Black Paddle Porter
Fitger's Brewhouse

 

 

Poured dark brown/black with relatively little head and retention. While this is a decent porter, tasted alongside the Big Boat Stout it seems thin and one dimensional. There is the trademark roastiness and not much else. Granted, to some extent this is what is expected of porters compared to stouts, but I find there are others with more complex character. Regardless, still pretty good.

On-Tap at Fitger's, August '07.

This beer pours a dark black but when held to the light, it glows a lovely burgundy. The creamy tan film stuck around for some time.

Smells of tons of smoked malts and campfire with a grahm cracker, cedar and coffee behind it.

Tasted very light and easy for the style with some smoked coffee and charred chocolate grains. This blended into a light and milky, slightly sour coffee.

Felt light and crisp with a swarm of mini-bubbles to thicken things up a bit.

Overall, a nice solid beer that I'll be happy to go back to.

Sampled at the brewpub. The beer is served in a standard pint and it is dark brown with red highlights. Tan head and lacing.

The beer has a nose of roasted malts and coffee.

The taste is sweet and hearty. Lots of roasted malts and some wood smoke in the background. Espresso notes late. Seems to be a close cousin to the Big Boat Oatmeal stout.

The mouth is very smooth with low levels of carbonation.

This is an easy drinker, good one to sip and savor.

Pretty dark but with some mahogany and ruby highlights at the bottom, 2cm coco colored head drops to a tight film that leaves some good lacing. The aroma is really chocolaty, some coco powder and bitter dark chocolate. Some charred grain and roasted coffee notes. Smells milky and silky too, along with some dark tart cherry. The taste is primarily chocolaty too. Some coco and milk chocolate notes but mainly dark chocolate. I didn't notice from the aroma but this beer is actually quite well hopped, helping balance out the rich maltiness, like a mint leaf in chocolate. The tart cherry shows up in the aftertaste quite a bit. Dry mouthfeel from the bitter hops and roasted malt.

Overall: really solid porter. I am not sure I have had a porter that tasted so much like dark chocolate. I also liked that there was a enough hops to add a tart edge and break up how rich an malty this brew was.

Originally reviewed May 19, 2005. On tap at the brewpub. Served on hand pumped cask. Clear chocolate brown pour, with a finger of super creamy fine mocha latte head. Peculiarly delectable aroma of light chocolate, cinnamon, and chipotle. Strong earthy and grass aroma notes show through. Casking leaves this beer a little watery than I wish it was. Great flavors of chocolate (mellowed with nuts), coffee with raw cane sugar and more fresh dug earth. A metallic note or two that detract slightly. Starts off with a rich band, but quickly thins out into watery chocolate. Palate is overwhelmingly watery, but not bad. Aftertaste is a dry nutty smack. This beer has been well roasted, not burnt, but is just average in my book. The malt is very rich and well done, which is nicely balanced by what seem to be a good dose of centennial hops. Retastes of this brew have found it with a thicker chocolate and coffee profiile, while other batches exhibit a more watery caramel style.

Super thick dark brown, nearly black, big thick cocoa brown head thats nice and firm and sits a good while before fading to a skim and a puffy collar, sticky clumpy sheeting lace all over the glass, a nice looking porter. Nose is a bit subdued but is very nice to behold once you get into it, solid dry roastyness, chocolate tones and coffee. Taste has a very nice mix of milk chocolate that melds into a adequately deep roastyness and the coffee notes are just right with a nice touch of lightly drying finish and adds some cocoa touches too. Quite scrumptious. Solid medium body with a milky smooth and creamy texture. A great drinkin' porter, way better then the petroglyph porter that they had before. A top notch drinkin' porter in my book. Right up there with Bell's and Deschutes. Yum!