Penguin Vermont Porter
Whetstone Craft Beers / Whetstone Station

On tap at the brewery.
Dense black. Thin head settles quickly to a thin rim of tiny bubbles. Light effervescence.
Clean roasty nose with some chocolate notes.
Taste follows closely. Excellent roast and light chocolate. No hint of coffee but nice bitterness on the finish.
Far from the most complex but a solid, really balanced porter that I would happily drink again.

Medium brown on the pour, settling into a much darker fully opaque brown in the glass. 3/4 finger of fizzy, short-lived head. Aroma has some really nice roasted malts with some chocolate in the background. It's simple, but very nice on the nose.

Taste is toasty malts with a touch of bitterness. Again, simple but in a good way. Feel is very light bodied.

Overall, this is a solid beer that I'd be happy to enjoy again, next time preferably at their tap room overlooking the CT river in VT / NH (the state line runs directly through the taproom).

 

Penguin Vermont Porter (2021) from Whetstone. Received from @Roy_Hobbs in BIF #14. 16 oz can. Stored at home at 38 degrees. Reviewed 1/12/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 44.6 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 50.7 degrees.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. When rear-lite, same.
Head – Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), wheat, diminishing to a three mm crown fed by effervescence and a thin partial cap. Second pour produces a 0.4 cm head.
Lacing – Fair. A couple of arcs of extremely tiny bubbles.
Aroma – 4 – Initially roasted chocolate malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.25 – Taste follows the nose but slightly bitter, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (5.5 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Mild gastric warming toward the end. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 (After deducting 0.25 point from the top for an undated container.) Looks like every other brew on the porter-stout spectrum. Nose is more pronounced than many porters, quite enticing. Flavor is more marked than most porters, being very much roasted malt forward with just a hint of bitterness – seems well-balanced. Palate seems a little heavier than most porters, sliding into stout realms. Overall, very enjoyable. If this were available in my area, it would be in my drinking rotation.

 

On tap at the brewpub, sitting on the patio next to the Connecticut River. Enjoyable porter for lunch - tick bitterness that doesn't come in stouts.

 

 

Crowler from Kelly and Dave, Thanks for thinking of me.
Dark brown bordering on black with a small tan head that dissipates. Roasty earthy with hints of caramel and chocolate. Could use a hint more body in my opinion but drinks quite well as is.