London Style Porter
Arcadia Brewing Co. in Elk Rapids, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Porter - Smoked Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.29
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Travel to a time of brewer's lore, when smoke was spelled "smoake," when dark beers held the collective hearts and minds of the people of merry old England. Believe it or not, back in the1850s, Porter ruled the beer world, and no one brewed Porter like the brewers of London. Drawing their water from the Thames, blending old and new batches, and experimenting with new types of malt, Porter evolved throughout the years, and probably at one time held some substantial smoakiness. Arcadia's London Porter draws on this rich historic tradition, but adds a few special twists to make it all our own. The flavor of London Porter is multi-layered, starting with a bold, pleasing sweetened coffee richness, which gives way to round and subtle smoke, much like a delicately smoked ham. Porcine sweetness is capped by a gloss of fig jam or cherry compote, fruity and complex. Faint pear and hay notes barely poke through, reminders that there are some delightful American Glacier hops under all the finery.
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7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
draft sampler at the brewery - Pours black with a thin, lasting head. Roast malts with a trace of smokiness make up the aroma. The dark roast malt flavor is complemented by mild coffee and smoke notes. A moderately heavy body lends a satisfying mouthfeel, then some mild hops come through in the finish.
Tried
from Draft
on 26 Nov 2006
at 23:12
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
(Bottle 35,5 cl) Clear, orangey brown with a lightly creamy, beige head. Alomost vinous, roasted malt aroma. Medium body with dark, roasted malty accents. Almost a bit coffeeish without ever being overly burned or bitter. 290806
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Sep 2006
at 01:43
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
A pitch brown beer with a fast disappearing brown head. The aroma is sweet with strong notes of both chocolate and caramel, but also hints of the alcohol showing off. The flavor is sweet malty combined with notes of stored fruits, and light notes of roasted malt and alcohol.
Tried
on 02 Sep 2006
at 03:43
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Aromas are sweet and a little bit fruity... prune? Tast is sweet and burnt. A little syrupy. Not my cup of tea.
Tried
on 16 Mar 2006
at 20:17
8.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Arcadia has made an outstanding porter. Good coffee, chocolate, and smoke aromas. Black, with some sediment in the bottle. Flavor of bitter chocolate and coffee, followed by sweet cherries. This beer is almost syrup.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Aug 2005
at 18:48
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Smells of chocolate and tastes of chocolate (and caramel and malt with a hint of smoke). Pleasant consistency and smooth, thick after coating with a bit of lingering bitterness. Just a hint of smokiness.
Tried
on 10 Jul 2005
at 20:28
8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle Pours black with dark brown edges nd a very robust creamy tan head. The smokey bittersweet chocolate aroma is right up front. There is also a bit of that porter sour tang as well. Falvors are a nice busy, multi-faceted medley of smoke, coffee dark woody notes and a little sweet spicey flavor. Fairly dry, and not heavy but smooth and easy on the carbonation. Pleasant, no surprises trailer that is slighlty dry. I had a few dissapointing porters lately, this one restores my faith in the style. Thanks Secret Santa whomever you are.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Dec 2004
at 20:15
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
If I wasn't committed to sticking to just the above guidelines, I'd take off points for the lame copy of the name. There's only one true London Porter, and it's not this one. Anywho, Pour is dark dark brown, with some deep mahogany hints and a small lived mocha colored head. Mostly hazy, they claim it is bottle conditioned. No sediment sitting at the bottom though. Aroma is of caramel syrup, fuggles, light ethanol esters and a dry almost astringent barley note. Begins with a soft, sweet chocolate malt flavor, like hot chocolate with lots of extra sugar. Mouthfeel is right away lightly syrupy. The chocolate gives way to some lightly bitter hops mixed in with some moderately apparent smoke, though it is a bit acidic when combined with the hops. The main part of the body has plenty of fuggles. If I close my eyes, it could almost pass for a hoppy pale ale. . . until you get some more bitter coffee and chocolate. Towards the end there is a big barley grain flavor, rich soil, a musty old basement and some dark chocolate. More hops notes and finally the usual Arcadia dose of alcohol. Not big and domineering but also not terribly enjoyable for a finish. All in all, I like my porters a lot less watery, as this body seems loosely held together. Medium it is, and quite smooth and drinkable. A good porter for sure, and with lots of complexities, but to me it dosent quite "nail the landing".
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Apr 2004
at 19:17
8.2/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Sampled at From The Vine beer tasting Jan 9th, 2004: Pours a dark brown color with a medium beige head that lingers. Not too much lacing going on. Nice amount of nuts and coffee in the aroma. A little more rich than a lot of Porters, with a good amount of coffee, malt, chocolate and hops in the flavor. The finish is nutty with a bit of molasses. I liked this one.
Tried
on 14 Jan 2004
at 20:57
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
An excellent porter. Extremely dark, with a tan, lasting head and plenty of lacing. Arcadia London Porter is on the malty side, with sweet malts dominating the palate. London Porter actually has much more in common with their Imperial Stout than does the Starboard Stout. However, the London Porter lacks the "off" flavors I found the Imperial Stout contained (maybe I just drank a bad bottle or two). An excellent porter. A new favorite, along with Anchor Porter.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Apr 2003
at 02:04