King Titus
Maine Beer Company

 

Look - Nice dark brown wtih a than tan head
Smell and Taste - roasted malts with a slight coffee
Feel - pretty smooth and creamy with a medium body
Overall - really nice porter

Pours super dark, more like a stout. Head was tan in color. Decent lacing left. Nose was cola like. Taste was sweet and slightly cocoa. Also slight bitterness left on the backend. Superb Porter!

Poured deep, deep brown with reddish tints around the edges and was crowned with a 2 cm light brown head.
The aroma was lost on my Covid damaged nose
The taste was an amazing assortment of mild coffees and dark chocolates with some plums and figs and a touch of floral hops towards the end.
The feel was almost as smooth as the flavor, I think I could have consumed a six pack of this without thinking about it.
OA, I really wish they distributed to Michigan; I'd have this on hand on a regular basis.

Look: Very, very dark ruby (nearly black), but just slightly translucent. Creates a brilliant red if light is applied. Good lacing and small tan head that dissipates quickly.

Smell: Deceptively simple. Offers mostly nutty and toasted notes with a little bit of coffee.

Taste: As noted before, the smell does not impart the complexity of this beer. It starts with traditional porter notes; light toast, dark chocolate, coffee. But the finishing flavors are anything but typical; extremely floral and dry, I wondered if it actually contained any herbs for flavoring, but it's all coming from the hops. Along with that, noticeable hop bitterness as well. Bright and refreshing, not at all what I expect from a Porter but a wonderful surprise.

Feel: Initial porter heaviness is there, but finishes so dry that it actually achieves a sort dry effervescence that is boosted by the hops. Maybe the only Porter I would recommend for summer. Alcohol heat is just barely present and adds an almost spicy element that compliments the herbal notes.

Final thoughts: a unique but fantastic take on the American Porter. Exemplary of its style, proving that American styles don't always need to be excessively bitter.

 

L - Black with mahogany highlights with a light tan head that leaves a thin cap and slight lacing
S - Roasted dark malt, coffee, dark chocolate, and some caramel
T - Roasted dark malt up front and throughout intermixed well with roasted coffee, dark chocolate, and hints of caramel - slight hints of hops on the backend
F - medium leaning on full bodied with moderate carbonation. Creamy, smooth
O - A perfect example of an American porter. Like every Maine Beer Company brew, nothing fancy, but spot on for the style

 

(16.9 oz bottle, 045 31JAN23; purchased cold from the brewery yesterday... poured into my Trillium fat tulip)

L: opaque dark brown liquid; tight, tan, creamy foam... messy collar and quite a few broad streaks of lace

S: dark chocolate, espresso, hint of mint; classic American porter aromas, yum!... once the head settles, burnt caramel nutty toffee notes... woodsy note most dominant, surely accented by roasted grain aromatics; Black IPA-like, oh yes... accents galore, but hollow in depth

T: nutty nutty nutty yes!... dark cocoa; latent alco cleaving cut in the aftertaste... second big sip, more herbal, earthy-floral hop activity... wonderfully dry; subtle (deep-toasted) sugary edges, but altogether beautifully balanced with the roasted grain and hop bitterness; no one element overdominant... chocolate syrup and very subtle dark red wine notes later emerge; bit of a band-aid phenolic whisper too, but not near distracting... the further I get into it, the more it's coming across like a dry Black IPA

F: too dry?, pungently uplifting, alcohol at its perfect measure of airing out and accelerating sensations... definitely longing for more roundness to its body, stickiness and tang in its finish... hard to knock a robust yet aloof-ly dry interaction

O: pretty sure I've never had this but, if I'd had, it's gotta be only my second turn on it... darn good; understated excellence; rather dry, like some of their other brews, which is cool, but this one leaves me wanting more depth, dank, and dinginess... will be picking up some bottles to share with my malt mates (2118)

 

This is an excellent, straight ahead American porter that gets a fantastic chocolate and roast malt flavor without a bunch of adjuncts. Great carbonation, nice hops, pillowy feel, restrained and elegant.