Blackstone Porter
Driftwood Brewery

 

Pours a very dark brown with a one finger fluffy tan head that takes it's time to dissipate. The aroma is of cocoa, coffee and faint vanilla sweetness. Taste follows with initial bitter chocolate but with vanilla overtones ... nice mix. The mouthfeel is solid with minimal carbonation. Overall and excellent porter and will be drank again

Lots of black malt here, wish that it had lower ABV.

Blackstone Porter pours into my glass thick, and jet black in color. It supports a rocky, coffee-and-cream colored head with good retention.

The first thing I smell is rich, chocolate sweetness, reminding me of something like a chocolate mousse. Blackstone’s nose has an overall creaminess to it that is very enticing. Somewhere beneath that creaminess is a subtle aroma that I can only describe as ashy. Ashiness is low key enough to add to the overall aroma rather than detract. Blackstone’s finish is gently roasted, just enough to keep that initial sweetness in check.

On the tongue, Blackstone Porter is thick, rich, and luscious, just as a porter should be. Chocolate flavors up front are more bitter sweet, balanced by a pronounced roasted grain quality. Moving towards the center, Blackstone’s flavor becomes briefly creamy again, giving momentary relief from flavors of roasted grain. Flavors of roasted coffee come in towards the finish, blending nicely with roasted grain helping give this porter a pleasantly dry, roasted finish.

This is a very well executed porter. It’s smooth and robust, and robust. And yet, Blackstone Porter is very drinkable.

 

 

 

 

 

Bomber from the LCBO; best before Apr 19 2018 and served slightly chilled. When Fat Tug first showed up in these parts two years back, I had been hoping that more Driftwood brews would soon follow... but this is actually the first new one I've seen in Ontario since.

Pours a deep, opaque mahogany-black hue with reddish highlights; situated atop is a full inch of khaki-coloured, creamy-looking foam that gradually disintegrates over the next five-plus minutes. A smooth, thin cap and collar remain, but little in the way of lacing is left behind. Smells of rich, roasted dark malts, with coffee grounds, molasses, cocoa and a light smokiness standing out, rounded off by light suggestions of dark fruit and vaguely herbal hops. Robust aroma for this style.

A rock solid English-style porter. Or stone solid, whatever - the intense dark roasted malt character that was expressed so effectively on the nose carries through into the flavours. Toasted bread, caramelized sugars and treacle come through amidst pronounced notes of cocoa powder, dark chocolate and espresso. The back end tends towards bittersweet, with hints of coffee and herbal, earthy hop notes helping to counteract the dominance of the malts. Moderately persistent aftertaste, with a hint of smoke and a lingering roasty note. Light-medium in body, with low carbonation that weakly nudges the surface of the palate; feels smooth and a bit watery in the mouth, which is probably it's weakest trait IMO. But it's a forgivable one, because this porter tastes great and drinks like a champ.

Final Grade: 4.17, an A-. Driftwood's Blackstone Porter is one of the best Canadian-made porters I've sampled in quite some time, with a highly satisfying flavour profile that does not skimp out on anything. I am really digging those hints of smoke in particular. It's not likely to unseat my current favourite in this category (Fuller's LP), as it's double the price - but there's no doubt that this is still a fine, robust-flavoured porter that I'd happily recommend to other BAs. I will be buying more of this until the stock runs out.

Pitch black with an amber tinge when held to the light. Topped with 3 fingers of deep, beige head.

Smells of roasted marshmallows, chocolate, toasted notes, and cocoa.

Tastes of coke, chocolate, vanilla, and chocolate milk.

Very smooth, rich textured and pleasant. Medium low carbonation.

Got this at Summerhill LCBO in Toronto, drinking in Muskoka with my brother February 2nd, 2018. Excellent porter, smooth and well rounded.

 

A- This one pours with a beautiful dark brown color that contains just a tinge of reddish hues right around the rim....different than any other porter I've had! The head is also beautiful, being about two fingers thick to start and settling rather softly into a caramel palate over the brew around a half finger in thickness....it is dense and creamy looking to boot! Carbonation is too hard to see and lacing is on the heavy side of modest....there is some artwork forming on the side of my glass. A nice looking porter!

S- Coffee of the black variety, chocolate (dark), lots of sweet and charred malts....I detect the black and chocolate roasts used and the sweetness comes from caramel malt. Woody notes and even a hint of smokiness are noticed on the aroma.....toasted caramel/toffee, blackstrap molasses and creamy mocha round out the finish. Looking forward to tasting this!

T- Heavy smooth dark chocolates, cafe au lait, huge toastiness from the black and chocolate malts, dark toffee sweetness, hints of chocolate covered cherry fruit, hazelnut/walnut/burnt almond robustness, creamy yeast and a finish that is dry and Earthy, yet it has a refreshing mild hop bitterness that just helps keep things in check....it is noticed at the back of my throat. The aftertaste lingers on well after the taste, making me crave yet another sip....

M/O- Super creamy smooth body, the carbonation is tight and simply suits this style of ale, and the alcohol is very well hidden....this is a real treat. Drinkability is high as I could enjoy at least a few of these in a sitting.....could see this being a superior Porter on tap too! I highly recommend and will seek it out again....another great beer by Driftwood!

 

This was poured into an English pint glass. The appearance was a dark brown close to black color with no head or lace. The aroma had some rugged dark to bitter chocolate malts with a nice roasty balance. The flavor lends a hand to the roasty side and then the bitterness of the chocolate nibs end up blending nicely. Robust smooth bitter chocolatey aftertaste running into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fair sessionability about it. Moderate carbonation. ABV felt nicely. Overall, really easy going Porter well worthy of having again.

 

Weak head on top of typical porter elements. Smoke and chocolate with coffee and dark fruit. Something in here was definitely missing to tie everything together. But it was passable for sure.

