Beer

I have been in the midst of a brewing extravaganza. I have brewed every-other-week for 2 months now, and most has gone out the door as Christmas presents (and I absolutely blew one batch...I have never cried so many tears as pouring 5 gallons of beer down the drain). Given that, I have been at Michigan Brewing Company a whole lot recently, which is where i get my supplies (Things Beer, which is attached).

The last visit I made, I decided to try their Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout and the Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter. I was wildly impressed with both beers.

Today, I'll go over the Porter.

Typical of a "robust porter" the beer poured a dark enough brown to be just shy of black (betrayed by garnet highlights when held to light). Dark, enticing, thick. The head was somewhere between tan and eggshell white, foamy, and with decent retention. Just a thick, begging-to-be-quaffed porter.

Right up front, smack in the face, is bourbon on the nose. What's awesome is that you don't get the vague nosehair singe you get from inhaling a glass of bourbon. Instead, you get all of the lovely bourbon sweetness without the resultant headache. Underneath what seems like an entire double-shot of bourbon is this gorgeous roasted aroma mixed with a soft maltiness that aproaches bready and chocolatey. If there are any hops (of course there are), they were overshadowed by the bourbon (which is juuuust fine for this kind ofbeer). What you get on the nose then is a surprisingly soft, sweet and mellow aroma for such a normally strong kind of porter. The bourbon scent just mellows the whole beer like you'd expect a glass of bourbon on your porch in the summertime. Slow, sippin' mellow.

Normally a robust porter has some big roasted/burnt flavors right up front with a roasty, dry finish. Again, as in the aroma, the bourbon flavor is what dominates instead, which forces the "robust" character out of the way and highlights the other softer flavors of the porter: chocolate, coffee, bready roundness. There is still the roasted character tat I love in a porter, but the bourbon totally recharacterizes this beer into something sweet and pleasant. Again, maaayyyybe there were some hop flavors, but it's the bourbon that balances the roasted character of this beer rather than hops that compliment or enhance it.

This beer, like its liquor counterpart, is meant for sippin' and contemplatin'. I can't say enough how cool it is that the bourbon barrel aging totally changes the character of a porter into almost a different kind of beer; how the softer flavors are accentuated rather than the bitter/roasted qualities (yet still balanced) of a normal robust porter. This beer was truly a pleasure to drink, and hat's-off to MBC for doing a great job.