In a quiet Seattle neighborhood, behind the doors of the modestly-sized Ravenna Brewing, there lives a beast of a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Vanilla Porter.

They call it the Lion Tamer, and it’s not an easy creature to keep caged up. But it wasn’t always such a force to be reckoned with. 

When the Best of Craft Beer Awards medal-winners at Ravenna first packaged this vanilla-blasted sipper, they had to fill all 500 bottles BY HAND — their operation was that small. And once they released Lion Tamer, it tore down expectations as craft fans lined up around the block for their share — every last drop was sold out within hours!

Since then, Lion Tamer has only increased in strength and prowess, with the OG vanilla variant and its Barrel-Aged partners winning Gold Medals at the Washington Beer Awards since 2017. And now, Ravenna’s bolstered the badass Porter even further by aging Lion Tamer in Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrels for 6 months!

This 12.3% ABV sipper boasts huge notes of vanilla-laced bourbon, woody char, earthy tobacco, and rich dark chocolate. Its massive ABV is hidden behind layers of dessert-like decadence, and every sip is like a spiked vanilla latte. 

It’s not often that you have a chance to encounter an obviously world-class Porter before anyone else has even heard of it. But we managed to snag the only bottles of Bourbon Barrel Aged Lion Tamer to leave the taproom!

Rated 4.16 by early tasters on Untappd!