Black Ball Porter
To Øl

Black Ball PorterBlack Ball Porter
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From:
To Øl
 
Denmark
Style:
Imperial Porter
Ranked #98
ABV:
8%
Score:
91
Ranked #6,833
Avg:
4.09 | pDev: 8.31%
Reviews:
89
Ratings:
222
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 21, 2024
Added:
Mar 08, 2011
Wants:
  13
Gots:
  28
Ingredients: Water, malt (pilsner, smoked, chocolate, cara munich and brown), roasted barley, rolled oats, brown sugar, hops and yeast.
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Ratings by Jeffo:
Photo of Jeffo
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands

4.43/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Got this one at Geers in Ghent. Why didn't they tell me this was going to be that good? Poor customer service...

From a bottle into a snifter

APPEARANCE: A brown pour yields a larger, medium looking, creamy, fluffy, tan head with great retention. Transparent black body with some decent carbonation up the middle of the glass. Head slowly fades to a big foam cap and coats the sides of the glass. A good, full cap remains and leaves lots of nice lacing down the glass. Looks really good.

SMELL: Dark and roasted malts, dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Hints of leather as well. Bold enough as well.

TASTE: Dark malts, roated malts, cocoa powder and some smoky leather flavors. Very flavorful up front. Lots of bitter cocoa, coffee and smoky notes. Big and lingering aftertaste is bitter with plenty of roasted, smoky and chocolate flavors with just a touch of caramel sweetness as balance. This is way too flavorful for an 8% porter.

PALATE: Full body with medium levels of carbonation. Very creamy and smooth on the palate, goes down smooth and finishes just slightly sticky. Full with enough weight and a great finish. Phenomenal.

OVERALL: A stellar offering. I was not expecting this to be that good. A great porter look, a pile of flavor balanced extremely well, and an wonderfully full and heavy mouthfeel for the style. One worth checking out if you can, and getting in quantity if you are so fortunate. If only they had told me...
Jul 12, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of WillieThreebiers
Reviewed by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

4.02/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a reddish, brownish, black with a finger of foamy head that slowly dissipates to a thin ring with little to no lacing. Aroma of molasses, licorice, and raisin. Taste follows nose. Smooth and slippery.
Mar 21, 2024
 
Rated: 3.77 by QuintusHorace from California

Aug 23, 2021
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.27/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: Pours espresso colored with a full three fingers of beige foam; excellent retention and squiggles of lacing

Smell: Chocolate and roast with hints of licorice and smoke

Taste: Chocolate and licorice forward with the roasted element quickly making an appearance; somewhat hoppy, as well, in the middle; the finish has a leafy aspect with a hint of smoke though the chocolate and licorice persist

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Recently, I have tasted several heavily roasted stouts and I thought I was in for another with similar attributes; to my surprise, there is more going on here than just the roast so I wound up rather enjoying this
Jun 09, 2021
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Rerate, shared bottle at local tasting. Black colour, moderate tan head. Nice roasty aroma, notes of coffee, dark chocolate and woodwork, a hint of liquorice. The flavour has roasty notes and just the right sweetness, coffee, liquorice and chocolate again, nice hoppy bitterness in the finish. A very well crafted beer. I’m upping it a couple points. Original rating: At Copenhagen Beer Festival 2011. Black colour, tan head. Malty and moderately roasty aroma, with notes of cassanade sugar, caramel and and hints of smoke. Also some hoppy notes. The flavour has also moderate roasty notes, chocolate and some caramel, hints of wood and smoke. Moderate but noticeable hops. Very nice!
Jan 05, 2021
 
Rated: 4.2 by jroof1 from Massachusetts

Jan 13, 2020
Photo of josanguapo
Reviewed by josanguapo from Spain

5/5  rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
De Degustasur. En copa Teku. Viendo The Mandalorian 1x01-02. Sin fecha de consumo preferente pero la tengo hace muuucho. Aun asi, no ha perdido un apice de la calidad de una black ipa perfecta
Jan 02, 2020
 
Rated: 4.24 by travelguy from Ohio

Jun 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by 4ster from Canada (ON)

