Ron Chips keeps his barrel aged porter stashed behind an unmarked keg.
Given the style’s reputation, the decision makes sense. Porter, after all, was a favorite of Industrial Revolution rowdies in the good old UK. Modern snobs can tick off a list of favorite stouts, but often stare blankly when challenged to name a few of the other dark beer.
Porter was even responsible for perhaps the greatest brew-related disaster in history, when a massive vat of the stuff burst and 320,000 gallons gushed out. The flood of suds washed away several homes, killed eight people and left an untold number of fortunate survivors in a fugue state.
That was back in 1814.
But the owner of Kelsey Creek Brewing in Kelseyville doesn’t keep his porter secret due to its past. No — because he ages it for seven months in American oak bourbon barrels, Chips can only offer a limited supply.
And that’s too bad, for his unnamed porter is fervent, mysterious and very complex. It’s the kind of beer that causes an uncontrollable “wow” to escape your lips after the very first sip.
“It’s a pretty interesting beer,” he admitted.
Although served from a cool tap, the chill cannot frost over powerful aromas of rye, cocoa butter, old wood and vanilla. Allow it to sit for awhile and approach room temperature and these intermingle and transform into something very much like a box of chocolate covered cherries.
On the palate, toasted rye, dark chocolate, vanilla and a zing of dry orange zest show on the first few sips. As it warms, an intriguing combination emerges. Out of the bread and chocolate, a mild coffee note comes forward — not the intense, bitter bean found at Starbucks, but the comfortable joe poured from percolators past. This is followed by something more elusive, but perhaps best describes as molasses without the burnt sugar taste.
The finish is long, with reminders of every bit of the porter’s character, right down to the faint citrus bite. At 7 percent alcohol, it’s very much a reminder of why men who toiled for 12 hours in deadly 19th Century factories wanted to end the day with a belt, and a lot of flavor.
Chips studied dozens of recipes before settling on his own. He measured the chocolate malts to balance with the character he expected from the bourbon-infused wood.
“A barrel can do three things: oak flavor, oxidation and the beer extracts some of what was in the barrel,” he said. “It works well.”
His foray into barrel aging began with a little curiosity. He was interested to see just how his dark beers would react in the less stable environment of used staves, where air, elements and wilder things are able to ply their trade. He also happened to have an opportunity.
“I had two barrels. I thought ‘why not?’ he explained. “As time permits, we’ll do more barrel aged beers.”
Kelsey Creek still has the porter on tap. It is not listed on the big board, but it’s very much worth asking about.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
