Snake Pit Porter - Oaken Barrel Brewing Company

BWED

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a tumbler.
Received this in an Oaken Barrel sampler pack.

A- Black with dark brown highlights. Light tan, one finger head that dissipates rather quickly. Not very much lacing.

S- Strong coffee with a bit of chocolate. No strong hop aroma.

T- Slightly lighter than the smell. A little coffee, a little roasty.

M- Full bodied, but not heavy. The only attribute of this beer that resembles the style, in my opinion.

O- Okay, but I think this leans more to the stout end of the spectrum. The aromas and tastes are very bold and dark. I wanted a little more caramel subtlety than coffee. It doesn't taste bad, but I think branding it a porter is a slight misrepresentation of the beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 02:40:29 | More by BWED

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.56/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours dark brown with a 1/4 inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both decent. The aroma is light, it smells like roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Good thing the taste is stronger compared to the aroma. It tastes like roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and burnt/charred malt. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit coating with low/moderate carbonation. I liked this brew, it's certainly worth a try. $1.99 a single.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 00:51:48 | More by bluejacket74

AmitC

Indiana

3.98/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a snifter.

Color is dark brown. Peat black inside the glass. Just about half a finger thick tan colored head with not much retention. Decent lacing.

Aroma is of charred and roasted dark malts. Not much booze coming through. Strength is moderate.

Taste is of charred malts and roasted. Very little coffee. Mild flavor. Semi-sweet finish. Somewhat dry as well.

Mouth feel is medium bodied. Low to moderate carbonation.

Average stuff all over.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 20:01:28 | More by AmitC

ifixufly

Indiana

3/5  rDev -20%

03-31-2013 03:57:26 | More by ifixufly

TerryB

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev 0%

03-30-2013 12:41:35 | More by TerryB

bohemyth

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +20%

03-03-2013 23:05:19 | More by bohemyth

psmith161

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

01-24-2013 00:24:42 | More by psmith161

jimbrinkruff

Indiana

3/5  rDev -20%

12-11-2012 03:51:57 | More by jimbrinkruff

Lynn

Ohio

4/5  rDev +6.7%

12-09-2012 23:09:46 | More by Lynn

ajkiser12

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

11-27-2012 19:44:28 | More by ajkiser12

bryang002

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

11-16-2012 04:20:47 | More by bryang002

rmehughes

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

10-14-2012 19:30:15 | More by rmehughes

n2185

North Carolina

2.6/5  rDev -30.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Pours black with a finger of khaki head that disappears almost entirely with no lacing.

S: Roasted malts with some faint chocolate and smokey aromas. The aroma's very muted and watered-down smelling.

T: Roasted malts here as well with some bitter cocoa and char flavors toward the finish.

M: Medium-thick body with lowish carbonation, this beer is a bit watery and could benefit from more carbonation or a thicker body.

O: Not a very good porter, overall. Just kind of bland and boring without being offensive.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 20:59:48 | More by n2185

Rempo

Indiana

4/5  rDev +6.7%

05-25-2012 13:24:49 | More by Rempo

illestkilla

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%

04-19-2012 23:12:56 | More by illestkilla

daks

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

04-14-2012 16:16:50 | More by daks

cbyrd4088

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

02-07-2012 02:51:32 | More by cbyrd4088

gopens44

Virginia

3.73/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

All kinds of dark and opaque, but even with a forced pour, very little head and no lacing. Smell is equally unimpressive yet some amount of coffee coming through in the nose. Taste gets a lot better with coffee taste on top of a bit of chocolate and hints of anise. Finish carries ample bitterness as this thin beverage washes away. Aftertaste leaves an old time licorice taste on the edges of the tongue. Overall, this has a ton of flavor and depth. Next time I am up there in Indiana, I'll grab a few more.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 22:28:37 | More by gopens44

Phocion

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

My girlfriend brought a couple bottles back from Indiana this summer. Had one a couple months ago, and tonight seems like a nice, cold night to review the second one.

12 ounce bottle poured into a shaker pint. Dark brown, almost black body, with just a hint of red underneath a half-finger but moderately retentive frothy light-brown head. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is full of toasted, nutty, and light caramel malts. Slight hint dark-fruitiness and a coffee/chocolate aroma that increase as the beer warms.

