Porter
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

PorterPorter
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From:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
American Porter
Ranked #184
ABV:
5.6%
Score:
87
Ranked #16,101
Avg:
3.89 | pDev: 10.54%
Reviews:
1,479
Ratings:
3,751
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 10, 2024
Added:
Feb 09, 1999
Wants:
  153
Gots:
  557
Porter is a testament to roasted malts which give it a rich, bittersweet and roasted coffee-like flavor that's a perfect complement to a variety of foods.

Before Sierra Nevada was a reality, our nights were spent perfecting homebrews and dreaming of starting a brewery. Back then, one of our favorites was a porter made with homemade malt roasted in our kitchen. Decades later, we still love the rich, bittersweet and roasted malt flavors of that original brew.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by cratez:
Photo of cratez
Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

3.87/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
12oz bottle purchased from Ryan's Party Store in Port Huron, Michigian.

Pours a dark brown hue with ruby edges, two fingers of cream-coloured froth, and a few dots of lacing on the shaker glass.

Smell is cocoa powder, floral and citrusy hops, faint pine note, musty earthiness, plum, roasted malt, deep toffee and molasses aromas, damp wood, and toast.

Flavour is roasted malt, toffee, caramel, burnt toast, unsweetened chocolate, dark pit fruit, and a mild earthy hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel is smooth and medium-bodied, firm carbonation, brief spicy hop bite transitions to a dryly malted and chalky finish.

Overall, this is much closer to a Brown Porter than a Robust example of the style, though my bottle might be dated. It's not as bold, coffee-like, and ashy as most other American porters but the roasted/chocolate flavours and mild hop kick are quite enjoyable. A tasty drinker that's easy to knock back.
Jan 27, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.5 by MEnoMoney

Feb 10, 2024
 
Rated: 4.28 by KeithGreatNorth from Canada (BC)

Dec 03, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by seakayak from Massachusetts

Mar 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.16 by SoundMakesSense from Indiana

Mar 05, 2023
Photo of Siriusfisherman
Reviewed by Siriusfisherman from New Hampshire

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A dry, crisp and hoppy rendition of the style. The aroma is very complex with roasted coffee, dark crusty bread, and burnt sugar notes being complimented with a substantial herbal and spicy hop character. The taste has more of the same with a spicy, bittersweet chocolate finish. A very unique drinking experience by todays standards with the style moving away from bitter flavors and more into sweet flavors in most examples. Too bad this one is not widely available these days, this is classic west-coast beer at its best.
Feb 15, 2023
 
Rated: 4.08 by Beergod420 from Michigan

Feb 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4.18 by Cpmitchno1 from Virginia

Jun 02, 2022
Photo of DanO1066
Rated by DanO1066 from Maryland

3.68/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Draught pint at The Brass Tap here in Baltimore
Dec 06, 2021
 
Rated: 4.34 by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota

Nov 27, 2021
 
Rated: 3.81 by TWStandley from Massachusetts

Nov 12, 2021
 
Rated: 3.53 by selekt0r

Oct 22, 2021
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.83/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Oxblood with a thin ribbon of off white foam; cocoa powder, brown bread, and salted peanuts on the nose; salted caramel, brown toast, hazelnuts, chicory coffee, kola nut + slight licorice, light twiggy hopping to end; light, clean, salty, tightening bitterness.

3.75 3.75 3.75 4 4

Dec 30, ‘20 bottling date - 6 months old.
Much more like an English brown porter (aside from the bitterness) than most American porters. Roasty notes are low in favor of nutty, bready malts.
There’s also a thread of that Chico yeastiness throughout.
What saves it is the body: light and fizzy enough to be sessionable, but with a creaminess that makes it satisfying.

A solid beer, but get Edmund Fitzgerald for that classic American Porter profile.

Lighter, fizzier, sweeter, nuttier, more balanced, less hoppy, cleaner, and more sessionable than Sierra Nevada Stout.
Aug 04, 2021
 
Rated: 4.72 by Daneve76 from Australia

Jun 25, 2021
 
Rated: 3.25 by jeschaefer from Texas

Apr 18, 2021
Photo of Reef
Reviewed by Reef from South Carolina

3.89/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12 oz. bottle dated 6/18/20

Clear, translucent brown ale with two fingers fine tan head. Full head and lacing.
Roast malt, gingerbread, earthy yeast aromas explode out of the bottle.
Nutty sweet roast malt, light hop kick, light char, coffee flavors, deepening as the glass warms. A yeast flavor that I seem to experience in a number of Sierra Nevada beers.
Light hop bitterness, medium feel, lasting carbonation
Substantial depth of flavors in a 5 % ABV ale. Very pleasant.
Feb 20, 2021
Photo of backblast
Reviewed by backblast from Alaska

3.71/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Nice roasty malt up front with some sweet earthiness mixed in. It has a light mouthfeel with lots of carbonation and a mild bitter end. The finish drops off quickly - too quickly actually. It really is a nice porter, but overall it's too light, could be so much more.
Feb 20, 2021
Photo of jockstrappy
Reviewed by jockstrappy from Pennsylvania

3.47/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a dark coffee brown, ruby hues and a creamy tan head. Aromas are fairly muted, a roasted malt profile is there but I can’t really pick anything definitive. Flavors include roasty malt notes of coffee, raw cocoa and earthy nuttiness. Trademark SN floral hop bite makes a subtle appearance on the back end. Mild carbonation. Lingering bitterness on the palate.

It’s good for sure, not extraordinary or anything. As with any beer, freshness is everything. I would love to get some of this closer to the source to see the contrast in the flavors.
Feb 14, 2021
 
Rated: 4.06 by GaryM6 from New York

Jan 28, 2021
Photo of J_mo
Rated by J_mo from California

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours dark with a coffee note to it. Little head with a little light that gets through. Chocolate, coffee flavors upfront, sweet finish.
Jan 19, 2021
Porter from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 3751 ratings