Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Deep brown body with reddish highlights, thin off-white head. Light chocolate aroma, sweet, with roasted malt. Sweet, fruity black malt dominates the body, balanced by earthy hops and a slightly chalky, earthy finish. Acidity punctuates the finish. Decent.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6
Deep brown coloured body with a small tan head and large ruby tints throughout. Aroma of nuts, caramel, cherries, malt, chocolate and grapes run strong. Medium-bodied; Good tastes of nuts (once again), raisins, roasted malt, figs, chocolate and even licorice detected in the taste. Aftertaste shows strong flavours of malt and lingering bitterness throughout. Overall, this beer is a good porter to try, complex, but still lacking a bit. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Oliver’s Beverage in Albany, New York on 07-March-2007.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
I’ve had numerous six-packs of this over the past year (2006) as it has been distributed in MA recently.
Medium amount of white head shows moderate retention, light lacing. Bright, honey-golden body shows plentiful carbonation and a high clarity.
One (at least) batch has been unintentionally infected with wild brett. That one smells of medium-tart pear and apple skins, with a little bit of peachiness from the malt combo. The brett version shows more attenuation and a more dry nose, obviously, but is quite fragrant. I believe the beer is hopped with styrian goldings or hallertauer. It gives a tremendously grassy, herbal and highly aromatic nose. Touch of light breadiness on the finish.
The infected cans are deliciously ripe with brett. I’ve honestly had bottles of Orval that taste worse than these. The combination of the noble hops, which are mostly flavor/aroma additions, with only a light bitterness produces a charming recreation of Orval. Somewhat sweeter, and the non-infected bottles are much sweeter, but still very well-attenuated and with plenty of spiciness from the hops to cut the sweetness. Furthermore, I found the carbonation and mouthfeel to be the best I have yet encountered in a canned beer. Lower levels of carbonation do not pester the palate. No alcohol apparent, no flaws that I found.
Easily the best canned beer I’ve had and probably my favorite readily available drinking beer. This must be exquisite fresh on draught. Too bad I’ve never found it in my many travels through Maine.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
This beer came to me in my beer club - I am not familiar with the brewer. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a black color with a medium sized dark brown head. The aroma is sweet, roasty, toasty and has a moderate chocolate element. The flavor is very malty and sweet with roasty and toasty malt elements, chocolate and a hint of coffee. The finish is a bit dry and gritty. A very nice porter.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
This beer came to me in my beer club - I am not familiar with the brewer. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy dark golden color with a medium sized yellow-tan head. The aroma is sweet fruity and piney hops with a hint of pepper. The flavor is sweet and spicy grapefruit and pine. There is a weird tangy off flavor in the finish that detracts.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Pours clear dark brown with a large tan head. Chocolate milk /cocoa powder aroma. Slightly sweet, tamed by a bit of roast malt bitterness that lingers long into the finish. Creamy and well carbonated. Decent body. A bit different and worth trying.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Draught pint at the Great Lost Bear, 8/18/06.
Thoroughly cloudy, pale-gold/straw body sports a briefly-lived white head, which fizzles to a ring, leaving little/no lacing.
Some muted banana in the nose is hinted at, but then blown away by bitter hops? I guess that’s what it is. Dry, with a leafy, herbal pungency and yielding, only minimally, to light cloves, creamed wheat and strong doughiness (white dough, some honey). Some citrus peel notes combine with the bitter hops and the banana is lasting, though never much more than an afterthought in the nose. Strength is rather weak, dulled by the heavy yeast clouding the liquid.
Straw, dough, heavy wheat smoothness and nips of hop bittering, almost cascade-like press in to the palate upon first sip. The banana is minimal and fades in to a watery/wheat body that is only bolstered by some carbonation, initially, becoming too wet after warming/breathing. Some honey and lemon-flavored angel food cake-like notes battle with the heavy wheat, while the palate is somewhat bitten by the bitterness, on end. It’s certainly a unique take, and the hops don’t fatigue the palate, there just don’t seem to be enough other malt flavors going on. VERY clean; guess they just used their house yeast? That or they fermented this at a very low temperature for the style. Quenching, no alcohol apparent. Touches of breadiness and hay/straw-like graininess are the extent of the malt contributions after the palate adjusts. Pretty high ratio of water-to-malt, it seems to me. But the hop bitterness helps to clear the palate and does add some livliness. Dosen’t impart much flavor, though (nettles, lemons, grass).
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle under the Sunday River name from Porterhouse; nose of coffee and chocolate malts, Transparent brown with a medium tan head; flavor of coffee, chocolate. nad roasty malts.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Hazy orange/ amber with an off-white head. Malt dominated aroma with good supportive grapefruit hops. Malt dominated flavor profile with supportive hop bitterness. A touch of saltiness detracts somewhat.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6
12 oz bottle fridged for an hour. Pour is a thin black color with a minimal head that turns into a minimal lacing. Aroma is present - roastiness muffled with hops. Taste is similarly hoppy with some aspect of roastiness. I dont lke hopped porters but I have had worse. A bit to watery and thin for me. Mouthfeel is oily as well.