Judge’s Review: 90 Rating – Valkyrie Porter by Moniker Brewery

Mixed-Style Beer | Limited Release | USA

By Sean Coughlin

Judges Rating: 90
Aroma: 20
Appearance: 6
Flavor: 37
Mouthfeel: 10
Overall Impression: 17

Valkyrie Porter by Moniker Brewery is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (2021 BJCP Style Guidelines, Category 34B) consisting of Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer (2021 BJCP Guidelines, Category 30A) and Wood Aged (2021 BJCP Guidelines, Category 33A) with special considerations of being an American Porter with coffee and oak spirals. 
With a beer like this, you have some general expectations of how intense the aroma may be. Between dark roasted malts and the additions of oak and coffee, one would expect the aromatics to be on the higher end of the intensity spectrum. This beer was surprisingly subtle in the aromatics department. No coffee, no oak. Instead, there was a light chocolate malt presence that was pleasant and clean but generally nondescript. No hops or yeast characteristics are present within the aroma either. 
The beer is inviting as far as appearance is concerned – deep black with a creamy khaki head that has average duration.
The flavor has a bit more to offer than the aroma. The malt character is more complex, but there is still a lack of coffee and oak. Coffee emerges more as the beer warms, but I believe that has more to do with psychologically trying to search for that flavor profile than it actually being present. Specialty ingredients/processes aside, this is a very tasty beer. Hops are well-integrated in bitterness and subtle but appropriate in flavor for the style. The body is appropriately medium-full and there is a light creaminess in the mouthfeel. No warming alcohol or grain-derived astringency are perceptible.
The coffee may be so harmonious that it simply gets lost in this delicious beer – and that is okay, but a more present coffee note would be welcome. I was looking for any oak presence and did not find it. The can label states that the oak spirals were soaked in bourbon. There was no whiskey flavor or aroma present in this offering. This is a very well-made beer that wins high marks for drinkability but falls short due to shortchanging this beer connoisseur on what was supposed to make it a specialty beer.