Jul 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4.23 by Simon212 from Canada (ON)

Apr 29, 2018
Photo of spinrsx
Rated by spinrsx from Canada (ON)

4/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Can from the LCBO for around $5
Apr 27, 2018
Photo of cyrenaica
Reviewed by cyrenaica from Canada (ON)

3.36/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500ml can
8.0% ABV
Best Before: July 4, 2018
Main/Bronte LCBO Outlet (Milton, Ontario, Canada)
April 15, 2018
$4.95
The beer pours a solid black colour with a foamy brown head which takes a couple of minutes to recede into a thin lacing on top which lasts a while. The aroma is roasted malt, some licorice, and some dark chocolate notes. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, slightly creamy, and highly carbonated for a porter. The flavour is dominated by roasted malt flavours, some smoky flavour, and a slightly sour aftertaste of weak rubber. For a beer that has described itself as having lots of American hops, I am not noticing them all that much.
Apr 15, 2018
Photo of woolerhillbilly
Rated by woolerhillbilly from Canada (ON)

5/5  rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
One of the best beers I have tried.
Apr 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.84 by kwjd from Canada (ON)

Mar 16, 2018
Photo of TheDoctor
Reviewed by TheDoctor from Canada (QC)

4.26/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Serving: Can
Best before: Jul-4-2018


A:
Pours a thick jet black with thin ruby edges and three inches of mocha froth. Very good retention; lots of lacing. (4.5)

S:
Slightly smoky dark malts, resinous whiff of hops, brown sugar, milk chocolate. (4)

T:
Rich, sweet chocolate, burnt-molassesy kind of thick malt flavor. (4.25)

M:
Full body with light carbonation and a sticky finish. (4.25)

O:
A really nice, really rich porter that I would say verges on a stout character.
It pours beautifully, thick and black with a great head. The aroma and flavor follow right along, a huge porter. Rich, layered, roast, slightly smoky, a touch over-sweet for me as a general rule but it goes great with the size of it.
A very nice beer that I would definitely get if I saw it again. (4.5)
Feb 13, 2018
Photo of philipwalter
Reviewed by philipwalter from New Zealand (Aotearoa)

4.11/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
That's a total surprise, the aroma is muted, and it pours with a large excited head. The taste is outstanding the mouthfeel full. Lots of burnt smokey chocolaty things with a lovely balanced bitterness.
Jan 06, 2018
Photo of BGDrock
Reviewed by BGDrock from Canada (ON)

4.11/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Body is dark as night, sporting a cocoa powder head that has rock solid retention, like a marshmallow floating on top.
Beautiful aromas of dark chocolate and rich coffee, some nuttiness.
This is like 80% dark chocolate in liquid form, very little sweetness, just burnt coffee and dark roasted malt. Mouthfeel is soft and relatively light; an intense, cutting bitter finish from the hops cuts through, accompanied by high acidity and some alcohol burn; lingering finish of bitter dark chocolate.

A beauty in the glass, a beast on the palate with intense, straightforward flavours - the acidity could be tempered in favour of more richness to make it amazing. As it stands, can cut through a rich dessert nicely.
Jan 01, 2018
Photo of byronic
Reviewed by byronic from Canada (ON)

4.1/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours midnight black with two fingers of mocha head. Sticks around and also provides really solid lacing. Almost frothy head, tons of dreamy bubbles

Sweetness on the nose, definitely notes of caramel and bitterness from chocolate.

Nice presence of sweetness from malts, almost toffee like. Some bitter chocolate as well.

Really nice long finish smooth and a touch sweet.
Jan 01, 2018
Photo of rex_4539
Reviewed by rex_4539 from Greece

4.52/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
L: Jet black color, huge five finger beige head, messy lacing, no visible carbonation.

S: Chocolate, coffee.

T: Coffee, chocolate, roastiness. Bitter on the back end. Very good!

F: Medium to full bodied. Superb!

O: On the top three porters I tried. Excellent!
Dec 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by Jotora from Canada (ON)

Dec 30, 2017
Black Ball Porter from To Øl
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 222 ratings