Bottle. Dark brown with a small light tan head. Aroma of cocoa, vanilla, oranges, stewed prunes and berries. Gentle roasted malt with chocolate, orange and vanilla with an unusual upfront sour and bitter presence. Lovely roast malt/ hop dry finish. Good, stylish porter. Maybe the full hop character didn’t make it across the Tasman. [3.7] Bottle. Batch 4. Dark brown with a light tan head. Aroma has citrus, pine, grass, chocolate, bitter oranges. Taste has chocolate sweetness with some roast and prunes, a little sourness and plenty of citrus (orange/ pink grapefruit). A little earthy bitterness too. Good balance of the disparate elements. Interesting - there was some suggestion in the forums that the last batch wasn’t hopped correctly. It would seem so. This is certainly much hoppier and whilst the hops are nicely done they do obscure some of the niceness of the underlying porter - making it a wash in terms of score for me.

Very roasty, ash and smoke dominate with a fairly light, but acidic mouth. Doesnt have nearly the depth or complexity as the Pot Kettle 2009, but now I realize these are not only two different beers, they are two different styles - very confusing branding by the brewery. If you like roasty, ash, smokey stouts, then this beer is for you.