Rock Creek Black Raven Porter
Chesapeake Bay Brewing Company

Pours a dark mahogany with a beige/tan head and some trails of lace. Sweet malt and light citrusy hop aroma. The malt is a little thinner than it looks. It's rather sweet and contains some chocolate, coffee and raisin notes. The mild lime-like hop bitterness is mild. A tad smoky. All in all a fairly drinkable porter, though certainly nothing special.

This is the musical chairs brewery that seems to have found a place in Raleigh,NC. I like it. They are consistent and fair with their craft. The Porter: It hits the glass with a bubbly roasted color followed by a nice white head thats stays around. The brew smells of roasted coffee. A faint hint of over carbonation hit me with a hint of alcohol odor. No bad though..Chocolate overtones exist in both taste and smell. A mild bitterness finishes the brew for an overfall good experiance. If the brewer is looking for advice, let us know more about how you make the beer.

Pitch black color with a dark brown head. Rich chocolately and coffee aroma and taste; tastes exactly like it smells... delicious ! Medium bodied but has a full rich flavor with a nice dry roasty finish. One to drink all night.

ABV: 4.5% (per bottle label)

Going to have to have a taste off between this one, Crooked River, and Highland and bring down a few of those 5's on these reviews. They are all fantastic on their own !!

I remember having this beer years ago and it was really good then - glad to see the quality has stayed high regardless of a change in brewers. I think it used to be brewed in PA for Rock Creeek - a Beer Marketing company out of Richmond, VA.

4.5% ABV. A black robe is topped by a creamy tan head. Reddish mahogany highlights are visible around the edges with a little investigation. The head hold OK, then drops to a very good collar and light surface covering. The aroma is fruity, almost winey, with some chocolatey / cocoa notes and a very minor roastiness. The body is light with a very fine, and gentle carbonation from bottle conditioning that leaves it velvety smooth in the mouth. The flavor starts with the same lightly tangy, wine-like fruitiness found in the nose. As it warms in the mouth, dark bittersweet chocolate notes emerge. The bitterness is limited, but it needs to be as there's little malt sweetness left. Some roasty flavor is present in the dry, and slightly astringent, finish along with some lingering tartness. The label indicates that it's still in code for several months, so I assume that the tartness is intended. And, in fact, I find it to be quite an interesting component of the beer. It gives it a unique character, and coupled with the light body, gives it a very good drinkability. I'd imagine that the porters of antiquity may have tasted much like this. Not what I was expecting, but quite enjoyable.

Good smokiness but lacks the chocolate of a porter like Grant's Perfect to accentuate it. Nice dark porter with decent head. I'd probably pick it over the Grant's since the head wasn't so fizzy.

The brew pours immensely black with some faint light getting through around the edges and a good tannish/brown head. Tons of burnt aromas as well as some strong roasted coffee smells. Starts off with some slightly bitter burnt/roasted malts and roasted coffee and finishes with a nice creamy chocolate flavor. While the brew is creamy and smooth, it is a little thin for the style and loses some points there, but it remains very drinkable. Not an overly complex brew, this is one to just relax and drink without thinking about too much.

A very interesting brew. It pours nicely with a minimal head and it appears very carbonated in the glass. The first sip offers an interesting flavor that is hard to place. Is it coffee or something? No, only towards the end of the bottle do realize that the flavor (and aroma for that matter) is actually something like cherry tobacco or something! Imagine that from a brewery on Tobacco Road! Worth trying.