Winter Weight
Stony Creek Brewery

 

A: opaque; very dark brown - almost black; with a fairly aggressive pour, a 1 finger finely pored light brown head that receded to a wispy cap; with a thick collar; no lacing;

S: milk chocolate, raspberry, and deeply roasted grain;

T: raspberry with milk chocolate coming in at the middle and staying through the finish; mild bitterness in the aftertaste;

M: medium bodied; moderate, creamy carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: it is as advertised;

 

 

Low aroma, very thin body for a porter. Scant raspberry flavor, not complex at all. Tough to classify it as characteristic of the porter style, let alone a fruited version. Very disappointing.

Seems as though this is a new release of the brewery's Chocolate Raspberry Porter (listed as retired here with a slightly lower ABV mentioned in said entry), and it definitely piqued my interest. This must be new, because it just showed up in a new delivery to my local store, but the can isn't dated so I have no idea. My history with Stony Creek is kinda rocky (stony? I'll stop), and some of their beers are just downright bad, but I do like to give their interesting concepts a shot when I see them. Also the art on this can is fantastic, so there's that.

Pours a surprisingly-impenetrable, inky black liquid into my snifter/tulip glass. Wow, this is deep and rich looking. I was expecting something a little less intense in appearance, but okay. Nice, retentive beige-leaning head that sticks around for quite a while, ending up at about a finger at its highest point. Incredibly solid and consistent sheets of lace around my entire glass, and great legs. Alright, this is starting off quite strong! Hope they keep the momentum going.

The nose is certainly what is claimed on the can. Chocolate and raspberry are super-prominent, alongside notes of nutty grains, roasted coffee beans, and caramel. I'm honestly quite taken by the smell of this beer; it's really seductive and evocative, with superb treatment of the adjuncts. Something like this can probably easily get cloying and gross, but they've done a nice job combining the base beer with these complimentary elements. I can only hope the palate is as good as this beer is leading me to believe thus far!

Alright, it's very fruity on the tongue. Almost a bit too much, I must say, but it stops just short. It honestly has a big "Neapolitan ice cream" thing going on, moreso than just about any of the beers that actually tout that kind of aspect as a claim to fame, which is amusing. The creamy chocolate and bright berry notes marry in a tasty and interesting way, but the feel is certainly a touch too light-bodied to really bring any kind of satisfying warmth to the table. I want this to be just a bit more chocolate/caramel/roast and less raspberry/generally-fruity, but honestly, this is better than I thought it would be. Stony Creek sometimes surprises me with good stuff when I least expect it. This is kind of like when I first had Stony Joe a few years ago, not expecting much, but being blown away by the well-balanced nature. They almost nailed this one, and I have to say I bear no regrets for picking it up. Fun and enjoyable beer. I hope they improve upon it and make it a truly great one the next go-around!