Flavor is a little thinner than anticipated, and somewhat lactic. Coffee tastes are much more noticeable, along with roasted malts. Somewhat sugary. Slight charcoal flavor.

Body is a bit too light for the style, with medium carbonation. Very slick mouthfeel.

Definitely drinkable, but not exactly what I think of when it comes to a Baltic Porter. It's worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2011 23:23:08 | More by Phocion

secondtooth

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours an opaque black, with very little carbonation. No lacing at all, here.

Nose is cocoa nibs, and a little roasty.

Flavor profile is a creamy sweet chocolate, with some roasted coffee notes near the finish. Creamier and sweeter than most typical porters (but perhaps more typical of a Baltic Porter, as this one's categorized as), this one's well enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2011 04:15:29 | More by secondtooth

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

So its a crappy rainy cold day....spent all morning running kids around to their activities and doing erands for the wife....so now its my time to sit and have a Snake Pit and watch the Buckeyes vs Purdue hoops game...that I DVR'ed earlier in the day. The Snake Pit poured black into my pint glass with a ecru foam head. The nose on this beer is espresso hints with chocolate malt. The taste is confirms the nose, coffee and malt with subtle chocolate is present, there may even be a hint of black licorice in it as well. I would rate the taste on this beer higher if it had more body or more creamier. Just a tad to watery for my taste. However, I could session this beer....no problem!!!! Enjoy!

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2011 22:34:24 | More by WoodBrew

fear025

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On Tap at the Three Floyds brewpub.

Aroma:Very subtle chocolate flavor.

Appearance:Deep dark red, almost opaque. Off white head with tiny little bubbles. Amazing lacing.

Taste:Black coffee with sugar in the initial taste. It's like a carbonated black coffee. There's a great malty sweetness in this beer. I also get dark chocolate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:A little bit of harshness gives this beer a bit of a bite along with the carbonation.

Drinkability:This beer has great coffee flavor, more so than I've had from any baltic porter. As a baltic porter, though, I think it falls a little out of spec.

Serving type: on-tap

08-03-2010 04:01:52 | More by fear025

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Devil's Backbone willibecher.

Some day this this post-DLD death march haul will be finished. Maybe. This entry pours an ever-so-slightly translucent garnet-brown topped by a finger (at best) of glowing ecru micro-foam. The nose comprises maple syrup, molasses, spruce tips, pine needles, sharp cane sugar, light coffee, and dark wheat. Gotta love that baltic porter smell. The taste holds notes of watery coffee, some slight spruce, floral hoppy bitterness, nutmeg, and a touch of walnut. The watery coffee holds the most dominant position and really puts me off. Something just ain't quite right here. Luckily, some molasses comes in at the end, my knight in shining flavor. The body, though, is a solid medium, bordering on the light heavy, with a lightly moderate carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. Overall, a decent baltic porter, nothing all that special, but very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2010 20:27:34 | More by TMoney2591

cadizkyguy

Kentucky

4.05/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Had been looking for this brew for more than a year and was not disappointed. Poured into oversized snifter. Magnificent frothy head. Very aromatic. A hardy man's beer. Definitely underrated as baltic porters go. Tastes like it smells. Maybe a bit thin in mouthfeel but that was the only shortcoming.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2010 04:43:01 | More by cadizkyguy

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

3.15/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to Deuane for sharing this growler on 3/5/10.

A - Emerged from the growler as a deep burgundy liquid with ruby and purple tints and half an inch of beige head that transformed into a splattering of intricate lacing.

S - Aroma is extremely woody and earthy with a muted chocolate presence and slight coffee notes. However, the wood and smokey attributes tend to outshadow the other aromas.

T - Woody flavor with a hint of dry smoke and earthy, herbal hop notes. Lots of nutty astringency emerges in the middle, followed by a fairly harsh bitterness in the finish.

M - Medium bodied and moderately carbonated with an oily texture, but a bit thin and watery for the style overall. Kind of astringent on the tongue.

D - I didn't hate this as much as some of the others in the group, but I wasn't overly thrilled with it, either. It was just too dry and woody.

Brewslut's Quote of the Day:
"Smells more like catbox porter."

D -

Serving type: growler

03-13-2010 21:10:00 | More by ffejherb