Birth Of Tragedy
Hill Farmstead Brewery
- From:
- Hill Farmstead Brewery
- Vermont, United States
- Style:
- Imperial Porter
Ranked #10 - ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 99
Ranked #270 - Avg:
- 4.46 | pDev: 8.3%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 200
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 13, 2026
- Added:
- Nov 20, 2011
- Wants:
- 1,058
- Gots:
- 205
SCORE
99
World-Class
99
World-Class
Birth of Tragedy is the imperial and oak barrel-aged version of our annual winter porter, Twilight of the Idols. Brewed with locally roasted coffee and Vermont honey, we age this beer for a year in personally selected bourbon barrels from our favorite distilleries.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Alieniloquium:
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida
4.08/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
4.08/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
500 mL bottle poured into a snifter. 2011 bottle. Reviewed from notes.
Appearance - Viscous black with brown edges. No head. Big mocha bubbles, though.
Smell - Bourbon and coffee blend nicely. Vanilla. The coffee has a nice earthy character. Not a lot of porter comes through, but it doesn't matter much.
Taste - Nice bourbon and vanilla. Lots of coffee. Reminiscent of KBS in its earthy coffee flavor. Milk chocolate with a slight winey finish.
Mouthfeel - Heavy. Viscous for a porter, although that's arguable. Very low carbonation.
Overall - So it isn't as magical as I had hoped, but it's still damn good. Remarkably good, but the bar that Hill Farmstead has set for itself makes me feel the slightest disappointment when the beer isn't perfection.
Mar 16, 2013Appearance - Viscous black with brown edges. No head. Big mocha bubbles, though.
Smell - Bourbon and coffee blend nicely. Vanilla. The coffee has a nice earthy character. Not a lot of porter comes through, but it doesn't matter much.
Taste - Nice bourbon and vanilla. Lots of coffee. Reminiscent of KBS in its earthy coffee flavor. Milk chocolate with a slight winey finish.
Mouthfeel - Heavy. Viscous for a porter, although that's arguable. Very low carbonation.
Overall - So it isn't as magical as I had hoped, but it's still damn good. Remarkably good, but the bar that Hill Farmstead has set for itself makes me feel the slightest disappointment when the beer isn't perfection.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by zotzot from Vermont
4.66/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.66/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Drinking out of a snifter at the brewery
Pours a clear dark mahogany with a thin reddish tan head.
Smells of bourbon.
Nice silky smooth mouth feel.
Complex taste of cinnamon plus expresso underlain with bourbon,
Something you can drink slowly and enjoy.
Feb 13, 2026Pours a clear dark mahogany with a thin reddish tan head.
Smells of bourbon.
Nice silky smooth mouth feel.
Complex taste of cinnamon plus expresso underlain with bourbon,
Something you can drink slowly and enjoy.
Rated by npolachek from New York
4.5/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Great Porter.
Jul 07, 2023
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio
4.08/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.08/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look - black brownish with fantastic rimming and lacing
Smell -sweet honey coffee and barrel
Taste - honey coffee barrel
Feel - medium body w medium light carb
Overall - Expecting more, still good but just not as good as it's hyped
Apr 23, 2022Smell -sweet honey coffee and barrel
Taste - honey coffee barrel
Feel - medium body w medium light carb
Overall - Expecting more, still good but just not as good as it's hyped
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