Dirty Old Man Imperial Rye Porter - Tyranena Brewing Company

monitorpop

Michigan

3.55/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is my second bottle which has now been aged for about 5-6 months. It certainly has improved over the fresh one for me.  

A: Black. Tan head quickly dissipated tan ring around sniffer.

S: Faint coffee and whisky

T: Roasted malts, dark chocolate with a very faint whisky. Without age it had a bit bitterness that I was not particularly fond of.

M: Starts creamy with medium carbonation forming soon after. Leaves a slight alcohol burn in the finish.

O: Could be a bit more complex, but it's a decent beer with some age on it.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2011 02:18:17 | More by monitorpop

mentor

Colorado

3.53/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to GbVDave for the opportunity. Pours a thin layer of light brown head over a dark brown liquid. Ruby edgings is nice. Smells rich chocolate, mild coffee, clean alcohol, dark brooding wood, and vanillins rolling upwards.

Tastes wonderfully balanced between malt flavors, wood, and alcohol. A bit too sticky for my preference, but does dry in the aftertaste, partly due to fine stinging carbonation. Malt flavors are chocolate syrup, licorice, mild smoke, and dark caramel. Vanillins are not as prominent in flavor as they were on the nose.

Thick mouthfeel is too sticky for me. light, but zippy carbonation. Medium drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2009 05:45:11 | More by mentor

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A solid pour produces a three finger thick, chocolate stained, cream-tan colored head in my Tripel Karmeliet tulip glass. The beer is a dark, concentrated chocolate color, that shows just a flash of light through it if held up directly to the light. The aroma is interesting, mainly b/c it is a bit different than I was expecting; there is quite a bit of spiciness from the rye character, a touch of peat smoke, notes of concentrated molasses, burnt caramel notes, some aromas similar to prunes left for too long under the broiler and a finish that has been liberally dusted with coffee grounds, toasted whole grain bread and cocoa powder. There is a touch of earthy, slightly moldy, mustiness in the nose, but it seems to only fleetingly be noticeable. The aroma has hardly any overt whiskey barrel notes to it all though. I made the mistake of swirling my beer, the aroma that emanates from the beer is absolutely foul and smells like a mix of rank toe cheese, heavily moldy, stagnant, swamp-water and cheese that has just gone horribly wrong. Luckily this note seems to dissipate and as long as you don't overly disturb the beer is not all that noticeable in the aroma.

Extremely thick and viscous for a beer of this strength and a definite influence of the rye. The beer has a burnt sweetness to it as well as a finish that provides ample roast grain character in the form of dark cocoa powder, lightly burnt grain husks, dark roast coffee and lightly astringent roast grain. This has quite a bit of tartness to it as well that seems to be product of the carbonation, in fact a swirl of the beer seems to confirm this (even though it releases a noxious cloud of swamp gas) as it becomes much less tart once more of the carbonation is released. Cocoa and coffee notes seem to play a big role in defining the flavor profile, though the texture is heavily influenced by the viscous rye.

It is interesting how much the tartness contributed by the carbonation is played up in this beer. Something about the ingredient mix seems to accentuate the light acidity that is normally contributed by carbonic acid. I am really surprised how un-dominant the Rye-Whisky character is here, though I think the beer is probably better for it being subtle, at least in my book. The aroma has quite a Jekyll and Hyde character to it as well; as long as you don't disturb it, the nose can be decent if not a bit interesting, but if roused it gets aggressively foul really quickly. As a whole I would say the aroma is average; it is decent to enjoyable or on the flip side fairly repugnant. If I hadn't ever roused the beer I would have been reasonably happy with this beer, but then I would have been stuck with the slightly out of place, accentuated carbonic acid bite. Basically beware the aroma on this beast, but it still is a pretty enjoyable experience over all and I would definitely have this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2008 23:31:56 | More by Gueuzedude

MPLS

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had this on tap a couple of times, this is my first time from a bottle.

A: This beer look pretty fabulous. Poured into a pint glass and the head was quick to billow up with good retention. The body is nearly completely opaque with the exception of some highlights on the top and bottom of the glass. Lacing intact.

S: There is elements of the barrel aging, but they are not real strong. I'm guessing it's because of the beer composition: 40% malt beverage aged in rye whiskey barrels 60% malt beverage. This lends to a graceful bourbon nose, not intense like some of the stouts out there. The rye malts stands out in a bready sort of way. In addition to this there are some roasted chocolate tones and a sort of earthiness mixed in.

