Almanac Bourbon Sour Porter
The life of a Kentucky oak barrel is one of giving: first to bourbon, then to dark strong ales, and finally we inoculate it with our Dogpatch Sour culture and fill it with robust porter. This inky black ale blends flavors of coffee, chocolate, dried fruit and Kentucky Bourbon with a pleasant tartness and funk. Pair with hearty winter stews or freshly shucked oysters.
3.7
170 reviews
Alameda, United States
Community reviews
Bottle... Pours dark brown with flashes of mahogany and a small, creamy, cappuccino head. Decent retention. The aroma is an odd intermingling of chocolate, lactic acid, sour cherries and a ripe pair of socks. Medium-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and tingly carbonation. The flavor is a mélange of chocolate, toasted malts and sour cherries. There’s a splash of tart, dry, red wine in the finish. Bottle shared by ctipping!
Bottle. Very dark brown. Aroma of sour cherry chocolate cake, wood, light coffee, gentle bourbon. Taste is sweet and tart. Mouthfeel is crisp and bright, tart dryness.
Bottle shared by Nick. Nearly black pour, little to no head. Aroma: cheese, vanilla, acetone, tannins galore. Any "porter" or roast/chocolate character is lost behind that front. Tart taste, somewhat sweet. Medium body-, slick texture, drying finish. Overall: all barrel no porter makes Prufrockstar a grumpy drinker.
Bottle at Olympen. Almost black with a stable beige head. Sour fruit nose, hints of yoghurt, berries. Tart fruit flavours, dryish chocolate notes, a hint of marcipane. Nice one.
Bottle share thanks to Homer321. Tart, roasty, sweet, lightly acidic aroma. Dark blackish brown, light tan head. Roasty, sour, sweet, dark fruity, lightly acidic.
(375ml bottle) Pours a black body with a small tan head. Aroma of grapes, vanilla, cocoa, and bourbon. Flavor of dark fruit, roasted malt, vanilla, bourbon, vinous, oak, balsamic, and chocolate.
Pours a deep burnt umber color with three fingers of khaki foam. Nose is a mix of tart cherry, light apple, roasted cocoa and a hint of nuttiness. The palate follows with nice interplay of roast and tartness. Layers of dark boozy fruit, tart acidity and a lingering roasted tar, tobacco with some bittersweet bakers cocoa rounding it all out.
Keg at Beer Belly, LA. Thought I wasn’t quite into this but it turns out I am. Dark brown, lasting tan head. Aroma of funky bourbon acidity and some roast. Tastes light sweet with some bourbon and some stone fruit, dry roast, and then fruity sour - red wine notes. Nice.
Bottle at Gaasa. Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is sourness, coffee, bourbon. Flavour is sourness, coffee, roasted malt, chocolate, bourbon, dried fruit, oak. Medium body. Nice beer.
Bottle: Black center outlined by some deep, chestnut brown. A soft layer of khaki foam rests on top for a bit. Aroma of sour black cherries, mildly acrid roast, burnt cacao beans, a hint of caramel, mildewy oak, a touch of smoke, soy sauce, & a prickly astringent note that stings the nostrils. Taste is roasted, overly tannic, astringent, & strange. Awkward combo of roast & lactic acidity. Hint of grape, blackcurrant, & sharp cherry skins. Sour oak & wet wood in the finish with an acrid roastiness that clashes rather then meshes. Astringency on the mouth, over carbonated for the flavor profile. Grows boozy with a little warmth. Not sure if this was a mistake or just a bad idea, but if they were truly going for a soured dark beer, this was very poor execution.
Murky brown, opaque as you like. Crust of sandy yellow head. Rich oaty vinious nose. Neat sooky sour throughout and a tingly malt. Shining bitterness. Tart. Tarty tart. Finishes nice and caning sweet. Resonating oaty linger.
Bottle, Tasting by Numbers Tasting, Cheers Shauny
Bottle thanks to Shawn. Black with tan head. Musty funky aroma, some roast character. Taste of funk and roast, some chocolate. Extremely sour. Nice
bottle at home ... deep black .. big tan head ... soft roast chocolat malt s... soft dry toffeosse .,.. dark malts /.. sour funky balasaminc roat malst .. wierd
Bottle at Craig’s. Pours black, nose is bretty, not much else, taste is quite sour, chocolate, dry, sweet.
"Gotta love these BA sours that make the abv irrelevant. Drinks big, and is exprertly balanced. 50% sour, 25% bourbon, 25% roasty porter. Hints of chocolate and coffee under the funk. The barreling adds another layer of complexity and a hint of decadence. Well done."
Bottle at DC Epic Sour Tasting 2014, courtesy of GenDV138, thank you sir! Brown color. Aroma of coconut, wow! and light cocoa. Taste is smooth, sour, earthy, soft. Amazing.
