Judge’s Review: 91 Rating – pFriem Rum Barrel-Aged Porter with Coconut by pFriem Family Brewers

Specialty Wood-Aged Beer | Limited Release | USA

By Sal Mortillaro II

Judges Rating: 91
Aroma: 21
Appearance: 6
Flavor: 38
Mouthfeel: 10
Overall Impression: 16

pFriem Rum Barrel-Aged Porter with Coconut by pFriem Family Brewers is being judged as a Specialty Wood-Aged Beer (category 33B) with the base beer as a Baltic Porter (category 9C) per the 2021 BJCP Guidelines.
This beer pours a very dark brown and is opaque even when held up to the light. It has a cream- and coffee-colored head of tiny bubbles with moderate retention. On the initial smell, there is a medium barrel note present with lactones of marshmallow and coconut. Wisps of rum come through in low intensity as it warms. There is a medium-low chocolate malt aroma with a touch of roast. As the beer warms there is a very slight cherry ester but no noticeable hop aroma.
The initial flavor is of medium sweetness with medium chocolate malt flavor. There is also very low vanilla and a low flavor of woody barrel character. There is low bitterness that seems both barrel-and hop-derived. There is no hop flavor in this beer. This beer finishes medium-sweet though aided by the wood and alcohol and balanced towards the malt. The finish is lovely and complex consisting of chocolate, vanilla, a touch of roast, cherry ester, ethyl alcohol and very light rum. The beer has a medium-full body with medium carbonation. There is also a slight pleasant warmth in this beer with a pleasant minor astringency from use of the barrel.
Overall, this an Exceptional beer, though it is lacking in the complexity of the base Baltic porter character. While there are some lovely flavors, the residual sweetness of this beer was a bit too much and I think it could benefit from being a touch drier with a bit more substance from the use of darker malts lingering in the aftertaste. I also found the coconut hard to pick up in this beer through the sweetness as well.