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Unpolished black with barely a brownness peeking at the bottom. Small tanned, evenly foamy top. Collar stays thin and tight with a broken skim once the top creeps away. Not much lacing, a bit of low ended sheeting and skragly, boney fingered strings.

Aroma is deeply whiskey-fied with modest maple and vanilla sweetness hovering with very light roasted chocolate. Perhaps a bit understated and uncomplexing, but man do I like it.

Same goes for the taste. Deeply whiskey toned and warming with a nice inlay of vanilla tossed in. Dark and deceptive. Intriguingly layered in depth with the whiskey; first the vanilla, very open and soaking, then some maple, a thin peel of sweet banana, and ends with a puff of chocolate resonating under the heat late after the finish. A nice little roasty effect is also evident as it begins to peak interest, but the chocolate puff and fluff is the mainstay once the warming begin to set in. A tender pull of dark vanilla sweetness is left soaking into the cheeks as the warmth sits firmly in the throat, belly, and mind. Quite nice.

Feel is left with a middle grounding of mediumish body, leaving the warmth do alot of the work and not so much the body or flavor. Perhaps a tad to whiskey-like. The front is the most empty, gains then fades, then gains again, and as already stated, mostly in warmth and not so much in thickness.But all the flavors inside the warmth do keep it interesting enough to persue more sippage.

And that is what you'll do with this big warming brew, sip and sip and sip, through and through and through. Quite nice overall really. Impressionable, yes, but could use more stature and thickness compared to other, more complexing Porters. Whiskey Oak-aged or not. Still...a very solid Porter worth checking out.

Served In: Pint Glass

22oz Bomber
$7.99
Binny's Plainfield

2007 Vintage

Arcadia seems to be either hit or miss so we'll see how this goes. Shipwreck Porter pours the darkest of browns bordering on black. A two finger incredibly creamy off white head forms on the pour and leaves the glass covered in sheet lacing on its way down although it falls to a cap. This is a really good looking beer.

Everything in the aroma is very appetizing but...there seems to be a sour milk character floating around in there and although not very strong or prominent does drop the score by a half point. Excluding the sour milk everything else seems to be good. Slight vanilla and oak from there barrel aging combines with roasty malts, mild cold coffee, and mild chocolate.

Luckily the sour milk isn't there in the flavor it's more of an enjoyable combination of coffee, chocolate, vanilla (from the oak), and oak all in that order from least to most intense. All these flavors are supporting a well rounded roastiness. Unfortunately as this beer warms the alcohol becomes a little too evident.

The barrel aging made for a really nice mouthfeel. Carbonation is on the lower end of the spectrum and the oak lends a velvety smoothness to the body.

This is a solid beer but the alcohol shows a little too much as it warms, which of course knocks the drinkability down a notch.

I really wanted to like this beer from the outset but it just seems to fall in the mediocre category. It's a little hard for me to get past the sourness in the smell and I believe that translates into me dropping the flavor score as well. All that said it's not a bad beer just one, if some tweaking was done, could be a lot better.

Reviewed: 2/2/08

Price: $7.99 Served In: Pint Glass

A: Pours a thin dark rootbeer colored brew with a quality inch tall tan colored head. Pretty straightforward so far.

S: Now that’s a lot of oak. Actually more oak and less whiskey. Little bit of cocoa, dark rum, butterscotch and roasted prunes.

T: Begins with a good amount of oak around the front of the palate. Nice balance of vanilla and vinous wood…not too much in one direction or another. A low level chocolate creaminess joins the party. Interesting blend between milk chocolate and bitter bakers chocolate. After the swallow the whiskey really comes into its own, but still with some nice balance. Not overpowering or pungent, just the right amount. Finishes with lingering roasted malts, definable bourbon and trace vanilla.

M: Medium body, a bit thin for the style

D: Nice beer. Really enjoyed it. Had a nice flavor that didn’t quit. Wasn’t the most complex BA beer in the world, but still very nice.

Served In: Pint Glass