Rye Porter
Peace Tree Brewing Co.

 

From old, undated notes; poured from the bottle.

Black in color, nearly a black hole, but some ruby is visible around the edges when held to the light.

Very minimal lacing. The nose is of nuts, peanut butter and slight coffee. Unique.

Peanut butter flavor on the first sip; coffee on the back end. This is a treat.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but this only leads to great quaffability. A touch chalky, in a pleasant way, due to the great flavors. I'm assuming the rye malts are bringing the peanut butter flavor, which sets this apart.

Belgian yeast and candy sugar was used in this beer, but the flavor is decidedly American; bold and uncompromising. A must-try.

Poured from 12oz bottle into glass.
Very dark brown body, with crimson highlights when viewed against the light. Light brown, thin ring and interrupted cap, just a couple of spots of lacing.
Roasted malt and coffee on the nose, with a rye zing, and a touch of vanilla.
Charred, roasty taste, some chocolate, bittering hops at the end. Has the spicy zest from the rye.
Medium mouth feel.
The rye adds a different aspect to this decent porter.

Poured at cellar temperature from a keg into a 20 Oz glass.
Look: Standard porter. Thin tan head, no lacing, opaque dark brown body.
Smell: A little earthy, smoky campfire, and sweet chocolate.
Taste: Pretty light in flavor. Midly bitter, earthiness, light coffee aftertaste. Hints of bittersweet dark chocolate. Overall pretty watery, especially for a porter.
Feel: Flat. Not very full-bodied. Warms the body by the end of the glass.
Overall: Mediocre porter. Not a lot of taste. Good for Fall/Spring but not heavy or strong enough to be a good winter beer.

 

 

 

 

Poured from 12-ounce bottle into a mug. Looks like root beer in the glass, almost black with a fluffy head of light tan foam. Roasted malts and chocolate up front, rather sweet with a silky mouthfeel. A pleasant bitterness on the finish that became more pronounced as the beer warmed in the glass. Very nice offering from this Iowa brewery.

Served in a snifter.

A : This beer pours an appreciable amount of khaki colored head. The body is chocolate mocha colored and is almost fully opaque. The khaki lace sticks to the sides of the glass in etchings.

S : Lots of chocolate, vanilla, cocoa, and a slight butterscotch whiff as well. There's some faint earthiness behind the nose that compliments nicely. Not much for hop in the smell.

T : A bit dirty tasting, with lots of earth and charred malts, but it's not overly bad. I'd say that this is what Portage SHOULD have been, as it's fairly similar in flavor but much smoother overall. Some smooth caramel and a slight nip of bitter hop fill out the finish, complete with ground coffee.

F : A slight buzz of carbonation underneath an otherwise mild creaminess. There's a watery threshold underneath the current of creaminess...it's actually feeling like it mimics what a beer looks like - the body, and then the creaminess. It ends with a dusty bite of powder.

O : This is a decent porter. It's fairly unique, although I didn't taste the rye. It's what New Belgium's Portage "should have" been, as it's similar in taste but much smoother and more refined. I do like it, just not absolutely wild about it.

 

 

Good taste, little carbonation - very dark - a bit watery