Black Canyon Porter
Old Schoolhouse Brewery

Medium-bodied burgundy-brown with a discernable hop component that stands up to the roasted barley. And this is perhaps the one Winthrop beer that kicks up a small measure of head and lace – not much, but compared to zero it seems like a lot. The flavor tilts more to the sweet than to the roast with caramel malts winning the day. The aroma is also sweetly akin to liquid malt extract.

Stylistically, Black Canyon tastes more like a brown porter than an American “robust”. It is clean, approachable, and agreeable to drink.

This is in my mind the best beer from this brewpub and it really is a very nice full bodied porter. Lots of chocolate notes combined with a real solid finish this would be my go to beer when I next visit. The mouthfeel was also just right with a nice thickness.

Had two pints ($3.25 each) of this at The Viking on Saturday night.

Poured a dark brown with a tinge of red when held to the light. Off-white head, wasn't huge, but not tiny either. It didn't stick around for long. Not much lacing to this.

Smell was malty with the scent of good coffee coming through, though it could have been a little more "roasty". Also notes of raisins and caramel in the background, which surprised me as I expected more of a chocolaty taste.

Taste was of dark malts, with a little coffee, rasin/prune-ness, and a little bit of caramel Not particularly bitter, but the caramel sweetness is way in the background, so it wasn't too sweet for the style. There was a slight hop twinge at the finish.

Would have liked this to have been a little thicker, but it wasn't thin to an unpleasant degree.

This was very drinkable, even if a little thin. It certainly didn't screw up the flavor of my cheeseburger.

Appearance – Beautiful, almost black body with a light red hue that dances in the candlelight. The head was moderated at the pour but is a nice and thick light tan.

Smell – The malty character of the nose came out right away. This was followed by some good coffee and a hint of chocolate. This was served to me fairly warm, so I didn’t have to wait around to pick up the character of the nose.

Taste – The smells from the nose made it to the tongue along with a small but off-style sour note. I also found some good pine and citrus hopping in this one that helped even things out.

Mouthfeel – A little thinner than I prefer, but not bad. This might have made it to medium-bodied. The smoothness suffered though from the sour fruit.

Drinkability – I had no trouble putting this tasting sampler away.

A very traditional porter in a lot of respects. Poured a dark brown with a somewhat reddish hue when held up to the light. Head was quite nice and a lacy white. Chocolate and roasted coffee came out in both the nose and the mouth. Some very subtle sweetness also came out in the mouth over time. Definitely an enjoyable beer, if not overly adventurous.