Hardhat Hazelnut Porter
Fegley's Bethlehem Brew Works

On tap at the Bethlehem Brew Works Brew Pub.

Poured a dark brown with some red at the edges with a smaller sized off white head. No surprise here - nutty aromas and tastes with light chocolate. The hazelnut was not over done and worked well in this porter. I usually don't like beers too nutty and don't care for hazelnuts, but I enjoyed this one more and more as I drank the pint.

Notes from 5/15/05

Served in a pint glass, this is a dark, black-brown liquid with a brownish, stable head. The aroma is full of roasted malt flavor, with a curious coffee-like quality. The hazelnut is prominent, and reminded me a lot of hazelnut coffee. No hops in the aroma. The taste is sweet and malty, with the nut character carrying over from the smell. This is a pretty sweet porter.. Finish has a small bit of hops in it, but has a roasted nut quality. It’s very full bodied, and had relatively low carbonation. I enjoyed it, but the hazelnut stands out a little too much.

I tried some of this the other night and I'm still kind of wondering about it all. The beer is a nice brown color but mine came without any head. Maybe it was a bad pour. Anyways, the smell on this is incredible! Hazlenut for sure, buttery and rich nose. The taste was somewhat strange. The malts seem nicely done for a porter, but the hazlenut prescence is so strong it almost takes away from the rest of the flavor. Very tiny hops give it a porter bitterness, but then the hazlenut pounds through and dominates the aftertaste. The brewer's desciption indicates that it is brewed with hazlenut extract, and I think maybe twice as much as it needs. I would have liked it better with the hazlenut toned down. It almost tasted like flavored coffee. Mouthfeel had a nice balance for an otherwise easy drinking porter. Drinkability? Not bad, but the hazlenut got to me and I was happy to move on.

A very intriguing brew, to say the least. I may have to revisit this one again in order to revise this review...

This beer tapped into my pint glass a rich and deep shade. Darker than I had initially thought. The head was present, albeit a fraction of a finger's width, but it was there, nevertheless, only to fade away to almost nothing. The aroma was strong of roasted malt and hazelnuts. And were there ever hazelnuts. The flavor of the hazelnuts in this one were bordering on abrupt. There is great porter flavor in the sip, then what seems to be almost a harshness sets in. Again, not a bad brew, and perhaps I need to revisit this one to get another perspective. An interesting find!

Zum wohl!

A very dark brown pour, with a tiny little brown head that dies instantly. The aroma is filled with hazelnut to the point that you think the beer will be served with cream and sugar. It is nice, and the coffee and chocolate aromas balance it well.

The hazelnut flavor is very strong, and it gets a bit cloying at times, but it is nice for the most part. The body is on the heavy side of medium. Roasty flavors really aid in the balance because the hazelnut extract used can really be intense. It is smooth and creamy. I don't think I would grab another one of these, but it was certainly worth a try. This is not the best offering from BBW, but it is interesting.