7.8

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Draft at the Arch Taproom in Bermondsey. Dark brown pour. Small tan head. Roasty malt aroma hints at cocoa and coffee. Flavor is more of the same. Roasted malt, coffee, cocoa and a hint of caramel. Smooth and flavorful. Soft on palate. Lovely roasty finish.

8.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Old rating - A 330ml bottle from the brewery last year. Pours a near black with a white head. Aromas & tastes of chocolate, coffee, raisin & roasted malt. Full bodied. Medium bitter finish. Outstanding old school porter.

7.5

Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Keg @ the brewery. 1/3 pint.
Poured near black in color with a thin off white head.
Roasted malts, touch of coffee. Balanced porter with lingering chocolate finish.

7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Near black with a tall tan head. Roasted, cocoa powder, snappy citrus for a moment, nutty, earth. Medium bodied. Solid porter.

3.4

Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 11

Bottiglia. Il gusto al naso resta attratto da orzo tostato, caffè e cioccolato. L'intensità olfattiva è elevata e il modo in cui permane è apprezzabile. Il cappello di schiuma cremosa è di colore marrone chiaro e ha una buona tenuta. La grandezza delle bollicine è medio-fine. Il liquido è di colore scuro impenetrabile. Il corpo è strutturato. Il dolce è medio a pareggiare l'amaro medio: non si surclassano. La forza gustativa è elevata. La continuità gustativa è buona. Le sensazioni boccali finali risultano di pronta beva. Il retrogusto è intenso. Sul tetto della bocca si fermano sentori di miele, cioccolato, caffè, liquirizia e agrumi.

7.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Tap.Dark brown colour with small beige head.Aroma of roasted malt and nuts mild roasted and toasted taste even brown bread not mild and easy to drink kind of beer.

7.5

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

440 ml can. Label name is The Porter 2024. Pours a very dark brown with full tannish head. Aromas of nutty chocolate and roasted barley. Flavors follow same with additional lactose/sugar/cream.

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Rocky light brown head on a dark brown body. Roasted, chocolate & nutty aroma. Medium to full bodied, smooth with a dry foamy back. Roasted, burnt, chocolate, caramel & nutty tastes with a bitter pine finish. Class.

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8.5

The ordinary (robust) porter by this familiar English brewery, with explicit references to the heydays of the style (the Victorian era). Can shared by Craftmember. Thick and moussy, even-shaped, shred-lacing, yellowish beige head, jet black robe with burgundy edges (under bright light). Aroma of coffee grounds, burnt toast, dried blackcurrants, charcoal, roasted chicory, cigars, hot olive oil, freshly crushed black pepper, haemoglobin, old cracked leather. Clean onset, hardly sweet but still a touch of dried fig, burnt blackcurrants as well, very vague umami accent (black olive), medium carbonation with smooth, oily mouthfeel. Burnt-toasty and roasted-walnutty malt core, lots of roasted bitterness here, dry, very coffee-like in the end, though there is a sweeter caramelly core at the centre too; the roasted bitterness eventually dominates, supported by spicy, leafy hop bitterness which, like the roastedness, seems overdeveloped for a classic English style robust porter. In fact, if I had to taste this blind, I would say it is a dry stout rather than a porter – but we all know that stout and porter are a continuum without strict boundaries. Its strong hop bitterness also reminds me of classic, eighties style American porter – Sierra Nevada Porter to be precise… Anyway, regardless of historical or stylistic accuracy, I have to admit that I liked this one quite a lot for its old school dryness and bitterness – in fact I think it ranks among the better Anspach & Hobday beers for me, as most of those (at least the ones I had) always tended to lack ‘something’ to truly shine. This one does shine, albeit in a pitch black way.

14/01/2017. ANSPACH & HOBDAY, 118 Druid Street, LONDON, SE1, England (ANSPACH & HOBDAY)