Town Line
Oxbow Brewing Company

 

Pours a very deep brown color, almost black. The light brown head is pillowy and left a wall of chunky lacing.

The aroma is of milk chocolate, lactose and wet bark.
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The taste is of brown bread and light milk chocolate. There is an earthy bark and roasted bitterness in the finish.

The body is light to moderate with tingly carbonation. Starts sweet but finishes bitter so there is some balance. A tad sticky in the finish.

A good but not great porter. The feel is a bit off. Flavor could use some complexity.

 

12oz can. Bottom stamp is 'CANNED ON 10/22/24', and the label advises to "keep cool and enjoy within 1 year".
Dark brown colored body. Two fingers of beige colored head with the pour, and this works itself down to islands and a ring. No lacing.
Aroma of dark roasted malts, coffee, and chocolate. The spelt gives it a different smell than just barley malts; there are hints of black licorice and caramel.
Taste has more char and bitterness than suggested by the nose. Flavors of dark roasted malts, molasses, chicory coffee, and a bit of dark chocolate. Has a hint of anise, along with a mineral note.
Less than medium mouthfeel. Drying finish. Some tongue numbing with each sip. Good carbonation.
Spelt adds some sharp nuttiness to the flavors, similar to wheat but not quite as bitter.

The pour is motor oil black with a tan & frothy head of foam. The taste is roasted malt, grains, along with some hints of dark chocolate, coffee, & mineral water. Cheers! B

Review 1689
Town Line
Oxbow Brewing
Date 08 January 2021
Porter
I used a nonic; the temperature was 46 degrees. The pour created a frothy and airy light tan three-fingered head with excellent retention. The slow dissipation left lacing on the glass. The color charts around SRM 38, dark brown like used motor oil. The beer is opaque. The appearance of the beer is above average. I love the head retention and slow dissipation.
Dark roasted malts, char, chocolate, and coffee are the dominant aromas. Nosing further, I detect floral, bread, molasses, and herbal. I smell a faint hint of earthy tobacco. The aromas are standard for porters.
The flavors are Maillard, char, chocolate, dark roasted malts, a touch of floral, molasses, grassy, a hint of leather, coffee, and toasted bread crust.
The mouthfeel is dry and a touch astringent. The body is medium-light, has medium carbonation, and has a somewhat quick finish.
The beer is a stellar example of a porter. I could drink this beer all day. The hops are more prevalent, to me, it has depth and complexity to the malt backbone. I enjoyed sipping on this beer after work.

This porter blew me away. Huge cocoa, without being cloying, followed by a sharp roast with the acidity to really dry it out. Dark bread crust and Tootsie Roll round out the character. I need more of this beer.

 

 

 

A pint can poured into a clear pint glass reveals a dirty dark brown, almost non-carbonated liquid. Very little of the roasted malt aroma expected from a porter. Surprisingly, it isn't as flat as its appearance would imply. In fact, the carbonation is quite nice and contributes to the enjoyment of the drink. The taste has a nice roasted malt flavor, but it's not robust. Quite drinkable, with the spelt adding another layer. Town Line does well in the two categories that matter most, taste and feel.

 

Brownish, murky body topped with a thin yet lasting head. Very nice roasted grain smell; bitter chocolate. The taste has a slightly sweet flavor offset with a mildly acrid bitterness; cocoa. Heavy body yet comes across rather weak and watery; glassy; a bit warm overall.

The beer delivers some respectable flavors and has a very nice smell, but the looks and mouthfeel are a bit lacking. Still worth checking out.

 

Not a bad beer, but really nothing special.

 

A- 16oz can into a wine glass with a black body and a foamy nutty brown head. Decent head retention. Lacing is spotty with a few small sheets.

S- Malts off the top with a balance that leans towards roasty but includes things down in the browned end of the spectrum as well. Roast barley, licorice, heavily toasted nuts, toffee, medium roast coffee beans, caramel and hints of dried dark fruits.

T- Much like the aroma the flavor is particularly grainy and brings a wide variety of malty flavors. Opens with coffee and roast barley notes with a deep charred note before toasted nuts, raisin, cocoa powder, toffee, caramel and anise hints come into play. A touch of fruit from the yeast and a light earthy hop bitterness. More towards the toasty malt spectrum here.

MF- This one is certainly on the lighter side for a porter and has a foamy and puffy texture. Very high level of carbonation for the style.

A light bodied black ale with a very spritzy carbonation and a malt driven flavor profile that ranges from toasty to nutty to charred. Great breadth of malt character but perhaps just a bit on the thin side.

 

On tap at Armsby Abbey in Worcester, MA.

This one pours a dark black color, with a tight white head, and a lot of lacing.

This smells like heavily roasted malt, smoke, wheat, dark chocolate, and pine.

This is bone dry and fairly bitter, but crisp and fairly drinkable. There’s a clean but bitter roast character, and light smoke. It’s slightly hoppy, with grass and bitterness, and slightly chalky.

This is light bodied and a touch thin, but very crisp and drinkable. I wish it was a little creamier.

This is a solid straightforward and very bitter porter. It’s not the best from them but I enjoyed it.