Black Ale
Bent Paddle Brewing Co.

Taster consumed on-site at the brewpub. I don’t usually think of beer as a winter drink, much less in Duluth, Minnesota (one of the nations, coldest and snowiest cities), but this one really works.

 

 

12 oz can canned 5/13/25 into a Becker glass.
L: Pours a very dark brown color to black with a slightly fizzy 1/4" dark khaki head that goes flat and recedes to edge foam, light carbo, light stretchy lacing.
S: Caramelized malts, brewed coffee, darkly toasted grains, toasty overall.
T: Dark roasted caramelized malts, coffee char, overripe plum, raisins, dates, prunes, finishes bitter with resin, dark fruits and dark fruits skin.
F: Average mouthfeel, slightly wet medium-bodied with a semi-dry medium length finish.
O: Easy drinking, tasty, scorched malts and resin. Finishes fairly dry and resiny. It is refreshing and leans light and is very good in its style.

Pitch black opaque body with a large oatmeal colored head. Aromas of roasted malt, burnt toast, dark nut, and earth. Taste adds dark chocolate and a hint of dark roast coffee. Feel is chewy yet light, roasty, smooth and dries out nicely, but is a bit thin near the finish. Good all around porter, I liked this better than the coffee version

 

 

Poured from a 12-oz can into a tumbler.

Look: Very dark brown, with a small beige head that rather quickly reduced to a slight foam cap leaving adequate small-bubbles lacing.

Nose: A little sweet chocolate on top of a slight dark roast.

Mouthfeel: Medium, adequate carbonation.

Attack: Coffee, chocolate, and dark roast — a nice flavor; actually, a bit more flavor and depth than I might have expected from the look and nose.

Finish: Bitterness from the dark roast to balance.

Overall: A very drinkable porter. Enjoyable on its own, but would also pair nicely with braised or smoked dark meats. While Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald is my go-to American Porter, I’d be happy to drink this one again.

 

A porter that is well balanced and not heavy. Healthy level of oats mixed with chocolate. Definitely a porter stout mix. Smell is delightful with plenty of sweetness without being nauseating. Like Walter Payton but without the infidelity and hookers. Not gonna blow your doors off but at this price point you shouldn't expect that. You could do way worse than this porter.

Ordered this at MN airport thinking it was a Cascadian Ale and when it was cold it was quite like one- malty but bitter. As it warmed though, the bitterness diminished and the coffee came forward. The chocolate that is mentioned never made an appearance, but maybe I didn’t let it warm enough.
It is very full of flavor and quite tasty, but it isn’t my preference for a porter or stout. Cascadian Ale? Now that would beat out Perrin Black.

Pours a deep brown in color with a super tall espresso colored head with great retention. Smells rich of cocoa, chocolate, sweet toasty malts. Taste follows the nose, cocoa all the way through. Feel is velvety & soft. Well done porter!

Appearance: Pours a black color with a massive, light-tan foamy head. SRM of 24. (4.00)

Aroma: Large aromas of smoke, soothing chocolate, and roast. Hints of coffee roast, but not too much. More coffee, but not too airy. Hints of bitterness. Then I get lots of smoked ham which is weird. (3.75)

Flavor: Flavor follows the nose with smooth and silky milk chocolate with only hints of coffee roast. Mild bitterness with the roast. Again, some ham in the middle. (On a later review in 2021 I get less ham, but a dark fruit plum flavor). A little bit of tar. Licorice lingers on the end. Leans mildly sweet with lactose sugar and chocolate. (4.00)

Feel: Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Feels very balanced on the palate and finishing with some milk sugars left on the palate. (3.75)

Compared to Bell's Porter: More smooth chocolate. Less roasty. More watery and lighter overall.

Compared with Deschute's Obsidian Stout: Similar color. More airy milk chocolate on the nose. Much less chocolate. Less dark chocolate. It has more cream and air. More skim milk. Dryer and much lighter.

Compared w/ Trader Joe's Dark Lager: Pours a darker color. Stronger and more roasty aromas. More milk chocolate and roast. Less red fruit and molasses. More bitter and roasty. Dryer and cleaner with a more bitter finish. Less malty.

Compared with Mocha Marlin Porter 4/8/20: Pours a similar color with a lighter head. Milder aromas. Less chocolate and espresso. More mild and smokey. Dryer and cleaner overall.

Compare to Lift Bridge Fireside Flannel 1/13/21: Pours a slightly darker color and blacker. Similar aromas of dark chocolate, dry roast, dry roast and coffee. Slightly sweeter and more chocolate here. On the flavor, stronger chocolate and dark patent malt.

