Today's review is of Fort Garry's St Nick's Oak Spiced Porter, which is, as you guessed it - a porter that gets to soak in oak barrels! I believe the beer originated as a product last year by Russell, but now it's made its way to their Fort Garry brand, while they share the same name, I've been told the beers aren't anything a like, as the Ft Garry version is supposed to be more mellowed than Russell's.
Appearance: Black molasses, dark as night, with a nice layer of a beige/light toasted head, creamy.
Aroma: A sweet porter that's perfect for the season. Notes of oak, cinnamon, roasted coffee beans and chocolate.
Taste: The other day I was a bit uh.. buzzed.. and I called this a "gingerbread stout", it has a gingerbread aspect easily. The oak barrel helps that out with a liberal amount of cinnamon and a hint of brown sugar. Roasted malts to give it a bit of a coffee taste, and a bit of chocolate. Incredibly drinkable and enjoying the cinnamon spice flavour.
Overall Thoughts: While quite a mellow porter, it's quite flavourful at the same time with the hints of cinnamon and oak. Compared to their silver medal winning Kona Imperial Stout, I don't know which one I prefer more. Both are incredibly solid - this has a Christmasy gingerbread feel to it, while Kona has a spicy coffee flavour (and may actually be just a BIT better than Half Pints' Stir Stick), so I think it's a tie!
It costs around $6.33 for a 650ml bottle, and has 6.5% ABV. There's still lots at the LC here in Brandon, so I assume it shouldn't be terribly hard to find the beer, though Fort Garry's seasonals disappear quickly.
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