Tasted on 2/8/14 from a bottle at the RBWG Grand Tasting. Pours dark cola with a thick tan head that slowly recedes to messy lace. The nose is dark chocolate, toffee, caramel bourbon, and sour lemon. The flavor is a bit more sour and bourbon prominent with the dark chocolate porter taking a back seat. The body is light with very lively carbonation and a long sour, chocolate, and caramel bourbon finish.
A dark beer with a touch of mahogany in the dimple of the glass and a rocky latte coloured head. The aroma first and foremost is sour, tart and juicy. Not what you expect from porter at all. Incongruous much? The flavour is the same. The sour barrel aging has completely overcome the natural porter flavours, allowing very little of porter to shine through. I’m not really torn or put off by this: I enjoy sour beers and it is educational to me to see what happens in barrel aging with spontaneous yeasts to even dark beers. The one thing I have learned is that it really doesn’t matter. The barrel characters will come through and dominate, making a vinous beer out of even the most robust of ales. I’ll be sipping on this for a while.
Aroma of acidic vinegar, cocoa nibs, burnt sugar and red wine. Appears black with a tan foam rim and nice lacing. Taste is carbonated chocolate, cocoa nibs, dark malts and some pronounced acidity. Some red grapes, lacto, and black malts come through on the finish. Overall, a very nice twist on a porter. Pleasant dark chocolate notes with an assertive sourness. A- rating.
Rating from notes, sampled from a bottle. kind of a strange beer. Heavily roasted malt and the bourbon is there, but also sour yeast. Some sugar and chocolate, not very sour, but you can’t miss the yeast.
Bottle thanks to my local group for sharing. Pours dark brown with a messy foamy head. It was getting later in the night and I was sick of taking notes so here’s what I put. Aroma: Sour roasted coffee. Taste: Fucking gross. So I wasn’t a big fan apparently.
Bottle: The aroma consists of roasted coffee, sour lemon, and sweet tarts. It pours a a dark brown with some orange highlights with a small beige head that quickly fades to a thin film outlined by a soapy ring. The flavor starts with sour lemon and citrus. The finish has roasted coffee with a hint of nuts. It’s medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall, it’s rare that I really like dark sours. I just don’t think sour and roasty work all that well together.
Brown in color, thin head. Super sour and bourbon aromas. The flavors is a huge hit of sour with the light barrel aging affects. This is a super sour barrel aged beer.
Bottle received in trade. thank you StefanSD! Pours hazy blackish dark brown with a frothy and fizzy dark mocha head that leaves lots of trace on the glass while dissipating. Smell is sour and malty with rosted malts, grape juice, buttery wood, vanilla fudge, red wine vinegar, moist hay, moist soil, unflavoured yoghurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, cocoa powder, liquorice fudge, gooseberries and lemon zest. Taste is sour and malty with roasted malts, dark bread, vanilla fudge, liquorice fudge, lemon juice, grapefruit juice, raisins, moist hay, unflavoured yoghurt, buttered biscuits, roasted coconut, orange zest, lemon zest, moist wood and hints of red wine vinegar. Mouthfeel is round, dry, tart, tiny roasted astringent and medium bodied. Finish is sour and malty with roasted malts, lemon juice, grapefruit rinds, dark bread, roasted coconut, salty liquorice candy, unflavoured yoghurt, raisins, prunes, cocoa powder, moist hay, moist wood, moist soil, leather, orange zest and hints of red wine vinegar. Clean dark sour, tasty and complex!
Bottle - Sour dark malts with some tart acidity. Jet black with a rich brown head. Sour and tart with a roast and chocolaty malt backbone. Sour and odd, but well balanced and refreshing. Not sure how much complexity the sourness allows, also not sure if this is something I would actively seek out at this price.
Pretty much as advertised (sour). Missing the bourbon barrel taste I was expecting (had a ’winey’ one instead) but overall it wasn’t a bad beer as served (too cold) and only got better as it warmed up.
Aroma- wonderfull, intense sweet, dark fruits or berries loaded, mild with no sourness.
Flavor - pure sourness with nothing else left, nor dark malt roast bitter, nor hops bitter, nor malt sweetness. All lost in sour, not pleasant flavor. So force myself to have more than one sip. Medium+ body.
Bottle. Pour black with medium cocoa head and thick, soapy lace. Aroma of chocolate, espresso, cherry, vanilla, bourbon. Medium body. Chocolate, sour cherry, roasted coffee, vanilla. Only lightly tart but one of the better dark sours I’ve had
Dark brown pour with a small tan head. Aromas of oak, bourbon, coffee, and some slightly acidic notes. Flavor is oak and bourbon with some slightly sour characteristics. Not quite as sour as I thought it would be but still decent.
A- pours a deep dark brownish hue with a creamy, light brown head.
S- toasty, coffee, sour blackberry, milk chocolate
T- roasted malt, coffee, blackberry, whiskey, oak, deep sourness, lemon rind.
M- medium bodied with ample carbonation.
D- interesting combination but a little too much going on for me. An enjoyable experience but I probably won’t revisit