Cannonball Porter
Wabash Valley Malt Beverage Company

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass.

Appears dark brown in color, nearly black, with a big foam central pour. After it finally recedes and I manage to pour the whole bottle it eventually falls to a cap. Leaves some light lacing.

Aroma is basically nonexistent. I didn't think this was even possible. I think there might be the slightest roasty chocolate tone coming through, but I'm barely even sure of that.

Taste is much better than the nothingness of the aroma. It's chocolaty up front with a definite smoky tone to it. Almost a bit of dark fruit, but it seems to get lost. Finish is slightly astringent with a bit of a mineral tone to it. It's almost slightly sour at the end.

Mouthfeel is medium-light bodied, but the carbonation is pretty harsh and uninviting.

Overall, a pretty lame porter. There's nothing interesting here, and it's best left for the dogs.

Coal black body has hints of brown when held to light. Rocky biscuit colored head fades fast to just a skim with dirty lace left behind. Nose is of deep coco almost like chocolate taffy. A bit of smokey malt quickly yeilds to a soured feel on the back ot the tongue. The coco tones re-develop twords the end of the palate. Mouthfeel is a little hollow and shrill. Drinkability is OK.

Pours a fantastic dark black/brown with excellent head (almost too much) and great lacing, along with a fair bit of carbonation. Great burnt grain scents with wonderful hints of coffee. Nice taste, good burnt grain/coffee combo, but it was also very (almost overly) sweet, almost like a milk stout instead of a porter. It goes down fine, although the carbonation was almost too much. A different, and excellent, porter to try.

Presentation: Poured froma 12 oz brown bottle into an Imperial pint glass. The label depicts an old steam locomotive, superimposed over what I assume is a picture of the Wabash River in Indiana. The label says this is brewed by Brugge LLC, a brewery out of Terre Haute and distributed by Wabash Valley malt out of Indy.

Appearance: Pours with over four fingers of tan, big-bubbled foam. This condenses slowly, turning into a creamy head of about 2 fingers. No lacing. The beer itself is dark brown, opaque in fact, with just a hint of translucence around the edges.

Smell: An intensely dark and rich aroma, with hints of sourness at the edges. Coffee and chocolate mix with a bready and tangy smell.

Taste: Roasted barley flavors at first, almost too roasted, to the point of seeming burnt. Following this inital flull flavoredness, it descends into a disappointingly watery finish.

Mouthfeel: Body is decidely lacking given the initial fullness of flavor. Carbonation level is average.

Drinkability: This brew starts out strong, but drops off quickly. Needs more backbone and body to appropriateley match the intense roasted barley.

Thanks to SPLITGRIN for this extra.

Poured the color of coca-cola and a massive head, easily 3 inches high.

Good roasted malt aroma with mild coffee and caramel upfront. A little earthy, minty hop aroma. As the beer settles there is a stronger roasted presence in the aroma and milk chocolate begins to peak through for a few moments. Sort of mild on the aroma but balanced and subtle, not bad.

Tastes roasted and lactic, like cold milk, at first. There's a bit of chocolate late in the finish and coffee, but very little. Somewhat thin on the palate, flavor-wise, there isn't too many flavors that hold on to the tongue, just a little roastedness with a hint of roasted barley or some similar highly roasted bitterness. A little more chocolate begins to develop later on.

A touch too carbonated, just because it feels as it distracts from the flavors of the beer. Good mouth-feel though.

Beer label states the beer is Brewed & Bottled by Brugge L.L.C., Terre Haute, IN. It is Distributed by Wabash Valley Malt Beverage Company, Indianapolis, IN. The beer is actually brewed in the former Champagne Velvet brewery in Terre Haute and is affiliated with Brugge Brasserie in Indianapolis.

Any way, the beer was poured into an Imperial pint glass at 46° with three fingers of beige carbonated head which lasted for five minutes leaving a nice touch of lacing. There was no date information on the bottle or label. The beer was dark brown almost black and opaque.

There was a slight hint of vanilla when poured. A clean soapy aroma, which is not to be taken negatively, was later sensed. The dark malt aromas came through as the beer warmed.

Taste was carbonated to start which delayed the bitterness aspects sensed on the sides of the tongue. A slight vanilla taste came through but I may be stretching a bit from previous sensations.

The beer gained feeling as it warmed up a bit in the glass. Aftertaste was more dominant and smoothed out while diminishing the carbonation.

This is a new effort by Brugge to have a bottling line and make distribution of there beers in a wider geographic area. Should be interesting to see if recipes are tweaked and other beers are brought on line.