Tom Paine Original Old Porter
Harvey's Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

A- Pours a fluffy light tan head about 1.5 fingers in head. It leaves some lacing on its way down. The body is brown with dark ruby highlights.

S- Almost a creme brulee like nose. Big caramel, vanilla, large fresh roasted coffee, dark roasted malts, and a touch of smoke.

T- Starts out with an almost tart dry chocolate and bitter hop component then moves into a slight chocolate and residual hop finish. This is very much, like the name implies, an old english porter, but it didn't have to much character to me.

M- Very smooth with low carbonation.

D- It's to bad the taste wasn't as good as the rest of this beer as it'd be pretty sessionable. As it is though, I probably wouldn't have it again. I could see this being much better fresh.

Pours a deep brownish/mahogany with a tall but average foamy,brown head that leaves nice lace as it disappears.The nose is sweet like carmamelized fruit,hint of chocolate malt as well.The taste is a nice blend of bitter and sweet chocolates along with dark fruits most notably prunes and a subtle sourness that is faint enough to be an asset and not a distraction.Some hop pressence on the finish has a slightly drying effect,along with a grittyness that helps give a fuller feling than the actual body which is a bit thin and low in carbonation.A very nice beverage for a cool May evening,or any evening!

I gave this only 3.5 for taste because of it's uniqueness. This is not a bad thing, just not a brew that I could drink more than one of. It pours beautifully into the glass like the color of dark molasses and the aroma is just as intriguing. Slightly sweet for a porter, but what I found so unique is that it almost had a Worcestershire sauce flavor...which works! I agree with other reviewers that this is almost a winter warmer. The strong flavors make it seem stronger than 4.8%. I wasn't sure if I liked this when I had finished, but I ended up buying another bottle and I'm glad I did!

chocolate mile like head, not to much buts its a porter so its ok. Almost solid black in appearance.

A very strong taste, bitter I suppose a taste of coffee. Honestly the mouthfeel I felt was thicker than most porters. Burnt chochlate also a taste that I get somewhat.

This is honestly something I would not drink most of the time. Not bad for a try or two, but nothing special.

16.9 poured into a pub glass.
Very little head here, enough for a porter, though. Head is the color of chocolate milk.
The beer is not quite black. Almost, except for a ruby tint.
Smells sweet and very malty. Chocolate malts create a strong coffee note, bitter nose from the choc. malt but no hop aromas at all.
The first few sips taste too sweet. Porter should be sweet but a lingering, sticky-sweet aftertaste is what I'm getting. It mellows well though, to a decent balance of malt and an oaky, coffee-bitter and spicy hop (though faint).
Mouth feel left a lot to be desired. Thick but not creamy. the amount of unfermented malt leaves the beer syrupy.
A slow sipper, this is fairly drinkable but set aside an hour to do so.
A moderately satisfying porter but tastes and feels a bit raw to me.

I enjoyed this from a bottle called Tom Paine’s Original Old Porter. Poured to a used motor oil black, with medium tan head that dissipated soon and left some lacing. Aroma was a strong and pleasant malt chocolate-caramel that lasted for most of the drink. Flavor was a very tasty mix of malt chocolate, caramel, vanilla and a hint of coffee. This all led to a well rounded finish that was long, almost a little too sweet, and very warming for a beer with only 4.8% abv.

This would make a good winter warmer.

Served in a tulip glass. Pours opaque black; slightly fizzy; no head.

Rich, vinous, fruity aroma.

Soft front. Slighty dry, complex roasty fruity estery typically English-ale flavor (similar to Young's beers) in the middle. Medium body. Subtly funky finish -- chalky, perhaps? No hops bitterness or flavor detectable.

I did not detect the chocolate or coffee flavors that other reviewers did.

At 4.8%, it offers a far more complex and satisfying experience than most session beers. However, its painful price tag prevents it from becoming a habit.

As I understand it, Porters appeared as the result of mixtures of different beers so perhaps the style has a broad definition of what the beer should really be. I've taken a Porter to be a "near stout".
This Porter poured a dark brown almost black opque with a mild tan head. The head was short lived and some minor lacing on my glass. The scant nose left me inhaling thinking something evaporated before I completed the pour. The nose was a precursor for what the flavor would be-- it had many of the underpinnings that I've come to expect from Porters but left me wondering where the flavor went. What I could discern was a touch of ale with toasted malt, some hints of caramel. The flavor dissipated quickly with a fast finish.
The mouthfeel was that of a mild but smooth minimal carbonated drink.
I consider that the drinkability was above average because of the low ABV and rather mild carbonation.
Unfortunately this porter left me wanting a stronger flavor stance.

This is a great porter. It looks good, with an opaque brackish brown body accented with ruby edges. It smells great, with vanilla, brown sugar, cream, and nuts. It tastes good, with cocoa, coffee, and tart fruits. Even a little peppermint. Nice. The mouthfeel is good, nothing too special. But nice. The drinkability is great, with a reasonable ABV and a medium body making it refreshing and sessionable.

Sample at AleFest Dayton (As Tom Paine Porter): This beer is a very dark brown color with a thin beige head and spotty lacing. The aroma is chocolatey cocoa and burnt malt. Medium-bodied and dry with roasted malt and chocolate flavors. The finish is sweet molasses and chocolate. Better than expected overall.

500 ml bottle on sale at Wilbur's in Fort Collins, CO, for $1.99.

Moderate pour into my pint glass produces a thin choco-tan head over a dark-brown not-quite-opaque body with reddish tinges around the edge: as you would expect from a porter.

Smell is caramel malt, chocolate malt, espresso, not too strong, but pleasant enough.

Taste is burned malt, roasted malt, toasted malt, and some chocolate espresso. Nice taste.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin for a porter, but then this is an ENGLISH one, so what did I expect?

Drinkability is high, especially since the ABV is only 4.8%.

I'll pick this up again, but only if it's on sale again. Not worth the regular price of $3.99, IMHO: there are many better brews on which one could spend 4 bucks for a half liter.

a winking lizard tour beer that's been hanging out for some time
nice, stout bottle with a pic of good old time paine

it's a solid looking brew. totally opaque black with a khaki head that retains itself well, releasing scents of molasses, licorice and a hint of the soy sauce aroma that suggests some passage of time. ever-so-slightly spicy as well. the flavors are dark and sophisticated, with a smoky finish to the smooth (but light, actually) mouthfeel. no hop flavor but some apparent bitterness for balance

This beer pours black has a thin filmy almost non-existant head, with very little retention. The aroma is of roasted coffee/toffee with a hint of butterscotch. The flavor is sweet roasted coffee, very smooth mouthfeel. Even though its only 4.8% I could still taste the alcohol in the finish.

Poured into pint glass.
No head to speak of, very disappointing. Black body, looked very smooth.
Smell of a bit of coffee and roasted malt, some chocolate
Taste of coffee, roasted malt and powder cocoa.
Thinner than it looked. Flavors were weak and aftertaste of alcohol spoiled the flavors that were present.