Black Strap Porter
Bootlegger's Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Bootlegger's Brewery in Fullerton, CA.

Pours an almost opaque super dark brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and molasses. Taste is much the same with a cocoa flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty and quite drinkable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciate this brewery's ingredient inventiveness and willingness to take risks, resulting in tremendous beers such as cherry chernobyl and knuckle sandwich. Unfortunately, blackstrap porter is more a foot on the proverbial banana peel than a success story.

Appearance is promising ... The rich dark chocolate color you'd expect with a minimal top head and thick, light brown lacing that sticks stubbornly to the glass before breaking up into thousands of tiny bubbles and dissolving. Sadly, this is the last nice comment I can muster for this beer.

The nose is difficult to find. I had to jam my grill halfway down the mason jar (how beer is served in their tasting room) before catching a whiff of something musty. After sitting with that jar affixed to my face for several seconds, I was convinced there was possibly something molasses-like going on. As the beer grew warmer, the scent of blackstrap was easier to pick up.

The initial cold taste and feel were both thin...almost nothing happening here. At room temp, the molasses flavor woke up slightly, with a small top of ammonia.

There's a bit more to say but I don't like to waste too much time drinking or reviewing sub-par brews. But that said, I find myself grateful that this brewery takes an occasional risk, paving the way to all the other tasty beverages i've sampled from bootleggers.

On tap at the brewery

Look: Dark black 1/4 head no retention and some lace

Smell: Roasted malt coffee and hints of licorice

Taste: Upfront was coffee and a bit of roastyness that i actually enjoyed quite a bit in the middle is a hint of chocolate and licorice. Probably was there was no backend and the flavor faded quickly. If that had not happened I would have scored it higher

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body I actually thought it was a tad bit watery for the style. medium carbonation.

Overall: Not a bad porter at all. They have a couple beers that I like better so that would keep me from drinking this beer more often but if you like porters it is definiately worth a try

On-tap at Bootlegger's,

A: Pours a dark brown with a moderate off-white almost tan head, good retention.

S: Licorice for days, dark malt.

T: This is black licorice city, if you don't like this flavour don't go near this beer. I like it so I was quite happy. Licorice, star anise and fennel upfront, with a nice mild roast and molasses finish.

M: Medium-bodied, soft carbonation, quite smooth

T: This is a good tasty full-flavored porter at amoderate alcohol level, right up my alley.

On-tap at the source, on to the beer:

This porter is....well, black. It fades to ruby brown towards the bottom of the glass.. Not a whole lot of head in this beer. Lots of licorice in the aroma. Sweet licorice. Like the aroma, there is a lot of licorice to taste. A little bit of roasted malt to taste, and lightly hopped towards the back. I wouldn have liked to see more "porter" in this beer, but with the licorice it's ceetainly a beer that's worth a try.