MacTarnahan's Black Watch Cream Porter (aged in a bourbon barrel)

[brewmonkey]

Pours opaque with a thin tan head that dissipates quickly. Rich aroma with some roasted malt and bourbon that mingle together creating a vision of what lies ahead. Nice medium body rolls across the tounge with a higher kilned malt bitterness that turns into almost an espresso flavor. Lingers on the tounge reminding you of why you are going to take another sip. A slight hop flavor but it blends in with so many others like the malt and the bourbon. A hint of bourbon and not overpowering is nice as it blends in with notes of chocolate. A chalky finish may be from the roasted malts but it has hints of vanilla which may have come from the oak bourbon barrel it was aged in.

Overall this is a very nice beer. I can see myself in front of the fireplace with a pint of this just relaxing with a good book or movie. This came in a 22oz bottle which was $6.99 at a local KC store.

[Tweek]

nice review. makes me want one.

[steveh]

Bourbon cask ales are fast becoming one of my favorite styles.

Yum!

S.

[brewmonkey]

McCormick ditilling is 5 minutes from our pub. During the fall I have been able to go and get them as they have been coming off the line and use them to make out bourbon stout.

[chazwicke]

The District Chophouse and Brewery in Washington DC makes a nice beer aged in the bourbon casks. Some of these take a little getting used to. I am more of a scotch fan than a bourbon fan. I was drinking a beer from Yards the other night and I walked away from the last few sips for about an hour. Got sidetracked. Anyway, when I came back and took that last swallow it really had a fierce scotch like flavor. Very nice. Most of that flavor had been hidden when it was cooler. I went and checked the bottle and the alcohol content was 8%. I have another one so I definitely will let it warm up before I drink it. I thought I had accidentally poured some of the 18 year old Glenfiddich from the gift bottle I had recieved earlier in the day.

[brewmonkey]

We did some a few years back where we racked to the barrels and then put them in the icehouse. Over time they became "buried" under a sea of kegs and when I was ready to rack from the barrels to serve the beer we missed one. It ended up sitting in the ice house for another year for a total of 18 months in the barrel. We were suprised when we found it and it was wonderful. We took some with us to Madison for the Great Taste and once word spread, we blew through the 1/2bbl in about an hour. I am humble when it come to the beers I make but this one was just downright perfect. It had all the stout qualities (Oatmeal stout), the bourbon and cask imparted some really wonderful notes and oxidation had added to it with the nice sherry/port wine notes. Wish I still had some damnit.

[chazwicke]

Are you going to try to make more?

[steveh]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Are you going to try to make more?

Annd "forget" another barrel? ;)

S.

[brewmonkey]

We will see what time brings. If I do, I will make sure to bottle some for the masses, how's that!

[S.F.B.]

I just tried some of this last weekend and your review is right on. I loved the complexity of this one. I taste no les than foru distinct flavors. I would say more but I don't have that god of a palate.

Last year Widmer did a bourbon cask aged bock. I'd say it was more along the lines of a double. 8% ABV, or something like that. It was excelent as well.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
We will see what time brings. If I do, I will make sure to bottle some for the masses, how's that!

I vote YES!