Black Cherry Porter
Short's Brewing Company

Cola brown with ruby highlights. Small dark tan head, fades quickly. Let’s no light shine thru.
The nose is molasses, roast. Dark chocolate, cocoa powder. Wood. Faintest sweet cherry as it warms for 10 minutes.
First taste-roast and dark chocolate. Molasses, sweet cherry & berry, faint wood and whiskey.
Big solid mouthfeel.

I love the regular black cherry porter. I was looking forward to this beer since the calendar was released last year. Pretty sure the barrel adds nothing for me. While not bad, give me regular all day long.

 

 

A - Pours black with a one finger brown head. Nice amount of soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is roasted malts, dark chocolate, dark cherries and bourbon.

T - The taste is black cherries, dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts and light bouton.

M - Full body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a soft finish.

O - A definite winner from Shorts. The barrel adds just the right amount of depth with overpowering the base beer.

 

Pours black. Foamy, short, purplish brown head that Fades fast.

Smells cherry, fruit, roast malt, lights are and bourbon.

taste roasted malt, Sweet Cherry, Bourbon and vanilla hints. Followed by Char and slight tart cherry. Finish is semi dry with cherry and malt linger. Full-body and creamy medium carbonation.

Serving: 22 oz. bomber poured into a Founder's CBS snifter. No bottled on date, but maybe 2 months or so old.

A: Pours a beautiful pitch black with dark purple edges up to the light. Very fluffy off-brown head that lingers.

S: Soft bourbon up front, followed by nice dark cherry notes. Not super complex, but pleasant.

T: Huge black cherry up front, some plum, blackberry. Nice booming fruit flavor, followed by a mix of bourbon and even more fruit tartness. The barrel isn't huge here, but it's noticeable. Think imperial version of black cherry porter with a dash of bourbon.

M: Nice and full. Good amount of tartness balanced by the barrel. Not boozy at all, 11+% hidden super well.

O: In general, BA beers from Short's are hit or miss. Nothing in their Private Stache series has absolutely blown me away. As a separate specialty release, this is probably one of their finer BA releases in a while. Total improvement on the base beer. My only gripe is that maybe there's not enough barrel. Just a touch more would be perfect. This is black cherry and dark fruit all the way, with the mouthfeel of a BA stout, just not as oaky or boozy as I'd like. But it's great.

Recommendation: One of the better BA beers from Short's in a while, get this while it lasts.

 

 

 

 

Poured from bottle to tulip glasses. Slightly aggressive pour yields two fingers of quickly dissipating purple-tinged mocha head. Purplish-black colored liquid. Initial aroma is sweet bourbon and oak char, with roasted malt and sweet dark fruits - cherries, plums, fig- in the aroma. Flavor upfront ia a big kick of roasted coffee grounds, bittersweet cocoa, and dark bread followed by rolling tart cherries and sweet, sweet booze and vanilla. Leaves the tongue dry on the finish. Medium feel. One of the better barrel-aged brews out there.

 

 

Bottled September 2017; drank 10/8/17 @ the Yarchives.

Black appearance.

An even pour yielded a small dark tan head; nice tree-rung lace.

Dark cherry, fresh oak & black coffee notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Fresh earth & black coffee flavors up front; mildly tart dark cherry & dark chocolate notes on the finish. As this warmed, mild booze heat emerged.

Almost a Russian Imperial Porter (?!) with dark cherries added; singular & worthy. I'd have another...

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled in 9/2017. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky tan head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, black cherries, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, almond, and dark bread; with light notes of smoke, char, raisins/dark fruit, herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of roast/bready malt, cherries, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, black cherries, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, almond, and dark bread; with light notes of smoke, char, raisins/dark fruit, herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light roast/char bitterness, bourbon/oak spiciness, and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, black cherries, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, almond, dark bread, light smoke/dark fruit, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malt, cherries, and bourbon barrel flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and tart/tangy fruit balance; with no acrid, astringent, or cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is fantastic. Lightly sticky, chalky, tannic, tangy, acidic, and drying. Alcohol is very well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged fruited imperial porter! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malt, cherries, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV. Perfectly balanced between porter, cherries, and bourbon barrel flavors. I found the base beer to be too bitter and drying when fresh, but smooths out over time. This is perfectly ready to go right at release. Plenty of barrel presence without the booze, with a much silkier/velvety mouthfeel from the barrel aging. A highly amazing offering.