Liberty One
Bearded Lamb Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

It has a great flavor of coffee, dark roasted peanut, and a hint of strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

Growler fill from Liberty Street Brewery, decided to finally give their staple porter a shot, as I was particularly in the mood for a darker beer. Dark, dark, dark; almost black, with the faintest shot of deep brown at the edges. The chunky and foamy mocha-colored head looks nice and bouffant, but it doesn't leave much lacing as it transverses down the glass.

Roasted malt, a mild kiss of smoke, seemingly burnt cocoa beans, and the lightest touch of milky sweetness. Nice aroma for a porter, hitting many different areas of the senses. Good balance between the roast and the sweetness - both of them are fairly mild (not so much roast as to make it bitter, and the sweetness is miles away from being over the top). Neutral, tasty aroma.

The flavor follows through nicely and replicates basically everything from the nose; roasty, nearly woodsy, cocoa bean char, a small chunk of anise, and a back-end inclusion of sweetness - half milky and chocolatey, and half dark fruity, perhaps kiltering just a touch more towards the cocoa side. Again, the palate displays a fine balance, with the roast and sweetness remaining tame and balanced from start to finish.

Liberty One ends with a light coffee beans finish and a dollop of roast that outlasts the sweetness when all is said and done. My biggest nitpick about this beer is the mouth feel; it's not quite as creamy and slushy as I'd like... it's just a tad thin, oily, and/or slick for the style. Perhaps, and I've said this before, my perception of a porter's ideal mouth feel has been tainted by Founders. In any case, good tap carbonation that easily survived a few hours in a growler.

Another solid choice from Liberty. They might not be tossing out world beaters left and right, but I'll be damnded if they don't have a reasonably decent collection of beers. Liberty One porter is a creamy and thicker mouth feel and body away from being awesome, but it's still tasty and very enjoyable as is. If you happen to make the trip to Liberty, don't pass this one up. One of my favorite Liberty beers to date.

 

 

Appearance: Arrives with a fudge brown color capped by a modest head that leaves a few strands of lace

Smell: Chocolate, black bread and a hint of cherry

Taste: Black bread and chocolate, up front, with just a hint of cherry developing by mid-palate; the finish is somewhat fruity with a hint of cherry pit flavor

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: This review is for the one year old version which has mellowed and added a somewhat tart complexity; the fresh veresion, which I also tasted afterwards has more chocolate, less cherry and none of the cherry pit flavor on the finish