6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Deep brown with a gigantic head! Smell is quite ordinary to a nut brown, but the taste is more complex than the average. Light chocolates, deep roasted nuts. A very solid brew.
Tried
on 06 May 2004
at 18:05
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Hazy medium amber with a small head- too small for an IPA. Hefty floral scent- smells very delicious! tastes a lot like it smalles, but a bit too malty. I’d prefer less malts and more hops, with the same flavor undertones. I do enjoy this beer...
Tried
on 06 May 2004
at 17:54
7.8/10
—
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
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 4.5
Pours a cloudy brown. There are thing floating in mine. Flavor is very hoppy, almost an IPA. Ok beer but if I wanted a good ESB I would stick with Schlafly winter ESB.
Tried
on 02 Apr 2004
at 21:49
7.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
2003 Bottle. Bottle conditioned, lovely chocolate brown color, with dark oranges and dark browns mixing together. Big light mocha colored head. Aroma of deep brown/orange fruit, a spicey hops smell and lots of sugary malt. Flavor is moderately malty, highly hoppy. Perhaps too much hops content for a scottish ale, as there is some astringency, but the main problem being, it just tastes too much like hops and dominates the palate. Still, the hops flavor that is there, is wonderful (fuggles being my favorite hops). Bittersweet, earthy, vinous, chewy, fuzzy. Fairly complex hops flavors, has some nice sweet caramel as well. Medium body at best however. Pretty unique.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Mar 2004
at 10:28
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
2004 Draft. Good medium-bright orange with some light red hues. Mostly clear. Big white head. Smells of spicey hops, a touch of dry roasted malt. Opens up fluffy, creamy and quite sweet. Caramel malt to the max, but not out of balance. Bitterness comes in late but makes enough of a presence. I was very pleased that there is no astringency from the toasted malt, no overly dry flavors at all. Superbly balanced and while the hops flavor does not present itself as tremendously complex or bitter, it is still quite tastey. Medium bodied, soft creamy mouthfeel, low carbonation.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Feb 2004
at 17:32
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Price: $1.25 single 12-oz bottle Appearance: Cloudy amber with a small, but fluffy head. Smell: Odor is a bit cidery... and pleasing. Taste: Has a bit of an IPA taste, but with a much more dry finish. Nice. Good, solid mouthfeel. A good drinkable beer. Only problem with this being a ession beer is the dryness... After drinking just one, I took a swig of diet coke to rewater my mouth.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Feb 2004
at 05:53
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
2003 bottle. Bright coppery-orange color, with some light red and yellow tinges. Head had a reddish-orange tint to it that was quite unique. Lots of it, and moderate lacing. Sediment left in the glass. Aroma is VERY floral; perfumy, lightly phenolic almost. Orange blossoms in there too. Flavor immediately is full of chewy hops. Light pine, light orange but mostly a bitter floral flavor. Bitterness is not overdone but very detectable. Mouthfeel is fluffy, almost creamy. Slightly more than medium body. Big dose of medium-dry caramel malt comes through halfway in and plays with the orange flavor quite well. Finish comes as close to being as astringent without actually being so as I’ve tasted. Nicely bittered, with some earthy/tree-sap dry notes. I found myself swirling the beer around in my mouth every drink; surprisingly complex. Wow. I will certainly try again. Aftertaste is flowery, lightly bitter and wonderfully lasting. 2004 on tap. Flavor was not quite as exciting as I remember, though it still had a nice spicy complexity.
2004 bottle Had a very fresh bottle, which proved to be both highly flavorful, and well-balanced, but there’s a bit of a lack of complexity. I can’t figure this beer out.
2004 bottle Had a very fresh bottle, which proved to be both highly flavorful, and well-balanced, but there’s a bit of a lack of complexity. I can’t figure this beer out.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Jan 2004
at 14:21
8.2/10
—
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
6.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Pours fiery red-brown, with a creamy light tan head. Sour, nutty aroma. Flavor begins somewhat sour, with nutty and tangy malts mingling with hints of chocolate. Finishes in classic Arcadia style with earthy English hops taking over the palate.
Tried
on 27 Dec 2003
at 12:35