Original Porter
Shepherd Neame Ltd

 

At Copenhagen Beer Festival. Dark brown (nearly black) colour, moderate tan head. Lightly roasty aroma and flavour, also some floral and fruity notes, hints of chocolate. Light bodied, but nice and drinkable.

 

 

The beer is black, with hints of brown, the head is beige, large and firm, leaves good lacing.

The smell is very "dark", burnt bread, wood, dried fruits, dark roasted coffee beans.

The taste starts sweet, brown sugar, brown toast, raisins, figs, honey and nuts, dark coffee.

Medium high carbonation, small foamy bubbles, a light and fresh texture but yet a good body, a nice dry finish that lasts.

A nice refreshing one, yet lots of tastes and interest while sipping.

4.8%abv., tasted by half-pint at the Ashburnham Arms in Greenwich, London. It's interesting that I'm the first one to review this beer since the last one in mid-2003, and I'm also the first to review it on cask on this site~~ I'll try my best.

A: ebony colour with ruby hues, coming with a sparse tan beer head, on top of a static body.
S: what a fruity porter it is... raisins, plum jam, herbs, very light dark chocolates and roastiness, plus a fruity and spicy hoppy theme common in other Shepherd Neame's ales. pretty nice, and light-bodied on the nose.
T: mixed dark fruit juice with a touch of dark rum and a hint of char on top of an underlying taste of dark chocolates, licorice-tea, and an intensifyingly dryish hoppyness; finished with light, herbal bitterness. Soothing and light throughout, and drier than lots of its counterparts in the category of porter.
M&D: smooth on the mouthfeel with a lightly fizzy texture to keep up the liveliness. The fruitiness mingles well with the dark malts and results in an overall light body. Slightly mild in terms of flavour, but still a wonderfully drinkable porter. Not sure if it's an American porter though, as the hop entry is not that heavy. It's not even like a traditional English porter, IMO.

Poured a deep brown color with red tones thru and thru,light head that is gone quickly.Smell is very sweet and a little whif of alcohol come in.This one tastes kinda rummy and sweet with a little licorice taste to it.A little light on the tongue but good flavor,somewhat complex.This porter is pretty darn good.

Pours a nice dark brown color with a light amber tint. The body is a light/medium. Sweet malt aromas on the nose. The same on the palate...sweet malt flavors, balanced well with the golden hops, very light chocolate notes as well...maybe.
Overall this was a very enjoyable Original Porter!

A nice enough english porter, nice roasty chocolate body, nice bitterness on the finish, ok without being great.

Very assertive, almost barleywine-like.

Presentation: 12oz. clear bottle (wide w/thin neck) with foil neck sheaf. What's with all these UK imports and their clear bottles?

Appearance: Very dark with a burnt amber tinge. A very rocky head sticks and retains well. You have to love the froth on this brew!

Smell: Roasted malt and sweetness with hints of over caramelized fruit.

Taste: Smooth and crisp. The creamy sweetness comes up-front then evens out from the underlying bitterness.

Notes: Truly a great porter, well balanced but complex. We noticed that the sweetness and bitterness was comparable to a fresh batch of wort, but not as overpowering.