Pistolero Porter
Payette Brewing

a quality porter here, served on nitro. these guys always do a nice job with the dark stuff, and this is excellent, true to style, and very drinkable. its deep black in color, coal toned, with a creamy white head an inch high and permanent from the nitro faucet, a perfect format for this one. it looks and smells like an irish dry stout, a minimal but roasty aroma from the grain, a little european yeast character, and some minerals as well, maybe a hint of coffee, quite subtle in the nose really. the flavor is bolder, with a bitter bite to the dark grain, plenty of black coffee character, dry bitter baking chocolate, and just a touch of round almost honey sweetness right in the center, but just for a flash. there is a dryness that kicks in and makes this almost refreshing for the style, real drinkable. a touch of astringency to the ferment when it warms, but its real mild. a light cola note too in here with all the roast, and good balance to it. sturdy and drinkable at the same time, creamy and frothy feeling from the nitro but never heavy or filling to me. very satisfying cold weather porter here, awesome on nitro, and cozy to me in some way. nicely done, they should brew this one up a little more regularly!

This beer tastes like pipe tobacco. Not only is it a poor example of a porter but also a poor example of craft brew.

 

 

 

8oz glass at Beer Revolution in downtown Edmonton at their belated (me, not them) tap takeover.

This beer appears a clear, dark, orange-highlighted brown colour, with a thin cap of wispy and bubbly beige head, which leaves but a few instances of skinny ocean plume lace around the glass as things evenly recede.

It smells of lightly roasted caramel malt, bittersweet cocoa powder, somewhat acrid coffee beans, cold cream, musty black licorice, and some very tame earthy, herbal, and floral noble green hops. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, wan medium chocolate, cafe-au-lait, gently spicy anise, a soft pome fruitiness, and more weak earthy, musty, and floral 'verdant' hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly low-key in its workaday frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and quite smooth, with an ethereal airy creaminess arising as things warm up a wee bit. It finishes off-dry, a gentle roastiness wafting over the lingering malty notes.

Overall, this comes across as a serviceable American craft Porter, the flavours extracted from the toasty malt worthy of a go, even if the expected hop counterpoint doesn't really materialize. No biggie - sometimes that's what the beer doctor ordered.

 

On tap at the brewery pub in Boise.
Cleat, very dark brown body that's nearly opaque. God Bruges bread.
Nice aroma of dark roasted grains with chocolate ands no char.
Medium-full body with medium - light carbonation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opaque dark brown/might as well be black with thin beige head. Slight roastiness and dark bread in the nose. Smooth and medium bodied with a crisp carbonation edge. Slightly robust with layer of malty sweetness, some tangy molasses, roasty acridness and bitterness towards the end. Light chocolate, bready, earthy and suggestions of peat in the finish.

Overall, a good Porter.

 

Dark, letting no light thru. Small head fades leaving a slight film.

Light cola flavor mixed with dry chocolate. Underlying hops give a sort of fruity and bitterness. It's not robustly flavorful but it is quite good.

It's lightly carbonated and quite smooth overall.

Beer of the month club selection. Dark with dark brown fairly thick head that did not disperse quickly. Dark, chocolate aroma with earthy scents. Peat, chocolate (light) and light coffee taste. Malty. Smooth and not too carbonated. No bad aftertaste.