The Colonel's Barrel-Aged Porter - Cambridge Brewing Company

cbutova

Massachusetts

4.34/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Phone notes from last night:

A- Black in a flute like glass. Small off white tan head forms to a thin layer without much retention. Small foamy ring leaves a few lace pieces but not much.

S- Tart Brett cherries off the top. Some nice vanilla and smoothed out oak hints open up. Roast grains round it out.

T- Complex and interesting here. A lot going on but for the most part it is complimentary and makes each sip bring a new feel. The slight funk and tart fruits open it up and are followed by some whiskey and the porter malts. Pepper, smooth oak, raisin, grape as well. Tart fruit flavors build with time as the whiskey fades. Some acetic toward the end.

MF- Dried out lighter end body with silky moderate carbonation. A good creamy feel for a wild. Tart feel builds with time but never reaches a puckering level.

The Brett cherry tarts build with each sip but the vanilla oak and roast malts keep it in check. Seems like CBC really has their act together with sours. Very interesting beer. Whiskey comes and goes, seems like a new beer each swig.

Serving type: on-tap

03-06-2013 23:35:18 | More by cbutova

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at CBC

Dark black pour, with a wispy off-white head that completely disappeared after a minute or two. Strange aroma, roasty and yeasty, and actually reminded me of the monster flesh from my Mad Scientist Monster Lab I had when I was a kid (one of my favorite toys). But nostalgia aside... In the taste, a good mix of Brett tartness and dark malt roast, cocoa, notes of pine and booze, though nothing really resembling bourbon. Body was about medium. Overall a tasty and interesting brew.

Serving type: on-tap

02-27-2013 03:27:30 | More by Rifugium

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.55/5  rDev -31.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Reviewed from notes. Pour yields a very, very dark brew with a thin tan head and a bit of lacing as it moves down the glass. The nose is really quite off. There is the bit of earth and lightly-puckering sourness, but behind that there is some cardboard oxidation and a bit of a spruce character. Very strange. This comes through even more in the flavor and puts the Brett and porter notes in the background. Feel is oxidized with a bit of sourness and moderate carbonation. This seems like it could have been good, but something was off in what I had.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2011 01:20:23 | More by Thorpe429

Duhast500

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the tap into a tulip glass.

The color was a dark black and was almost completely opaque except for a glimmer of maroon when the light hit it right. A slight brownish head with some little lacing.

The smell was a little roasty but a bit funky at the same time. some interesting coffee flavor in the nose.

The taste was really something else. My mind was expected some thing with a deep roasted malt flavor and I got a real interesting sour flavor that I was not expecting from a dark beer such as this. There was a bit of a creamy flavor that seemed to mix into the sour flavor well and get lost within it then be found again.

I have had a limited number of brett beers but this is really an interesting beer. It had a good body and went down smooth with good sourness to it. It was pretty drinkable and had a bit of a creamy feel. Very good.

Serving type: on-tap

07-21-2010 03:14:28 | More by Duhast500

clegolfski

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This review is a bit shorter as it is from memory.

Dark dark beer with a limited head, it almost has a purple tinge to it. Sour chocolate? This is what comes through in both the smell and the taste. Although the smell is very mellow it is very very unique. On the taste you get the sour up front and the chocolate porter on the back end. Although this is an excellent beer i would have liked the flavors to be more distinct. It seems that the balance almost works against this fascinating little fellow. I have never had anything like this before but will order one whenever I get the chance.

Serving type: on-tap

07-19-2010 16:24:38 | More by clegolfski

aerozeppl

New York

4.33/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A nice dark back color a finger of white head nice looking beer

S little bit of lacto and a ton of Bret really nice nose a touch of Bret little bit of booze from the barrel touch of oak

T really awesome really nice Bret the barrel and Bret are really working well together. sweet dark fruits just a really complex beer that is really enjoyable

M creamy mouthfeel very nice carbonation

D all day good people writing this on the iPad of a fellow noon beer drinker awesome beer

Serving type: on-tap

06-20-2010 16:50:28 | More by aerozeppl

u2carew

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A) Dark, nearly opaque with some reddish hues. Creamy tan head.
S) Mellow coffee and cocoa aroma. There are slight earthy sour notes.
T) Sour but not overwhelming. Chocolate notes, roasted barley and a hint of smokiness.
M) Tingle on the tongue. Chewy. Full bodied. Some pucker factor.
D) Decent. Intriguing. The sour works with this porter.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2009 23:03:20 | More by u2carew

GratefulBeerGuy

New Hampshire

4.3/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This version of the colonel has been aged in Buffalo Trace barrels with BRETT!!! Brett is in the Porter! yikes!. Poured into a flute glass.

Jet-black, one-finger, mocha-froth head, is it dissipating? I'm not sure, it sure is slow!! very healthy looking.

The nose has a big-time wild, yeastie Brett aroma, no mistaken this smell!! There is also vanilla beans and roastie, smokey malt. Brett mostly though.

The malt is smokey and very hearty, dark fruits quickly pop out, zesty medium bodied feel with a nice balance of Brett and roastie malts. This is my first beer with Brett that is not a Pale style beer. The Brett is unique and tangy in the big maltiness. Brett has the abiltiy to completely dominate a beer's flavor, this one is in good balance with the rest, very wild with only slight medicinal qualities. The Brett can become bitter and harsh and this is not the case here!

a very adventurous brew.

Serving type: on-tap

04-18-2009 16:35:51 | More by GratefulBeerGuy