T: The taste falls a little short of the facade the nose would suggest. I like the roasted chocolate and rye malt used in it, but the barrel aged blending does not do a great job of enhancing this beer. I am certain there was a stronger presence in the tap offerings. The beer sort of loses itself in the finish: earthy and a tad thin. In fact the more I drink it, the more the alcohol and a sort of metallic acidity comes out.

M: Despite the excellent look it falls a little short. Medium bodied at best, but water at moments and certainly not yield a silky or creamy character.

D: Despite the excitement of whiskey barrel blending this one falls a little short. Tyranena's old barreled offerings were far more impressive. I sill consume a fair amount of their stuff, but the Brewers Gone Wild! series isn't what it used to be.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2010 06:03:22 | More by MPLS

MrTopher

California

3.48/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Thanks Jim (ratedz) this wasn’t expected but is really appreciated!
Served in a pint glass from a 12oz bottle.

A – Pours a nice dark brown color, on the edge of black but not 100% black. A small ½ inch tan head develops. Almost impossible to see through, so good thickness.

S – Coffee, a little rye, a little chocolate and I think that’s whiskey but don’t know for sure. There is a lot going on with this one.

T – Dark coffee flavor, a little rye flavor, and some smoke. There is a nice sweetness that is hard to nail down, and a very small hint of whiskey, but it’s small.

M – This was a little more on the thick side, and that caught me off guard, but it must have been from the barrel aging process. Very low on the carbonation also.

O – Decently enjoyable, if I could find this locally I would share this with some friend in the winter months. Not really a spring or summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2011 18:21:33 | More by MrTopher

auroracrisis

Kentucky

3.45/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle into a Maudite snifter.

Pours pitch black with a 2 finger mocha colored head that dissipates to a collar of foam and some small bubbles on top of the brew. A bit of red around the edges of the liquid too. Had to pour a bit aggressively to get the beer to achieve this head.

The smell is a pretty dry combination of cocoa powder and caramel at first but once it warms up notes of black coffee and black liquorice become apparent. Not too much barrel in this, and not real spicy on the nose like other rye beers. Just smells like a normal porter to me.

The taste is a little better. Spicy cocoa with caramel, a bit of vanilla and bakers chocolate. Not too different than the smell really. Not terribly complex but you can tell it's a bit different than a regular porter.

Mouthfeel is pretty damn good. A little dry with low carbonation.

Overall, this is an average porter in my opinion. Nothing too special here but certainly not a bad beer. It could use a little more of the barreled beer in the blend.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2011 06:27:33 | More by auroracrisis

dubinsky

California

3.45/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

Acquired as an extra from makdeco. Poured from 12ox bottle into a tulip.

A – A normal pour resulted in the biggest head I have ever seen. Not sure what I did wrong here, but as I poured this completely black liquid into my tulip almost emptying the bottle, the dark khaki head started to form out of nowhere and almost escaped the glass had it not been for my ninja skills I would have dumped it all over my floor. The head is very think and frothy, leaving some insane lacing as it eventually recedes.

S – Dark malts give way to milk chocolate, very obvious rye whiskey on the finish. Smells a bit like ashes.

T – Roasted malts give way to bittersweet chocolate. A bit woody and earthy with some vanilla and caramel notes. I think there is some lactose in this beer which makes it very desert like.

M – Smooth, thick and creamy with fairly low carbonation. Almost like a nitro stout. Amazing mouth-feel. Very rich and decadent

O – I had no expectations going into this tasting and I was pleasantly surprised. Its a good tasting beer with an even better texture and mouth-feel. Its not the best imperial porter by any stretch, but its different and for that I give it credit. Its well balanced and well made, but the smell is a bit off-putting.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2011 04:27:07 | More by dubinsky

BigPlay1824

New York

3.45/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed in a mug

A: pours a coffee black color with a thin finger of medium tan colored head that is very fine and lingers nicely, pours completely thick and non translucent
S: coffee beans and a thin bit of whiskey scent that hits in right at the end
T: black coffee malts, toffee, molasses, finishes with a slight woddy taste
M: thick thick thick, gentle carbonation tingle, smooth all the way through just so thick, slight burn right at the end
O: a nice porter, lacking a bit on the taste aspect, not as complex as i like to see, drinks nice, extremely thick which i find enjoyable, not bad

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2011 00:26:39 | More by BigPlay1824

beagle75

Iowa

3.43/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tulip glass.

A: Opaque black at the core showing darkest brown color where light is transmitted at the edges. A fine peripheral ring of beige bubbles is all that passes for head formation. Scant lacing remains on the glass.

S: Fairly prominent bourbon and vanilla are complimented by mild roast and a fine thread of dark fruit. No alcohol is detected.