Compared to Summit's Great Northern Porter 2/16/21: Pours a similar color with a stronger and darker head. Stronger aromas/flavors. More chocolate and dark fruit. Less airiness and sulfur & airplane plastic. Stronger malts, hops, and body.
1/18/22: Pours similar. Stronger aromas. More chocolate. Less airy roast. More robust and fuller. Winner: Bent Paddle

Compared to Central Water's Mudpuppy Porter 3/11/21: Similar color with darker head. More cocoa and espresso roast. Less brown malt and molasses. Roastier, but less smokey. A stronger bitterness, similar malt strength, so slightly cleaner.

Compared to Pearl Street's 420 Smokin Hemp Porter 5/2/21: Identical appearance. More chocolate, espresso roast, and bitterness. More carbonation and body and finishes with more sweet chocolate. Overall, quite similar.

to Great Lakes' Edmund Fitzgerald 2/24/22: Pours a similar color, smaller head. Milder aromas. More dry chocolate and coffee roast. Less milk chocolate and cream.
3/2/22: Stronger aromas. More rich chocolate, Less airy roast. Slightly smoother. (Different than previous)
3/29/22: Similar aromas. Slightly more black malt, less rich chocolate. Lighter and less bitter.
4/19/22: More dark fruit on the aroma. Less coffee roast. More roasted black malt and leathery dark fruit. Less chocolate and coffee roast. Sweeter and less bitter.

to Fulton Snow Emergency Stout 2/2023: Pours similar, identical aromas. More dark grains, yeast. Less bittersweet chocolate. More carbonation and balance.

to Urban Growler DeLovely Porter 2/2023: Simlar, slightly more coffee roast. Less bittersweet cream. Similar.

to Oliphant Stout 1/2024: Pours similar, slightly more roasted coffee and less sweet.

Overall: I'd say this one is just as described. Smooth and silky chocolate with only hints of roasty flavor. Has a pleasant dark fruit/plum flavor too. MIldly sweet due to the attenuated bitterness. Definitely between an oatmeal stout and porter. Extremely smooth, drinkable and one worth coming back to. (Final Rating: 3.98)

The coffee taste is too strong and I really cant taste any chocolate. The bitterness factor is too high for my liking. Its a decent porter but there are better (and cheaper) ones out there.

10/8/20...Pours deep black, with thick dark brown foam with a 1/4" head. Smells of coffee and espresso beans. Smooth creamy taste, Light & creamy. Light bitter sneaks in and cements the flavor. Quite nice, well balanced and just enough bitters.

12oz can, no date, just a partial code

Looks like a beaut. Smells just okay. Drinks great. Dark malts, choco, tar and char. Bitter enough, but not a ton of hop flavor, more aromatic and in the background

"A shark on whisky is mighty risky, a shark on beer is a beer engineer" - Dr. Worm

I got a can of this beer from the single shelf at a beer store in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It poured an opaque dark with thin ecru head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent had faint roast and sweet malt notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with sweet molasses malt and roast highlights. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall its a solid beer.

20190705
Brewery taproom - 10oz

12 oz can
2/5/19
Zildjian K Pint Glass

Deep shiny black with a creamy beige head of 1 finger, stable. Nice lace left on the sides.

Aroma is faint but of dark malts and slight roast.

Flavor comes across a bit more hoppy than I'd like. Very green. There are nice notes of pumpernickel and darker fruits and karo on the back end, much like a good Doppelbock or Schwarzbier. Some dark chocolate or cacao.

Feel is on the thin side, again this is much like a thinner version of a Schwarzbier. Mild hop resins on the finish. Some coffee roastiness. Mild warming alcohol.

Overall, if you're in the mood for a hoppy Schwarzbier, that's what this is basically, only in ale form. Had no idea they'd be claiming this to be a porter - a bit too thin for that, even if it was lagered as a Baltic Porter.

Poured from a 12 ounce can into a nonic pint.

Look - Blacker than midnight on a moonless night. Opaque and oily with a cascading leathery tan head that lingers for nearly ever and clings heavily as it slides down the side of the glass.

Smell - Bitter earthy dark chocolate with tiny sweet background notes of caramel and vanilla. Very faint bits of grassy herbal hops if you really stick your sniffer in there.

Taste - Like biting into some 100% cacao baking chocolate. The bitterness pummels you in a pleasant way, but things swing up to a mild sweetness on the aftertaste. It sticks with you for a long time, slowly changing and evolving for an entire minute after swallowing.

Feel - Surprisingly thin body, but the lack of carbonation and high amount of oats make this silky smooth, somewhat creamy, and a bit oily.

Overall - A heavy hitter that's very easy to drink. Big in flavor, menacing in appearance, and surprisingly inviting. I can definitely see myself coming back to this regularly.