Airporter
Hopworks Brewery

 

16oz can poured into a nonic.

A: Hearty black pour, nearly opaque, off-khaki head fades and leaves a little lacing.

S: Roasty impressions of coffee lead off the nose, with notes of dark caramel, char, roast, malt.

T: Follows the nose well, the coffee has a nice earthiness to it. Malty palate with plenty of nutty character that reminds me of a brown ale; dark caramel, dark cocoa; roast.

MF: Smooth and robust.

O: A nice English porter, easy drinking at 5.7% abv.

i thought this was exceptional, it almost tastes oak aged to me, like that lumber and vanilla complexion you get from the new oak spirals, not really toasted or charred or whiskey based or anything, but like this earthy mellowing slightly rich woodiness to it, not sure how its made, dont have the details, but if this had some wood exposure it wouldnt surprise me at all. its a nice porter, very flavorful, and better still, stands out from the crowd for a basic style. english yeast to me, lightly bready, simple, old worldy, well refined, with some chocolate character and a little bit of dry roasted bitterness from the darkest of the grains in here. light coffee to the taste, great balance though, the fermentation profile pushing through the malt and not much sweetness at any point, some cocoa at the end, a cola note too, and what i again to perceive to be an oak thing happening. its smooth, lighter medium bodied for the very dark color, and carbonated quite well, uplifting even for a porter, nice drinkable texture. impressive quality, no frills, nice beer, distinctive and very good overall. ive had mostly hoppy stuff from these guys, but this is great.

Draft at Fort Street Station. Dark brown pour, almost black, small tight head. Full roasty aroma. Taste comes in roasty and bitter. Pretty classic porter.