T: Begins off-dry, with rough brown malt that is charred and slightly roasty. Early acidity is fairly pronounced, but more felt than tasted. Some figgy fruit and dark citrus stands out amidst the presence of acidity. In the middle the malt flavors become unctuous and chocolatey, clearly finding their range with some diacetyl flair. Bitterness is on the conservative side of moderate, with other flavors nutty, slightly spirituous with bourbon, and even a touch briny.

M: Medium viscosity, acidic on the palate, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: This is a fairly unpretentious barrel-aged beer, not really coming across as an extreme contribution, but not eliciting a 'why bother' reaction, either. It does seem elevated by the influence of the bourbon, probably because it is born from a mediocre imperial porter recipe.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2011 01:10:34 | More by beagle75

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to someone for sending me this bottle a ways back. Served in a SAVOR snifter at a recent tasting.

Pours nearly black with a short mocha head and a good collar on the way down. The nose carries a bit of bourbon along with some roast and brown sugar. Mild oaky character there as well. The flavor is hampered by a really thin body, but brings a fairly-nice whiskey presence and some roast and chocolate. Pretty light body, especially considering the style, and light carbonation. Nice flavor overall, but far too thin.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2011 22:01:48 | More by Thorpe429

nhindian

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Bottle provided by MilwaukeeCrusher, cheers!

A - Pours a dark chocolate brown with about 1.5 fingers of light tan head. Retention is around a few minutes before dissolving into a small cap. Very nice lacing with generous thickness around the edges. Although too dark to see carbonation through the liquid, I can see some bubbles bunching up around the sides.

S - The aroma starts with a lot of espresso and bittersweet chocolate. Some inherent rye spiciness, but certainly nothing over the top; it actually doesn't come through as much as I would've thought. The whiskey is surprisingly subtle and understated, almost to the point of being inconsequential.

T - In the flavors, I'm getting more of the barrel than I did in the nose, but it's still quite faint until it almost hits room temperature. The espresso returns to give some nice roast and the chocolate turns a little sweeter here. Next comes the barrel in the form of oak and vanilla and some of the rye spice combines with the front-half of the flavors to liven them up. The finish contains the malts, whiskey, and some alcohol.

M - The mouthfeel is medium-bodied with high-ish carbonation. Still goes down smoothly and the head aids in this endeavor.

D/O - Drinkability is medium. My qualm with this beer is similar to that I had with Tyranena's 'Shaggin' in the Wood'. They aren't afraid to barrel-age their beers, but by blending it with a non-barrel version of the base, it loses some of that emphasis. While subtlety is nice to have since you aren't getting kicked in the face by the oak or whiskey, I feel a bit of barrel would do wonders. So either forget blending the barrel-aged product with the base, or tweak the blend ratio. Or add your own whiskey to taste!

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 03:56:54 | More by nhindian

n2185

North Carolina

3.38/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: pours black with three fingers of dark tan head that recedes into a thin ring with little lacing.

S: some roasted malt at first followed by a lot of creamy chocolate and vanilla. There are some cocoa notes in there along with a hint of smoke. A slight sour aroma peeks through as it warms

T: Roasted malts up front followed by some creamy milk chocolate flavors. The finish tastes of smoked peat, char, and a fairly faint dry whiskey flavor.

M: Thick body with lowish carbonation, this beer is quite thick and creamy, especially for a porter which I tend to think of as having more carbonation.

O: A decent beer, but it doesn't really stand out much from other porters and the whiskey notes are very faint. I'd like a bit more depth to the aroma and flavor along with a bit more whiskey presence. Still, it's not bad.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2011 02:18:00 | More by n2185

BeerBelcher

Ohio

3.33/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

There's a lot of adjectives in this beer name that normally indicates superlative beer, such as "imperial," "rye," "aged," and "whiskey barrels." For all those words, I wasn't tremendously impressed with the beer underneath the label. It was good, but not as good as the Devil Made Me Do It Imperial Porter. Still, I accept that some of these "Brewers Gone Wild!" series beers will be better than others, and this beer hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for this series.

Appearance is black, opaque and foamy. Aroma was a little whiskey-like, a bit grapey, and a bit roasty, but it was also a bit watery. Flavor was less intense than I expected, and the ABV of this beer is lighter than I thought it would be. Mouthfeel is a bit watery. Not a bad beer, but it didn't live up to my expectations set by other "Brewers Gone Wild!" offerings.

I'd recommend this beer, as I'd recommend any beer in this series, but this is definitely not their best work.

I bought this bottle at 3 Cellars in Franklin, WI.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2008 01:55:21 | More by BeerBelcher

NYCWheatFanSC

New York

3.33/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Pours a thick, impenetrable dark brown that only fades to a light ruby brown at the edges when held to light. Large dark, reddish tan head that stays forever with evenly sized bubbles. Beautiful.

