Beer Hunter Brown Porter
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

 

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a chocolate brown color with a short tan head. Good staying power. Light lacing. The nose is pretty nice and complex. All the scents of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and light caramel are interwoven quite well. The taste is not quite is integrated and complex, but the same characteristics are present. Feel is really nice with a great body and nice carbonation for the flavors. A nice drinking beer and the Beer Hunter would have been proud.

Every so often this beer pops on tap at Goose Clybourn and every very so often it's on cask. Every time it is I make sure to head down and grab a pint or two.

A pint glass full of dark brown liquid with a finger of thick creamy head. It looks like a richer pint of Guinness with the cascade and all.

Smells of roasted malt, coffee, caramel, milk chocolate, and delicousness.

The first gulp is warm and follows the nose. Semi-flat, semi-oxidized and incredibly delicious. I love this beer. Lot's of rounded out roasted malt, caramel sweetness, coffee roastiness. It's great.

Mouthfeel is full and creamy

I could drink this all night and be fine, well maybe I'd be drunk, but I'd be in heaven. It goes down way, way too fast.

A great beer on cask, one of the best I've had from a beer engine. It's the only way to drink this one. If you see it get it.

on tap poured into a pub glass at the Wrigleyville Brewpub in Chicago. the brew was first tapped on August 21, 2008. pours a rich medium brown color with vellowish amber highlights and a single finger of light tan, pillowy head that has good retention. moderate lacings.

aroma is of chocolate mainly, with a nutty base and malt notes of caramel and distant roasted malt. the aroma is essentially a mix between a rich nut brown ale and an english porter, so the choice of name was quite appropriate.

taste is more of the same, with a creamy, chocolate-like character on a nutty base. the brew is very smooth in profile with a tinge of alcohol upon finishing. there is a mild earthy quality that shows itself throughout consumption. a very well crafted profile!

mouthfeel is smooth and lightly creamy wth a smooth finish and a light bite from alcohol. very mellow on the palate.

drinkability is great. this is essentially a nut brown with the rich and creamy profile of a porter. a wonderfully rich and drinkable brown ale, this is definitely one to seek out. cheers!

Listed as 5.8%, imperial pint at Clybourn.

Pours a clear dark red/brown, thin off white head, settles to a thin layer, leaves a bit of lace. Smell is caramel, some light chocolate, bit of roast, coffee, some grains, nice. Taste is fruity, some caramel, chocolate, sweet bready middle, brown sugar finish, light roast. Mouthfeel is medium to light bodied with medium carbonation. Nice drinkable porter, pretty decent, and would do MJ proud.

Served in a 20oz imperial pint at Goose Island Clybourn 10/2/07.

Listed on the beer menu as 5.8% abv.

A: Deep dark brown...almost black but not quite. Hints of lighter brown towards the sides and bottom of the glass.

S: Mild roastiness and bitter dark chocolate. Mmmmm.

T: Roasted malt, dark chocolate, and some hops. Pretty darn simple and pretty darn good.

M: Starts off a bit bitter but slowly becomes creamier as it comes up to temp.

D: Not as ragged as a typical porter. Very quaffable!

Pours as dark, dark, brown with ruby hints. Head is less than a finger, though keep in mind this is a growler review, and is a thick, creamy beige. It really is, for the style, quite beautiful.

Really nice with a spicy cinnamon in the nose upfront, most likely a mixture of hops and alcohol. Malts are well balanced with your chocolate, caramel and roasted malts.

Quite tasty if you ask me. Could be a little stronger, but I do appreciate it being a 6%+ brew with no alcohol presence whatsoever. Chocolate takes a backseat to a delicate roasted characteristic in the malts. What I like about this brew is that it combines choco-malts and roasted malts with very little in between...like a little dark chocolate in a burnt tort desert. Yum. Could be a little maltier with the hops, you know, an English hop. Not quite Golding, but something...

Mouthfeel is excellent for the style. Thick and carbonated, the best of both worlds. Could be thicker for my taste.

I could drink this one all night. If I had to session it out, this would be right up there with the local Rock Bottom Brown Bear. I will say that I like this brew better, too bad it's sporadic in its being brewed. I love brews like this and am considering changing my preference on the site again to american browns after tasting this brew and its ilk. Cheers!