Chocolate Pumpkin Porter
Blue Mountain Brewery

 

Blue Mountain's new Chocolate Pumpkin Porter, had on nitro-tap at the brewery. 40 IBUs, 6.5% abv. Served at the bar in a traditional pint glass.

Appearance: A huge creamy nitro-esque tan head sits atop this one, about one finger tall, complete with obviously great stick - gets the traditional half-point nitro deduction here. The beer itself is an opaque brown, not quite black, and all things told very similar to the regular porter. The lace itself has a nice stick, a nitro-esque stick.

Aroma: Toasty astringencies are the most potent note, very earthy and a little dirty. The aroma itself is only slightly sweet, sort of like heavily toasted wheat bread, maybe even faintly charred - black malt?

Taste: A nice step up. "Chocolate" is more the name of the game here than "pumpkin," with a great roasty, bitter chocolate flavor strong up front, middling with an assortment of toast, earth, dark toffee, and slight caramel. There's only the slightest of pumpkin kisses - a very mellow, well-integrated gourd presence, really. This one's nice, sweeter than the regular nitro Imperial Porter that BMB offers, a little more chocolatey, a little fuller.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, soft, medium bodied, and very mellow with that nitro carbonation. It's also fairly clean, despite all the additions - leaves no after feel, just a nice aftertaste. Standard nitro deduction, of course.

Drinkability: As I think I said above, this one's a nicer, fuller, more enjoyable interpretation of their regular Imperial Porter, which - though I appreciate and consider to be well-made - I've never been the hugest fan of. At 6.5%, it's definitely drinkable, and I'd recommend this to anyone who's a fan of porters (the pumpkin isn't overpowering) or pumpkin beers (but it's there).