Damn Dirty Ape
Greenbush Brewing Company

On tap from Ashley's in Westland for the Shorts vs. Greenbush Throwdown. This was the one I was really excited for from Greenbush - "banana porter" sounds so delicious in my mind. To my confusion, the beer I was handed was the swampiest, murkiest shade of brown I've ever seen, like greasy mud, with a frothy, khaki-colored foam cap. Looks nothing like any "porter" I've ever seen - I actually thought they may have given me the wrong beer.

I take a whiff and it smells like hefeweizen yeast - it's got your standard aromas of some bubblegum, spice, clove, and of course, banana. So I see how this is now. They're using hefe yeast, which comes with naturally banana-flavored esters, and they're gonna call it a "banana" beer. Actually, a banana "porter". Seems like a cop-out. They could have just as easily called this "Bubble-Yum" porter. And by the way, Greenbush - this is NOT a porter.

The taste is nothing like a porter, either. It's actually stuck in some strange limbo between a double-hefeweizen and a Belgian strong ale. Of course, the yeast shines through with more rotten, somewhat sweet banana, bubblegum, and clove. Other spices seem present, but the only thing I can really gather is maybe cinnamon. A dry funky element makes itself known about halfway through and carries out into the finish. The more I drink, the less it tastes like a porter.

The aftertaste has a decent amount of nuts and a faint, wood-like funk with a strange dryness. The mouth feel is that of a dubbel or trippel - effervescent and light, it seems to evaporate as it hits your palate, mostly thanks to the very high level of carbonation. It's fairly medium bodied and leaves a bit to be desired upon swallowing. Certainly not as full as you'd expect for a "porter".

You can clearly tell that I'm upset, here. Mainly because Greenbush used hefeweizen yeast and called their beer a "banana" beer. Not only that, they somehow had the audacity to call it a porter, when it's nowhere close. I've had brown ales that were closer to porters than this. This would pass as some kind of dunkelweizen or Belgian strong or something else. But not a porter. And not a "banana" porter. Not a bad beer by any stretch, but I was completely let down based upon what I was expecting. For shame, Greenbush, for shame.

 

 

12 ounce bottle into a weizen glass. Bottled 11/16/16, had 12/17/16. Thought this was a Dunkelweizen, not a porter.

Pours a hazy copper color, with a one and a half inch head and a fair amount of soapy lacing. Smells of caramel, malt, yeast. Get the walnuts more as it warms, and also a hint of banana, when warmed. Kind of expected more banana... The taste is malt, caramel, less walnuts than the nose, a restrained general spiciness, light yeast, and again, a hint of banana. Very smooth, especially with the high ABV for the style, creamy, a solid body, well carbonated.

Liked this more than I thought I would. Good flavor and feel, lots of good caramel and malt, the nose had less banana than a typical Dunkel, which was odd. Worth a purchase of a few bottles.