Ninja Porter | Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co.

3.43/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours an opaque, black body with a creamy, khaki-colored head.

Smell: Aroma of roasted malts, hunks of baker's chocolate, and maybe, just maybe a little hint of licorice.

Taste: Roasted maltiness with the flavor of dark, unsweetened chocolate. Not really much hop character at any point. Finishes roasty and chocolatey.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Soft, spritzy carbonation.

Drinkability: Not bad at all, it really started to grow on me more and more towards the end.

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3.62/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a deep hazelnut brown with a an off white head. Decent retention and a good amount of lace went along, some fizzy carboantion. Smell was sweet, I think this would fit better as an oatmeal porter to be honest. Roasted caramel and malts and a touch of sugar in the aroma. Nice creamy feel, really very smooth. The taste was full of roasted malt, burned coffee and some nuttiness as well. A bit of sugar rouned it out nicely. Nice dry finish. Very very drinkable, this was easily a session beer for sure. Overall a very nice porter, I would definatly try this one again. A little thin, but overall worth a shot

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3.42/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had at the brewpub while visiting Asheville for the day. Served from tap into a sampler shaker. Poured a deep dark brown with a half finger off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount slowly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of roasted malt, dark chocolate, slight cream, and subtle hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, roasted malt, dark chocolate, and slight bitter hop. It had a medium feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. Awe-inspiring? Hell no... All of the flavors seemed watered down/diluted. The aroma was good though. I would give this one a shot at least once, but that's it.

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3/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This porter pours a medium black color from the tap at the brewpub. Small to medium sized beige foamy head. The aroma is coffee, chocolate and roasted malts. A medium bodied porter. The malts are chocolate and coffee. The hops are earthy. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

★ 357 characters

4/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Bought a six-pack of these in Asheville, last time I was there and am finally getting around to reviewing one.

-Appearance 4: Every one of these has just gone nuts after I poured it. HUGE fizz up that eventually settles down into a normal inch high head. Jet black in color with a cream colored head. Very attractive.

-Smell 4: Lovely bouquet. Big smells of toasted grains, caramelized sugars and hops.

-Taste 4.25: Front is sweet with a certain hoppiness. Middle is somewhat neutral, but a very pleasant smoothness and hop flavor seeps in with a strange hint of butter flavor. Finish is alkaline with a pleasantly smooth level of hops which is accentuated by smoky grains. Everything is balanced and nuanced. Aftertaste is dry, very nuanced and features the smoky grains and a slight coffee flavor. Nice.

-Mouthfeel 3: This is the flaw of this beer. Mouthfeel is nice and deep, but there is far too much carbonation in this beer. CO2 should be tuned down a bit. Don't get me wrong, I think this style is helped out by a greater than normal level of carbonation, but its current level is over the top.

-Overall 4: Excellent porter. I really enjoy the flavor profiles in this beer and the hops chosen. My only complaint is the carbonation level. I would love to have this one on tap some day. I highly recommend this beer.

★ 1,326 characters