7.2

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Deep dark brown coloured body with a pretty small, single to perhaps two centimetre tall lighter brown head that fades pretty quickly. Aroma of rich maple and sweet molasses notes with a ton of caramelised sugars, some good roasted and toasted malts with vanilla and perhaps a hint of birch? Medium-bodied; Rich molasses and pitted fruits show at first with a big sweetness coupled with a strong malt backbone that supports the sweetness, but the alcohol and bitterness still shows through, especially at the end. Aftertaste shows a lot of sugars leftover, but a good balance from some creamy, milky and vanilla-y flavours show with a good oat maltiness and some lighter grain notes on the edges, but a bunch of sweetness and enough malt support to more than hold up for it. Overall, a pretty nice beer, better than I was expecting and almost bordering on a Sweet Stout, but this one holds the line nicely as a sweeter porter well! I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from Red Wagon in Troy, Michigan on 18-April-2023 for US$3,29 sampled a day later here in my hotel room in Utica, Michigan on 19-April-2023.

7.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

16 oz can. Pours a deep brown to black with a light tan head. Aroma has roasty coffee, cocoa, and molasses. Roasty coffee and dark cocoa flavor, molasses, with a nice sweetness. Very well done.

6.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Can. Pours a hazy dark brown with a light brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has roasted coffee and dark malts with an earthy chocolate underlying. Flavor has earthy grains and earthy chocolate with a touch of coffee underlying.

6.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

7.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 9/20/2017. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted dark/brown bread, and nuttiness; with light notes of cherry, plum, smoke, wood, herbal, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with good strength. Taste of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted dark/brown bread, and nuttiness; with light notes of cherry, plum, smoke, wood, herbal, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/woody/grassy hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted dark/brown bread, nuttiness, light smoke/dark fruit, herbal, wood, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance, and zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/silky, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 6.4%. Overall this is a delicious English porter. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Very rich English malt complexity; mild complementing fruity yeast and balancing earthy hops. Impressive mouthfeel/body for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.