Porter
St. Stan's Brewing Co.

 

This is another beer that incorrectly is listed as retired, perhaps due in part to the inconsistency in availability of this brewer's products and the fact that its tasting room seems to be always closed and the adjacent pub/bar is somewhat sporadic in what St Stan's beers it actually has on tap. Anyway, I got this on tap in July 2011 and this is an excellent porter.

Black, small tan head soon thinning to ring and wisps.

Aroma is rich, fermented, caramelized, burnt figs, coffee, tar, wine – wonderful, complex, rich with depth.

Taste is dark French-roast-coffee candy with tar, gently burnt, very caramelized fig sweetness, wine, woody earth, singed wet bark. It has a full body, lots of character, great depth and balance, firm sweetness, bitterness, and light sourness. It has a great feel, full but lively and not heavy or slick. It is simply excellent and another example of why it’s such a shame that this brewery is so limited, reclusive, and largely unreachable, even in its home town. I have tried to contact this brewery for information and tried to visit the tap room to find it seemingly unused, making me fear that some day it will eventually just close up, which would be sad since it produces some truly excellent beer.

Served in a standard pint glass. The beer is dark brown with a dark tan head and good lacing. Good looking beer here.

The nose is of roasted malts, coffee and a bit of dark chocolate. Inviting!

The taste falls off a bit. There is some nice toffee and coffee notes, but the beer turns a bit bitter late. This is not hop bitterness, but almost a metallic/copper taste. Still, the beer is not horrible by any means.

The mouth seems just a trifle thin but it is sufficient. The drinkablity is hurt a bit by the bitterness, but you know what, I had two, so it can’t be that bad!