Maltnomah Porter
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Nice red brown color, fairly dark, with not much head to it but a decent show of lace. Smell was of light chocolate with a touch of caramel. Taste was similar to the smell but with a notable amount of bittering. Not a very full bodied beer all in all, but most of the porters I've had aren't necessarily big bodied. I liked the roasted malt flavor and the long, easy finish.

I hadn't tried this beer for a couple years, but had it again visiting Rock Bottom for the first time in a while.

Appearance was nothing special. Dark, but more light sneaking through than most porters. Disappointing pour had zero head on it when the waitress brought it out. The one upside though, was to see it came in a 20oz Imperial pint, which was filled to the brim.

Smell was dominated by dark chocolate, with a little bit of dark roasted malts. Not the strongest, but probably would have been better with a little bit of head on it.

Taste was good. Chocolate diminishes a little, while more of the roasty malts come through. Fairly significant earthy hops at the end balance it well. Medium body, well-matched mouthfeel made this a good bet at Rock Bottom. I don't have much experience with English porters, so I'm not sure how it compares with the style. However, it was reminiscent of a lot of NW porters I've had, and stands up well.

This beer is a pun on a local waterfall in the Columbia Gorge that is touristy but worth the visit, which is the same for this beer. LIght brown head over a brownish beer with ruby hightlights against the street light coming on outside the big windows. Good solid brown porter that uses British black patent malt for the roast/chocolate and caramel malt for the sweetness. Med-light mouthfeel makes the beer very drinkable--in fact, drink up because it didn't warm very well, which is why I lowered the taste rating a 1/2 point. The Williamette hop is light and earthy, no floral or spice, and matches well with this malty beer.