Pay It Forward Porter
West Sixth Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Without veering too far from the porter path, the West Sixth brewery captures all the tastes that make dark beer lovers go for the choice. But as though they deliver the expected tastes, they do little to over achieve.

The standard dark hue brown hue is delivered- dark bark brown colors release a creamy foam stance that retains the session well and laces with broken rings as the beer recedes. The beer satisfies the eye and seems to be appealing in the onset.

It's smooth chocolate and coffee scent accompanies the subtle aromas of burnt caramel, medium toast, and more nutty coffees such as Colombian blends. Slight alcohols emit with complementary notes of red grape and licorice. It's a very compelling scent that never offends and invites the taste.

Semi-rich caramel scents open the flavors, but they do so with accompanying tastes of toffee, toast, coffee, walnut, and slightly tart fruit such as grape and cherry. Savory bread notes add an impression of richness that weaves into the darker sweetness and light fruit notes very well.

The "Pay It Forward" Porter is a very safe porter beer that does all the malty-sweet, toasty-dry flavor spread that's expected. With accents of coffee and chocolate, the beer settles well in the stomach, but it does little to excite the palate or to create excitement in taste.

This porter poured with a creamy brown head that resembled a stout, but the beer had a nice dark ruby coloring. The aroma was of roasted coffee but hints of chocolate, though I lost the scent very quickly. Very nice roasted malt flavor, I was impressed with how smooth it drank. Very little cocoa notes but I tasted the roasted malt throughout. This porter ranks amongst my favorites locally; easy, smooth and tasteful, it had a strong malted character but did not overpower.

Pours an opaque deep brown with a solid quarter inch mocha head that dissipates into a thin layer of foam.

Sweet chocolate and roast malt dominate the aroma, with vanilla and burnt breadcrust adding intrigue. There's a bit of coffee present, and notes of tar.

Flavor is roast malt dominant, with slight acrid coffee notes, but mostly featuring chocolate, with a hint of a roasty bitter finish. Hops are subtle, but slightly earthy, with an herbal quality. There's a peppery character that emerges, as well as some dark frit notes.

Body is moderate, fairly creamy with moderate carbonation. There's a touch of roast astringency and slight alcohol warmth.

Overall, fairly representative of the style...chocolate is well represented, though perhaps a bit roasty. Definitely a malt lover's delight, perfect for winter. Wouldn't think it was as high on abv.