26 February 2022. At Bar Beenhouwer, Ghent. Shared with the lovely Anke!

Hazy black, small, frothy, beige head. Aroma of coffee roast, toast, old dark chocolate, walnut, chestnut, earth. Taste has sweetish prune & old raisin in a toasty malt body with an edge of nuts and bitter coffee powder. Earthy hoppy finish, more toast, fondant, tobacco even. Medium body, slick texture, average carbonation. Textbook Porter, cool.

Brown porter by Buxton, from tap at Bar Beenhouwer. Pale greyish beige, shred-lacing, medium, open head, very dark to blackish chocolate brown robe with copper-red hue. Aroma of brown bread pulp, dried fig, beef stock, hard caramel, old tree leaves, prunes, sweaty note. Sweetish onset but restrained, dried blackberries and prunes but generally clean, medium carbonated with full, smooth mouthfeel; caramelly and lightly nutty malt core with ongoing (subtle) umami effects, lightly toasted bitter in the end but not in what could be considered stout-like these days. Herbal hops and burnt toast aspects do establish a necessary bitterness, creating balance in what can – in spite of Buxton being one of those 21st-century U.S. style brewers – be considered a relatively old-fashioned, thoroughly English porter. Solid enough and in no need of added flavours.

2/I/22 - on tap @ Bar Beenhouwer (Gent), BB: n/a (2022-12)

Clear dark brown beer, small creamy beige head, pretty stable, bit adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: lots of dark chocolate, some caramel, coffee notes, malty, cow fodder, decent! MF: soft carbon, medium to light body. Taste: very malty, roasted, bitter, little metallic, some gingerbread, hoppy. Aftertaste: more roast, hoppy bitterness, good roast, spicy, coffee, malty, cow fodder, ginger bread, bit metallic, good light porter.

Can picked up from Etre Gourmet webshop Grez-Doiceau Belgium, and consumed at our log cabin that we're staying at in Reindlau, Austria Wednesday 29th December 2021, listening to Jon Hopkins - Singularity, cooking Chilli con Carne. This is a very solid porter, nice chocolate flavour, surprised at how flavoursome this is for 4.1% beer Nice tang, dark fruits, some dates, light coffee. Good.

Can sourced from Etre Gourmet and drunk at home (26/12/2021) - black with a nice beige head. Toasted and light roasted malty with notes of cocoa, caramel, touch of coffee roast, liquorice, brown sugar, hoppy undertones, medium body, dark malty finish. Easy drinking Porter.

Pours near black with a frothy off-white head, and a distinct coffee aroma. The coffee continues into the flavour, alongside a touch of chocolate and some bitter, roasted malt. It's let down a little by being on the thin side, finishes short and dry.

Cask at House of Hop. Pours black with a thin tan head. Aromas of dark chocolate, coffee and vanilla. Taste is roasty, more vanilla and coffee. Dry finish.

Tap at FOB, Rimini, Italy. Pours pitch black, with limited, very fine brown foam. Aroma is of dark chocolate, coffee, a bit of vanilla. Body and carbonation are average. Taste is moderately bitter, roasty. Final is fairly dry.

Cask at Smithfield, Derby. Pours almost black with a sizeable cream head. There is a simple aroma of vanilla. This is prominent in the mouth as well, where it is joined by chocolate and liquorice, plus a hint of Dandelion & Burdock. Only drawback is a slightly thin texture, though it is smooth and creamy. Finish is quite bitter too. A good all-rounder.

Keg Tap at the Two-Tailed Lion, Leicester. Mid- to dark brown, almost opaque with a creamy off-white head. Lots of sweet malt in the aroma with chocolate cream. Tastes sweet, chocolate notes with a light suggestion of liquorice in the finish. Some berry-like bitterness in the aftertaste. Light body beefed up by heavier carbonation. Simple porter done very well.