Bourbon Barrel Porter - Williamsburg AleWerks

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle courtesy of TMoney2591 in a BIF way back. 22oz 2010 vintage, but the fill barely even came up to the neck on the bottle. Batch 1108.

Pours a few shades off black, with some mahogany transluence. Creamy khaki head, good lace and medium retention. Nose has some vanilla and oak, mild bourbon notes and subtle notes some ripe plum (among other non-descript dark fruits). Taste holds alot of oak and dark chocolate, brown sugar with some roastiness coming through midway through the mouthfeel. Bourbon shows up around that point as well and lingers with the roastiness out into the finish. Adequate carbonation and medium heavy body, with some creaminess in the feel. I felt like this took on alot of the character of the barrel, and would've been curious to see what the base beer tasted like to put things in perspective. Pleasant but not fantastic.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 20:14:03 | More by liamt07

johnyb

Florida

4.25/5  rDev 0%

06-16-2013 20:04:24 | More by johnyb

beerloverofbham

Washington

4.4/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to ksurkin for this one. Shared this 22 oz. bottle with a friend in some stout-esque glasses. Pours very rich and very dark--darker than I expected, even for something that's been sitting in a Virginia Gentleman bourbon barrel for a while. Smells strongly of bourbon, oak, and toffee. Initially, I taste dark chocolate, coffee, plums and dark cherries, and later, vanilla, caramel. Very rich, with a lot of layers--the flavor of the bourbon is included in there but is only one part of a complex profile. Velvety.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2013 23:21:37 | More by beerloverofbham

JMUbrewz

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev 0%

06-12-2013 16:16:02 | More by JMUbrewz

thegerm87

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -5.9%

06-12-2013 01:45:30 | More by thegerm87

alysmith4

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev 0%

06-06-2013 01:04:36 | More by alysmith4

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -11.8%

05-26-2013 20:22:48 | More by mikeincharleston

acurtis

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -11.8%

05-26-2013 04:55:15 | More by acurtis

InspectorBob

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev 0%

05-23-2013 20:26:01 | More by InspectorBob

jaasen64

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev 0%

05-20-2013 01:20:26 | More by jaasen64

szmnnl99

Michigan

4/5  rDev -5.9%

05-19-2013 03:47:01 | More by szmnnl99

JayQue

Virginia

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Good Bourbon Barrel beer. Pours a dense black color with no light coming through. A hard pour produces a big light tan head with decent retention. Minimal lacing.

Aroma is vanilla and bourbon/wood. Strong, pleasant.

Taste still features the bourbon barrel influence and vanilla, but there is also some good roasted malt as well. The bourbon may be a bit too dominant but the other flavors are prominent as well.

Mouthfeel is rich. The bourbon provides a little harshness, but the roasted malts smooth things out after the initial bourbon blast.

A good slow sipping beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 03:07:08 | More by JayQue

enelson

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%

05-15-2013 00:00:20 | More by enelson

illy0sis

Texas

4/5  rDev -5.9%

05-14-2013 22:10:21 | More by illy0sis

baybassboy

California

4.75/5  rDev +11.8%

05-14-2013 05:17:14 | More by baybassboy

BMart

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%

05-08-2013 18:43:29 | More by BMart

SBoyar1

Texas

4.25/5  rDev 0%

05-07-2013 13:53:34 | More by SBoyar1

dfhhead25

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%

05-07-2013 03:09:19 | More by dfhhead25

Oboogie

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev 0%

05-05-2013 20:24:28 | More by Oboogie

mhaugo

California

2.75/5  rDev -35.3%

04-17-2013 05:05:02 | More by mhaugo

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.11/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to BigSexy410 for sharing a vertical of this. I'm reviewing the 2011 version.

The beer pours a nice nearly black color with a decent off white head and lacing, not super thick looking and with certain light it reflects some reddish notes back.

The first thing I notice is a nice sweet palpable bourbon oak barrel that seems to pair really well with the fudge and semi roasty porter base. As I get my nose in there, I get some baking supply sort of vibes like vanilla extract, cake batter. Nice.

The flavor is very close to mimicking the smell almost exactly, and has a nice lingering bittersweet and roasty finish with also a bit of rounded out barrel tastes too. Not the thickest beer,it is actually a little thinner than most porters of this abv and barrel influence. Definitely some big alcohol burn to this, more than expected and its a little off putting.

Good stuff, definitely tasty and decently easy to drink for a bourbon aged beer, nice.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 22:51:30 | More by Dreadnaught33

nflmvp

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev 0%

04-11-2013 23:38:36 | More by nflmvp

Crimsontider22

Alabama

4.25/5  rDev 0%

04-10-2013 23:49:22 | More by Crimsontider22

SpeedwayJim

New York

4.14/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Sam and Russ for this one. 22oz. bomber into a Brooklyn Brewery snifter. Shared with schen9303.

Pours a 1.5 finger rich mocha head with good retention. Beer is opaque and pitch black. Lacing is layered and sticky. Very nice.

Nose is chocolate, molasses, lactose, fudge and bourbon. There's a bit of an off ethanol smell that lingers in the back a bit. Aromatic.

Opens chocolate, roasted malt, fudge, and molasses. Some smoke and bourbon in the middle. More molasses with notes of liquorice and a touch of leather at the end. Finishes sweet and syrupy with the same aftertaste. Really good. The flavors are appropriate and they complement each other very well.

Medium to full bodied with low carbonation. Oily and slick in the mouth and goes down with a touch of heat but very smooth overall. Finishes messy with a lingering, sticky sweet aftertaste. Perfect.

Another winner from Williamsberg Alewerks and easily one of the best porters I've had to date (though this drinks more like an Imperial Stout). Definitely worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 02:16:47 | More by SpeedwayJim

JoninVT

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev 0%

03-29-2013 23:22:35 | More by JoninVT