 

 

 

Appearance: Super dark brown, nears black but is still in the brown spectrum. Meager half finger of loose bubbly ecru head that quickly drops into a small floating West indies island shape, with a small reef around the ring and pretty much clear of much if any lace, when it does stick, it slowly drops back down the sides.

Aromas: Super medium dark chocolate off the top, some sweet malts with caramel and brown sugar. Maybe a hint of nuttiness, but stays fairly well away from the more earthy tones.

Taste: Bold but tempered, tastes an awful lot like a room temperature quality coffee with some chocolate milk sweetener. It is robust and flavourful, a little bit of a white sugar sweetness and a slight walnut accoutrement.

Mouthfeel: It is a thinner medium, smooth and the cleanliness of the water is there (as it is with most of what I've had from Driftwood - for whatever reason the water itself has a very distinctive, clean and clear feel.) Carbonation is pretty timid, as evident from the short head, but with a swish or two on the palate it does provide a pleasurable thrill to the roof of the mouth and the tongue, which interrupts its overall creaminess slightly but nothing to dramatic. It has a warming finish on the throat, with some bitter linger that gently falls asleep in short order.

Overall: a very satisfying and pleasing porter. I'm not sure if I have had one that is so even tempered and passively bold. Delightfully done, almost excelling in its ability to be average and be what a porter should be.

Pairing: This was a bit easier for me - only because I had a pretty good idea going in to it what I was going to be eating. I make a pretty killer (meatless) 12 bean chili that you'd swear was full of small chunks of meat. And that was my target, I really wanted to compliment that chocolatelyness, so I didn't spicy it up too much (keeping the chipotle chili powder out) and also used half of the brown sugar I usually use to sweeten it. And it worked out pretty good. Stewed tomatoes, red onion, a whole bunch of beans, plenty of moderated spices, and simmered in the slowcooker for 10 hrs... served with lightly buttered homemade dinner rolls.

Poured from a 650ml bottle.
A: Pours a Super dark brownish black with a very thin tan head with some minor lacing.
S: A nice smoky coffee, chocolate roasted malts nose ,very nice.
T: Toasted malts with coffee and caramels complex for sure.
F: Good balance all around not a lot of carbonation.
O: Not a big Porter guy but i like this one kind of easy drinking on a fall day.

 

 

Pours a deep black with about two fingers of head that is brownish in color. Retention is good and when the head does break it leaves a big island of foam and some decent lacing.

Smell is roasted caramel malts, coffee and bitter chocolate.

Flavor follows the nose. The roasts are dominant, with a nice coffee flavor. Bitter sweet chocolate is also present.

Feel is medium weight with good carbonation. It is a smooth and enjoyable.

A nice beer, easy to drink on a cool night. I enjoyed this more than I expected.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a deep black body with thin tan head. The scent is Rich in coffee and chocolate, though it is a bit faint. The taste draws immediate bitterness from the back of the palate while preserving a strong coffee taste, along with light smokiness. The feel is smooth, thought he bitterness is very high. A very bold porter from driftwood here, overall an impressive representation of their dedication to highly flavourful beer.

 

 

Pours a rich brown, almost black with a finger thick tan head with half decent retention. The nose brings forth rich chocolate, caramel, roasted coffee, sweet bread and an earthy hops. The taste leads with roasted chocolate malt, slight vanilla, coffee and that same hop note that comes forward in a slight bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is smooth and velvety with a nice medium carbonation. Quite the nice little porter.

Another excellent offering from Driftwood. A nice full rich porter with some coffee and chocolate notes and a dry ash finish. One of the better Canadian brewed porters.

6% abv, N/A ibu, 650ml bottle.
A - dark almost black brown with one finger light brown head.
S - loads of chocolate n coffee, like milk shake. roasted malt. little bit smoky, marshmallow, liquorice, earthy. the aromas r even stronger than the regular stout.
T - right at the point carbonated. the tartness from the sour mash really add the complexity to the beer, bittersweet, roasted flavor, smooth medium-light body, lasting is coffee, sweet after taste. not really bitter, so I m thinking around 20-30 ibu.
O - I enjoyed this, driftwood always done beer right. a porter more than I expected from this kinda style, especially the aromas. it stays in middle of porter n stout, richer than potter n lighter than a stout. sour mash evolved the overall experience. good beer, good new bottle design. enjoy on any kind of weather!

 

 

650ml bottle, at 6% ABV - nice to see these Driftwood offerings continue to show up in Alberta. A suitably named offering to enjoy on Black Friday, I put forth.

This beer pours a pretty solid black, with minor basal mahogany highlights, and two fingers of puffy, rather loosely foamy, and bubbly brown head, which leaves a decent band of cobwebbed lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of roasted caramel malt, bittersweet chocolate wafers, wet ash, singed black coffee, a hint of licorice root, and very plain earthy, leafy, and floral hop bitters. The taste is grainy, gritty caramel malt, chalky cocoa powder, muted cafe-au-lait, a weak dark fleshy orchard fruitiness, further random toasty notes, and the same understated earthy and herbal noble hoppiness from the nose.

The bubbles are quite tame and innocuous, yet somehow apparently supportive in their veiled frothiness, the body a sturdy medium weight, and more or less smooth, with a seemingly failed attempt at an airy creaminess. It finishes off-dry, but not by much, the toasty malt, dark chocolate, and ethereal milkiness carrying the day.

Overall, this is a mostly well-wrought version of the venerable London Porter, but I find myself searching for a reason to really like this, instead of it bonking me over the head with its grandeur. Anyways, drinkable enough, especially with all that snow outside (here, not in Victoria, I imagine), and worthy of the Anglo aura being generated around it.