Brewed By: Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon
Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 2014 (2014 Vintage - "Best after 06/16/15")
Style/ABV: American Porter, 10.8%
Reported IBUs: ?
I have been busy!!! Who knew that graduate school orientation could be so time consuming. I'm ready to crack into a beer. This one is dubbed an "ale brewed with pomengranate molasses with 50% aged in bourbon barrels blended with ale with cocoa nibs and cranberry added." About Deschutes:
Reported IBUs: ?
I have been busy!!! Who knew that graduate school orientation could be so time consuming. I'm ready to crack into a beer. This one is dubbed an "ale brewed with pomengranate molasses with 50% aged in bourbon barrels blended with ale with cocoa nibs and cranberry added." About Deschutes:
The Deschutes Brewing Company was founded by Gary Fish on June 27th, 1988, when they opened the doors to their Bond Street Public House pub. The brewery has since expanded, growing to be one of the top craft beer producers in America. The brewery also operates a pub in Portland, and has a dedicated brewing facility overlooking the Deschutes river. For more information, check out the brewery's website; their Facebook page; their Twitter; or Wikipedia.
The Black Butte is an ongoing release/series: this 26th anniversary Imperial Porter was aged in bourbon barrels and dry spiced with "Theo Chocolate's" cocoa nibs. This also features pomengranate molasses and Oregon cranberries. The malt bill includes: Pale, Wheat, Midnight Wheat, Chocolate, Crystal; the hops are Millennium, Cascade, US Tettnang. Special ingredients include the Theo Chocolate Cocoa Nibs, Pomegranate Molasses, and Cranberries. This was blended with 50% beer barrel-aged for 6 months in bourbon barrels.
This one pours into an opaque, but cola-black body, kicking up two fingers of tan head. There is nice lacing here, along with some alcohol legs...and head retention is pretty good. It looks pretty much how'd you expect...so Zzzzz
On the aroma: chocolate-bourbon, wood, bourbon, some whiskey-raisin sweetness, big molasses, and cherry-chocolate/cranberry-chocolate/pomengranate-chocolate. There are some silky vanilla undertones on the aroma, along with coffee, and lots of cranberry.
This is most definitely thrown for a loop by the fruit...I can't agree with the reports calling this sour -- I think acidic or tart-fruity are better descriptors. This has big notes of cranberry, cherry, and pomengranate, with overtly fruity and sweet notes that play off the whiskey-raisin sweetness, bourbon, wood, and chocolate/coffee. You get some nice coffee notes in here, whiskey-raisin, and chocolate covered pomengranate candies. I wouldn't exactly call this subtle.
If you like overtly sweet beers...this is going to make you happy. This is medium to full-bodied, with a substantial palate duration and very little in the way of complexity. You'd think this would unravel with more mystery given the barrel and fruit additions, but this mostly just dials up fruity sweetness, molasses, and faint chocolate/bourbon/coffee notes. Honestly, the porter base here really takes a back seat. This does mask the alcohol well, and I'm not getting booze. I am, however, getting sugar. Up front: pomengranate, cherries, sweet candies, molasses, cranberries; the mids roll into chocolate-pomengranate, chocolate-cranberries, and more sweet notes, with some whiskey-raising sweetness; the back end hits a little bourbon, oak, coffee, chocolate, but mostly finishes with more sweet candy notes. This is like the exact opposite of the Abyss.
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average here. I actually don't mind the tart and fruity notes here, what is throwing me for a loop is the intense candy sweetness. I guess this beer would work as a dessert drink, and maybe that was the intention. I'm curious how this will taste with a few years of age on it, and I wonder if next year they should let the porter base stand out a little bit more.
Random Thought: It's cold out! For the first time all year, it really feels like Autumn outside.
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| Deschutes Black Butte XXVI |
This one pours into an opaque, but cola-black body, kicking up two fingers of tan head. There is nice lacing here, along with some alcohol legs...and head retention is pretty good. It looks pretty much how'd you expect...so Zzzzz
On the aroma: chocolate-bourbon, wood, bourbon, some whiskey-raisin sweetness, big molasses, and cherry-chocolate/cranberry-chocolate/pomengranate-chocolate. There are some silky vanilla undertones on the aroma, along with coffee, and lots of cranberry.
This is most definitely thrown for a loop by the fruit...I can't agree with the reports calling this sour -- I think acidic or tart-fruity are better descriptors. This has big notes of cranberry, cherry, and pomengranate, with overtly fruity and sweet notes that play off the whiskey-raisin sweetness, bourbon, wood, and chocolate/coffee. You get some nice coffee notes in here, whiskey-raisin, and chocolate covered pomengranate candies. I wouldn't exactly call this subtle.
If you like overtly sweet beers...this is going to make you happy. This is medium to full-bodied, with a substantial palate duration and very little in the way of complexity. You'd think this would unravel with more mystery given the barrel and fruit additions, but this mostly just dials up fruity sweetness, molasses, and faint chocolate/bourbon/coffee notes. Honestly, the porter base here really takes a back seat. This does mask the alcohol well, and I'm not getting booze. I am, however, getting sugar. Up front: pomengranate, cherries, sweet candies, molasses, cranberries; the mids roll into chocolate-pomengranate, chocolate-cranberries, and more sweet notes, with some whiskey-raising sweetness; the back end hits a little bourbon, oak, coffee, chocolate, but mostly finishes with more sweet candy notes. This is like the exact opposite of the Abyss.
Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average here. I actually don't mind the tart and fruity notes here, what is throwing me for a loop is the intense candy sweetness. I guess this beer would work as a dessert drink, and maybe that was the intention. I'm curious how this will taste with a few years of age on it, and I wonder if next year they should let the porter base stand out a little bit more.
Random Thought: It's cold out! For the first time all year, it really feels like Autumn outside.
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