Review: Pit Caribou's Robust Tennessee Porter


Robust Tennessee is Pit Caribou's robust porter aged in whisky barrels for eight months. The beer was released in 2015 and I still somehow had the beer in my hoard collection. I absolutely loved everything I've ever had by this Gaspesienne brasserie, so I think it will have actually aged well over the two years. 7.0% ABV.

Appearance: Robust Tennessee pours a thick, heavy, black porter with a great amount of burnt caramel brown head on top. It takes a while for the head to diminish down, but leaves behind a bit of burnt caramel foam on the side of the glass.

Smell: This beer has definitely aged quite a bit as I get notes of roasted malt, giving off notes of coffee, nuts and dark chocolate. Then I get notes of the barrel aging, giving off notes of butterscotch/caramel, oak, vanilla, and even more wood. It's slightly sour, surprisingly - reminiscent to a sour cherry beer.

Taste: The first impression is a combination of barrel and stout - notes of whisky/oak/vanilla meets rich and roasted porter. There's a bit of a sour and dark fruit note in the background (dark cherries), which is combined with the oakiness. Roasted coffee flavour, light amount of dark chocolate. Good amount of booziness in there.

Overall Thoughts: I'm not sure how this would compare to when this was fairly fresh two years ago, but I think hoarding this wasn't a bad idea - it gives off notes of whisky barrels, porter and even a bit of sour notes to it. It's still pretty damned good, though it would have been awesome to compare this with a fresh batch. Pit Caribou makes amazing beer, and this is another example... but it's a bit over-carbonated. 7.0% ABV