6.5

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

Dry hopped cask sample, 11 Jan., ’07. Come in when Sean is tending bar, start talking beer, and maybe he’ll hook you up to this. Cask pour into a room temp glass greatly enhances the presentation. A smooth tan head over the same black body. Texture is also smooth, with light cask carbonation. Dry-hopped, perhaps, but no overly so, just a nice increased sense of bitterness and well-being. current rating is for the cask version. Mug Club Draft, 3 Jan., ’07. Served in a chilled mug, a bit of a detraction. Otherwise, a good looking porter: brown to black under a thick, lacy tan head. This should have been on cask, too. Still a nice roasty malt comes in through the bubbles. Smell includes a bit of coffee roast. Some hoppiness that may actually go a bit over style, but we’re all hopheads here. Cold does give it a clean finish, but I have to ding it for its presentation. Original rating: 6-4-5-2-13=3.0