Gripman's Porter
San Francisco Brewing Company

 

Served on-tap at the brewery in a standard pint glass

Pours a jet black, well carbonated, with an off-white head

Roasted malt dominates the nose, some fruit and floral notes

The fruit really comes through in the flavor, the malt balances the fruit quite nicely. A bit of caramel malt at the end.

A nice beer, easy to drink and enjoy, more complex than I expected

Dark brownish black poor. Waaaay too hoppy a smell and taste for a Porter in my opinion, and smells just like an IPA, rather than a dark rich porter. Taste is a touch of roasted malts, with a lot of hops, and rather than the hops "supporting" the malts, they simply dominate them. Not a traditional porter, and didn't fit the style, but not terrible.

Sampler at the brewpub. Dark brown body with a small tan head. The aromas are sweet and roasty. The flavour had hints of chocolate, smoke and roasted malts. I say hints, because this had a disappointingly light touch, and the flavours seemed more shadows than reality.

Pour: Draught to pint glass. Served at my table with a dark brown body & mahogany hues around the edges. A one finger tan head caps the beer, going down rather quickly but is very sticky along the glass and leaves nice lacings. Odd bubbles here and there trickle up from the bottom of the glass.

Nose: Very fruity like some cherry cough syrup. The roast aromas of the malts also come through and accompany some sour bramble scents. I also got the aroma of a freshly broken into salt stick. A tad faint.

Mouth: Didn't realize it until this point, but the beer's served only slightly colder than room temperature. The flavor is much the same as the smell but without the medicinal tastes. Nice big fruit flavors, a touch of smoke comes through with the malt roast, a hint of caramel. Soft carbonation eases this through the mouth.

I really enjoyed this beer and would definitely buy it in bottles to keep at home if I could (I go through growlers too slowly).

Served in a standard 16oz pint glass
Poured an opaque blackish, brown with a thick, tan, creamy head. The aroma was of chocolate malt and coffee as expected with a surprising hint of sweetnessmuch like molasses. The taste was on the sweet side with the coffee and chocolate being overpowered by the molasses. The mouthfeel was thick and chewy but the beer was fairly heavy. I think it was the sweetness that limited the drinkability, but overall a good porter just not great.

Reviewed from notes taken on 3/5/06 @ the brewpub.

Pours a dark brown with a creamy tan head that thins. Thick lacing on the glass.

Has a very light aroma. Just traces of roated malts with a light fruitiness.

Taste is sweet and malty upfront which washes into a roasted malt flavor. Some hints of coffee and cocoa are blended in. Finishes sweet.

Meduim body, decent cerbonation.

A decent porter, just a bit too sweet.