Old Lompoc Pagan Porter

There are more benefits to playing a team sport than getting exercise and meeting some nice folks. Sometimes you get really lucky and the spouses of your teammates do awesome things, such as brew for Old Lompoc. I’m lucky enough to be invited to Amber Swope and Jon Berry’s annual holiday brunch – already an awesome spread, replete with bacon, cheeses, and of course their famous dutch babies – that always features a selection of beers from Jon’s experiments at home and at Old Lompoc.

This year’s runaway favorite (for me) was his Pagan Porter, served on nitro in their amazing retro-styled basement bar. I love a porter in general, but I love porter variations even more. I have to admit, the Lompoc Vanilla Porter was a close second, and I’ll look forward to the taste-off again next year. Perhaps there will even be a new contender.

When I heard that Pagan Porter was on limited release at Old Lompoc, I had to get another taste! I wasn’t able to make it to the release party, but I had to catch a glass or two (only served in glasses, not pints) at Hedge House the next day. On nitro, it’s smooth, creamy, and velvety-delicious. On regular Co2 it’s still awesome, but not quite as smooth. Maybe next time the Lompoc locations will serve it on nitro? Please?

As one might expect, there’s a definite bourbon flavor and aroma to this beer. Aging the beer in fresh bourbon barrels for six months will do that! It’s the perfect beer for bourbon lovers, or for people who want to love bourbon but just don’t. It’s all the things I thought hard liquor would be like when I was a kid – delicious, sweet, exotic, a treat.

On the tip of the tongue the flavor is sweet, a little fruity (like a fruit cake – yeasty, malty, a little tangy and mysterious), quite oaky, with a hint of caramel. Chocolate notes appear at the back of the mouth, a happy medium between sweet and dry cocoa. As the beer warms, the chocolate flavors are more present at the front of the mouth, developing as a rounded flavor with the bourbon notes. What impresses me is that this beer isn’t too sweet and sticky. There’s so much potential to take it over the top and make it a gut bomb, like a cream-filled donut. But it’s no barley wine and I’m glad for it. The slight tang up front and the hint of bitterness in the finish balance the sweetness and richness of the bourbon flavors, making the beer rich and flavorful but nicely balanced.

Perhaps I’m biased because I know the brewer – he’s the man who makes sweet malty elixir and fresh hot dutch babies, after all – but this is in my top favorite 5 porters. I’ve never had another porter quite like it, and I think it raises the bar on porter variants brewed in Beervana. Fantastic work, Jon! I look forward to next year’s experiment.