S - Whiskey, dark chocolate, roasted malts, burnt coffee. A little boozy even for one who loves that profile.

T - Smoky/ashy with loads of whiskey profile. Heavy on the coffee flavor and soy sauce. Too much of a mess right now, maybe it'll calm down with some more time on it - too bad I don't have another bottle.

M - Very thick and oily, too much so for even an "imperial porter."

D - This is without doubt an imperial stout trying to hide in the clothes of an imperial porter. A little too ashy and hot for even me, and I love hot beers. Glad I got to try this, but not one I would seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2010 05:18:09 | More by NYCWheatFanSC

CooperEllis

New York

3.28/5  rDev -21%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into the Southampton RIS party snifter.

Lovely bourbon notes in the aroma. Lots of malt, a touch of the rye and vanilla notes. Good wood notes and a bit of oatmeal.

Dark in the glass, very nice tan lacing.

This may well need to age more. It is very very strong w/ booze. In addition to the bourbon, the 7.9% feels a touch more like 10.9% or possibly 109%. Those notes dominate the taste and that's disappointing because there is just not much of anything else here.

Good mouthfeel, the booze makes it a bit of a mess. This was something that got better in the glass as warming it brought more than booze to the front. Warm oatmeal, but there isn't much else still.

It's certainly bourbon aged. And, um, it's light enough in the body to qualify as a porter.

(171st)

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2012 20:00:39 | More by CooperEllis

Crosling

Colorado

3.2/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Light brown pour but appears fairly dark in the glass. Large, light mahogany colored head. Sparse aromas of hazelnut and mocha, with a touch of sweet whiskey. Flavors of sweet whiskey and some dark malts notes. I don't care for these Tyranena barrel aged beers. They seem so dead to me in character and they lack texture.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2008 03:39:25 | More by Crosling

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.08/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Poured Jet black with a small dirty head that dissipates very rapidly leaving zero bubbles and light lace

S: Light peppery rye, vanilla, some light bourbon, cocoa

T: Muddled and confused. While I taste an initial light cocoa and bourbon the flavors tend to be muddy, undefined and sloppy. Vanilla peaks in with some roasted malts. Finish is a little sweet and syrupy

M: Rather well bodied, low carbonation is not satisfying and I believe t hampers the taste and creaminess of this beer

O: Average at best with some flaws.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 15:07:47 | More by barleywinefiend

ibbjamin

California

2.93/5  rDev -29.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Paid $2.49 for a 12oz beer from Discount Liquor in Milwaukee, WI. Poured into a small snifter to review.

Pours relatively thick leaving no traces of head whatsoever. Seemingly flat. Darkest shade of brown before black.

Sweet roasted malts, chocolate, molasses and coffee dominate the nose. I am not sensing whiskey or wood notes from the barrels it was aged in.

Taste is of overroasted malts and mediocre coffee. Some mild hints of the rye whiskey, but they are quite faint. I can't imagine this was aged for too long of a period in the barrels.

Medium bodied and little to no carbonation. A somewhat watery mouthfeel which came as a surprise given its thickness. Medium finish of roasted malts and coffee.

This is an average porter that does not live up to its label which is full of enticing adjectives.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2009 04:23:59 | More by ibbjamin

bashiba

Iowa

2.88/5  rDev -30.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured a dark black with a thin layer of creamy dark tan head.

The smell is has an oxidized and mineral quality to it with a touch of burnt malt trying to creep out.

It starts out with a big burnt malt flavor that really seems to dominate all other aspects of this beer, some mild chocolate along with some earthy hop flavors sort of work there way past the roasted barley a bit as it warms, but it still seems one dimensional.

The mouthfeel has a very dry mouthfeel, this is the only area of the beer where the oak aging is really apparent.

This beer was underwhelming at best.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 00:46:23 | More by bashiba

sidetracked

Illinois

2.28/5  rDev -45.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours dark brown, almost opaque. Medium brown head, bubbly and thin. Head dissipates to nothing ... looks flat.

Aroma is kind of dank wood. Little vanilla, smoke, and burnt malt.

Taste is bitter roasted malts, a little wood, roasted coffee, and a little caramel sweetness. Bitter, burnt, smokey finish with a little vanilla. Lingering roastyness.

Light to medium body, a bit watery. Low carbonation.

Kind of weak in all aspects. No real bourbon presence. Too burnt and smokey. Body is too thin. Drinkable, but not that good.

6/23/2011

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2011 17:40:50 | More by sidetracked