Pinstripe Porter
John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

 

Had on tap at the Smithhaven, NY. Served in a pint glass.

Look: black body with a thin, off white head with decent retention and a little lacing. Reddish highlights around the edges of the beer. Looks okay.

Smell: chocolate and burnt malt in the nose with a little bit of toffee and hops. Nothing really spectacular but not bad either.

Taste: black malt with some chocolate and coffee and a little hop bitterness and a slight burnt taste as well. The problem here is the finish. There is a chemical-esque taste that reminds me of the first extract beer that I home brewed, before I knew what I was doing, that shows up in the finish that is really unpleasant.

Feel: medium bodied, light in carbonation, smooth and decently drinkable but its hard to know based on the fact that the alcohol content is a mystery.

Overall: started out strong but by the time I was done with my glass, I was really sick of this beer. The off taste really wrecked it. Cheers!

Had this on tap at John Harvards, served in their pint glass.

A: Served with a .5 finger semi-coarse off-white head with decent retention. Beer is a dark, near opaque reddish-brown. Lacing is near non-existant.

S: This one's really as advertised. Big, sweet chocolate and burnt malt presence in the nose. Slight bit of coffee and a sprinkle of green hops. Also a bit of toffee and licquorice. Rather rich and robust all-around.

T: Burnt malt upfront with a hint of toffee sweetness. Dark chocolate comes in strong and smooth in the middle lasting all the way to the finish. Slight hop bitterness at the end, finishing with a mixture of cocoa bitterness and chocolate sweetness. Leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

M: Medium bodied, slight carbonation, and appropriately smooth. Robust in the mouth and going down with just a bit of coarseness. Finish is relatively clean save for a bit of cocoa and chocolate. These are subtle though and with such a nice effect that I don't really mind them.

D: In my opinion, one of John Harvard's more solid offerings. A porter that's not overly big on the coffee and that emphasizes a bit more of the chocolatey smoothness and sweetness. Definitely seek to try this if JH is around your area. A great example of its style, I could have this again and again.

The beer pours a dark brown color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a complex malt aroma that boasts of chocolate, crystal, and roasted malts. The taste is good as well. It has a dry roasted flavor with some chocolate malt notes. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium/full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a well brewed porter. It's got excellent malt character and drinkability.

On tap at JH. Pours a cloudy brown with just a small ring of white head. Aroma of roasted malt and roasted nuts, slight coffee presence. Flavor is similar with nice coffee and roasted nuts. Much better than I expected. It's just a touch sweeter than I'd prefer, but I really don't see why this beer gets such poor ratings...
7/4/7/4/14 (3.6/5)

By far the best beer I've had here so far. A nice, dark body with a tan head that stays with you the whole way through. The smell was a little malty, which kind of surprised me; I was expecting something a little more roasted. The taste did not disappoint me; nice, roasted, chocolate taste, slightly bitter, with a warming, roasted aftertaste. The mouthfeel was alittle bit thinner than what I was expecting for this type of beer, but it was still pretty good. However, I do feel that the mouthfeel takes away from the drinkability of the beer; I was hoping for something a little more thickerthan this, but it is still a good, solid porter.

Poured a medium brown hue with streaks of amber and a three finger creamy off white head. There was good retention and good sticky lacing.

The smell featured a mild burnt and smoky grain with a solid cocoa element and a soft nutiness.

The taste consisted of a smoky burnt grain leading to a nice nutty finish. In between there was a lightly sweet caramel malt, some warming alcohol and an uncomfortable tanginess.

The mouthfeel was a bit thin, yet creamy, but slightly slick. Finished relatively dry.

Overall a nice cask porter. Hearty, yet drinkable.

Had this one on cask at John Harvard's over the weekend. It pours a lovely near-black color, with faint glints of ruby, and a creamy tan head atop. The aroma is chocolaty, with a slightly burnt character and just the right amount of hop presence.

The taste is more of the same. a big chocolaty malt character up front, that is balanced by a medium hop bill. Roasted nuts and some slight coffee notes round out the flavor nicely, leaving more of a soft and complete finish rather than a dry or bitter one. The mouthfeel is truly exceptional; dense, creamy, smooth.

This is a hearty porter great for a cooler northeastern night. One of the best brews from John Harvard's.