6.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle. Color: Very dark brown, almost black Frothy light brown head. Taste: Medium sweet roasted malts, dark chocolate, bit harsh. Some hopbitter and sour hints at finish. Medium body, pretty much carbonation. Ok porter, but not outstanding. No excitement and too much carbonation...

6.4

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

Draught @ hop Artisan. Poured dark brown color with a thin white head. Roasted malty, oat, mild sourness. Flavor has roastedness, some bread and licorice. Some weird notes. Drinkable though.

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Very very huge head. Black beer. Strong aroma has chocolate, roasted coffee, exotic fruits and malts. Taste is coffee, chocolate, dried fruits and malts. Mid balanced, sweet. Very high carbonation. Everything in good balance, but way too much carbonated.

6

Mega gushing ale piwk spoko, jak na lekki porter wrecz intensywne

6.8

Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Robust porter from one of these new Estonian craft breweries. Heavy gusher: the beer spouted out of the bottle upon opening with great force - not a good start. Captured most of it in the tasting glass and unsurprisingly, it showed a very thick, frothy, rocky, yellowish beige, irregular head leaving thick patches of ’papery’ lacing on the edge; colour is black with cloudy mahogany brown, translucent edges. Aroma of coffee grounds, espresso even, fig, blackcurrant, bitter chocolate, elderberry, moldy nut shells on a damp forest floor, cocoa, almond, jute, earth, leather, fermenting tree leaves, cold black tea. Restrainedly sweetish onset with sourish edge, hints of banana, fig and blackberry, vague umami somewhere, medium to sharpish carbo at least initially and accentuating the sourishness - but calming down after a while. Smooth, supple malt body, very nutty and chocolatey with a sweetish caramel accent, quite pleasant, leading to a more toasted bitter finish with some spicy hops adding more herbal and peppery bitterness, well balanced against the lingering malt bittersweetness. Alcohol remains well hidden. Too bad for the violent gushing, because otherwise this is a perfectly fine porter - or stout, because this is one of those many examples of a ’black’ ale illustrating that the modern craft beer world has no sharp distinction between both categories.

6.5

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

33cl bottle (6,8%) at Drink bar, Tallinn. Pours very dark mahogany coloured with a modest, beige head. Aroma of roasted malt, dark fruits, notes of licorice, hints of caramel, hops and dark chocolate. Medium sweet with medium flavour intensity and a rather light bitterness. Quite tasty, a bit too much on the sweet side for my taste, but nice.

7

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

Bottle, batch 068 (from UJH, Tallinn). Pours dark brown-black with beige head. The head doesn’t stay. Aroma is roast, malt, alcohol. Flavor is sweet and bitter, roast, malt, dark chocolate, birch like notes. Carbonation is low, almost flat. Finish is dry roasty with lingering sweetness. Overall: good, easy to drink, would like a bit more carbonation.

6.5

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

Tap at One Pint Pub, Helsinki. Colour is black with small white head. Aromas and flavors: Some sweetness, syrup, some licorice, some coffee and roasted malts.

5.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5

Tap at HBF2016. Dark brown color, small beige head. Cloak aroma with some toastyness. Medium-bodied. Bready, sweetish caramel, smooth palate. Low bitterness. Unbalanced porter.

6.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

(Keg at HBF2016) The beer poured nearly black. Its head was medium sized and white. Aroma had chocolate and burnt malts. Palate was nearly full bodied with medium carbonation. Flavours were burnt malts, ash, sweetness, dark chocolate and bitterness. Aftertaste had bitter cocoa and bitterness. A nice burnt porter.