Murray's Dark Knight Porter
Murray's Craft Brewing Co.

 

 

Format: a standard dark brown 330mL bottle with a decent craft label.

Appearance: the first thing that caught my attention was the bottle top that flew off and hit the roof like a champagne cork. A slow trickle of head poured out afterward. The first pour was 90% head, but after it settled, the second pour produces a dark brown body with highlights around the edges. two-finger tan head pops up and settles to a rocky half-finger that lasts for donkeys. Reasonable lacing. not sure why initial explosion - it had been sitting on its side in a 23-degree wine cellar fridge. Go figure.

Aroma: not much of an aroma - quite demure per the porter norm. What is evident is just a light sweet chocolate.

Taste: stronger than the aroma. Again the sweet chocolates, without much else behind it. Nonetheless, a pleasantly sweet porter. It does lack a bit of punch though.

Aftertaste: a tiny bit of bitterness comes through on the finish, but still the smooth chocolate.

Mouth feel: quite light in body with a moderate carbonation. Feels more like a dark lager than a porter. A bit disappointing - it really needs to be a bit more full in body and creamy.

Overall: another reasonable beer from Murray's, if a bit of an oddball. The flavour comes across as more of a sweet / milk stout, but there is only chocolate, and not a full enough body for that. Still a pleasant beer, but not for AU$57 for a case of 116 x 330mL.

 

Thank Ganesh I have a tasty Murray's Dark Knight Porter to follow up after that XXXX Gold! Murray's do some alright brews, so whilst I may heap great expectations on the lads at Murray's, I think (hope) they'll live up to it... Don't fail me Murray [Murray winks back at Dok from his cloud made of kegs in the sky].

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Dark (as a Porter should be) chocolate bodied with a thin khaki lace ring around the glass. Tasty.

S: More of a chocolate than coffee based aroma. Notes of sweet cocoa, vanilla, cacao nibs and a surprising (for the 4.5% ABV) hint of booze in the background.

T: A delightfully well-balanced and smooth Porter. Spot on with the above aroma minus the booze (thank you again Ganesh), plus an earthy hop bitter back note, however it is so on par with the sweet cocoa that it makes one wonder what kind of brew-sorcery Murray's has going on behind the scenes.

M: Here is where it lets you down a little - the body is light, too light, with a light carbonation that needs a bit of creaminess that you get from a good Oatmeal or Milk Stout.

D: Missing a bit of body and excitement but otherwise Murray's has brewed us a solid Porter. I can't help but think about how awesome the flavours of this beer would work as an Oatmeal or Milk Stout, all the others I've tried always have a smoke or coffee character, so it's nice to have a Porter that focuses almost solely on chocolate flavours. Thanks Murray!

Food match: Desserts, chocolate mousse or a fondue would match well. For mains it is a pretty light dark beer (you get my drift) which means you could pair it with damn near anything. Viva PortAAAA!

 

 

expected a bit more but nonetheless a decent beer with a pleasant enough taste

taste: chocolate and spice predominate with some slight coffee, citrus and grapefruit to back it up along with a little brown sugar and a hint of smoke and orange peel

aroma was very underwhelming but taste was decent enough but nothing special. Seemed quite dry and more bitter than what I am used to for a porter and seemed to be aimed at the mass market which is fair enough and definitely understandable.

Anyway, could easily drink this again and would pick it to drink against what most pub taps in Australia have on offer.

A - Pours a almost black colour with tanned head retained well

S- roasted malt, cocoa, some chocolate, burnt coffee witha hint of liquorice

T- Grainy and burnt cocoa/coffee with a dry bitterness t the finish

M- a little over carbonated with medium body

O- lacs a lot of flavour and not a fan of the dry bitter finish

 

 

 

 

Bottle from Beer Deluxe. From notes.

A - Poured black with one finger of beige head. Spotty lace and a film of retention.

S - Chocolate, minor roast, minor coffee. Subtle and inviting.

T - Nice chocolate and some coffee flavour.

M - Good carbonation, light body, mild bitterness.

O/D - Nice. Really drinkable. None of the weaker Porter elements I typically find. Nothing out of this world but accessbile and tasty.

330ml bottle poured into a goblet...

A- Deep, dark brown (close to black) with a whispy head that dissipates quickly.

S- Toasted malt and coffee with a hint of caramel. Slightly floral. Quite nice.

T- Follows the nose closely. Tastes very much like Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter.

MF- moderately effervescent with nice balance and body.

O- Very nice porter. This is not my favorite style of beer, but this one has me wanting another one. I would drink this one again and would recommend it.

 

From notes @ Harts Pub

Pours a black body, with a half finger tan head. Head stays around. Chestnut highlights. Lacing good

Aromas of roast malt, but served quite cold. Dark chocolate comes thru as it warms

Taste is of chocolate, some ash, overall roast malt driven

Mouthfeel is light at first, but a creamy feel builds. Delightful

Overall - excellent draught beer.

330ml into a newly acquired snifter.

A--Pretty brown, almost like the color of the chocolate Tootsie Pop.

S--Not a very strong nose on this one, but certainly dark roast, bittersweet chocolate.

T--Bitter chocolate, not quite coffee bitter. And a certain spritzer bitterness lingering. That may be due to the oddish hops mentioned on here.

M--Clings to the mouth a bit, minimal carbonation which suits this beer.

O--This is a good, if not mild porter.

Not bad I guess. Quite light, even for the style. Mild chocolate on the nose points to some sweetness but not evident on the palate. Rather lots of dry, almost astringent roast (tangy?), oaky bitterness and a hardness that is a bit tough going. I do have a slight bias against porters but this is not at all friendly.

This pours a dark brown with a huge beige head which eventually dies down to a solid covering.

Nose is dominated by sweet milk chocolate, maybe a touch of coffee in there.

The coffee flavour come to the fore on the palate. Chocolate is still there though. A slight off milk sourness but it somehow just adds complexity.

High carbonation. Maybe too high for me. Very nic