Darwin's Forehead
Fonta Flora Brewery

 

 

Dark brown with the finger of off-white head. Smells like smoke, caramel, and toasted malts. The taste follows the nose with a slightly salty addition. Medium body wth high carbonation. Drank in Canton North Carolina August 15, 2023.

Moving right along with the Fonta Flora beers that brentk56 sent me in a trade, we have another interesting one, a sea salt Porter. It seems like an odd adjunct when not combined with others, but I’m interested to see how it works out. Let’s crack it open and get into it

Pours completely pitch black with 2 fingers of creamy light tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

The nose is quite sweet but not overbearing, the salt is subtle though. I’m picking up on aromas of milk chocolate, sweet caramel, brown sugar, raisin, vanilla, dark toast, cola, a touch of sea salt

It’s a little more biting and roasty in taste, but still never gets aggressive. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting medium roast coffee, molasses, dark bread, sea salt, cocoa powder, burnt caramel, and light black cherry. The swallow brings notes of acidic coffee, dark toast, sea salt, cocoa powder, earthy hops, brown sugar, and molasses

A medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a creamy and silky beer. Finishes mostly dry and roasty

This is an interesting concept, but not too far off from a standard Porter

 

Had it on tap. Great beer, good flavor. Not overly salty. Would drink again.

Purchased as a 6oz draft pour from The Blue Door for $3.50.

L - Clear and deep brown with no head at all, really.
S - Coffee, caramel, and molasses.
T - Follows nose exactly. Finish is toffee and chocolate, with a hint of salt.
F - Smooth. Oily at the end. Medium-bodied, and mildly carbonated.
O - It's something to sip on, I suppose. Not something I'd really go out of my way to get.

 

Maybe I had a bad batch? Flavor and structure seemed rather weak. Sea salt flavor was a bit awkward, didn't go well with the other flavors.

No can date
Pours a tan but smaller foammy fizzy head with lower retention, fair messy lacing, dark molasses brown color with hints of mahogany light

Nose brings nice brown darker malts, toasted bread crust, layered caramel and toffee and a bit nutty, a touch of roast and coffee, a little baking spice and some sweet almost cookie-like aromas, and just a hint of a smoky note

Taste brings more rich brown malts, toasted and a bit roasted, layers of caramel sugars and toffee, a little nutty and biscuity, light roast with some coffee notes and a hint of smoke, some earthy spicy hops kick in with med to a little lighter bitterness up front, a bit of salt on the back end, fair sweetness, a bit of bread crust, then finishes sticky with med to a bit higher bitterness, more spicy hops, more salt, sweet caramel and toffee lingering, and a bit of roasty coffee

Mouth is med to fuller bod, a bit rich chewy like, med to a bit higher frothy carb

Overall a nice beer, somewhere between American brown ale and porter, with that salt on the back end, pretty solid beer

 

A: Pours an opaque yet still clear extremely dark chestnut brown approaching jet black in color with light to moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising quickly along the edges of the glass and faint dark cola brown + dark brown colored highlights. The beer has a two finger tall foamy tan head that slowly reduces to a large patch of slightly mottled very thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Slightly stronger than moderate aromas of dark + chocolate + caramel malts with a light to moderate amount of caramel sweetness. Just shy of moderate aromas of roasty coffee and hints of cola.

T: Upfront there are slightly stronger than moderate flavors of dark + chocolate + caramel malts with a light to moderate amount of caramel sweetness. That is followed by light to moderate flavors of salted caramel, light flavors of cola, and moderate flavors of roasty coffee. Just shy of moderate amounts of roasty bitterness which linger for quite a white leaving lingering moderate roasty + chocolate + caramel flavors.

M: Just shy of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Relatively smooth.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and a smooth albeit slightly thin mouthfeel. Enjoyable with pleasant flavors of chocolate + coffee + salted caramel without much sweetness. Well balanced between the roastiness and the sweetness.

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a pint glass. Had a dark brown color and a thick consistency. There was a quarter inch of foamy, tan-colored head that quickly dissipated. Not a whole lot of lacing.

S: A so-so aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, caramel, and salt.

T: Tasted of a mild amount of chocolate (not quite enough, in my opinion), a good amount of roasted malt (the dominant ingredient), mild salt notes (mostly in the finish), and some caramel (could've used more). Like the aroma, the flavor a bit on the meh side. Not all the ingredients really come through. Still, all the elements are there.

F: A fair amount of carbonation with a sharp, smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A very uneven beer, but not without some good qualities.

 

 

Had poured from pint can, bottom stamped “CANNED ON 03292019,” into clear plastic hotel water cup.

FF Forehead’s got the requisite roasted malts of a porter, but also much more, including a deft amount of fruit and cocoa.

A: The beer is essentially jet black in color. It poured with a quarter finger high light tan head that died down leaving a patch of bubbles on the surface and a narrow collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of cola are present in the nose along with notes of dark malts.
T: The taste follows the smell and has flavors of cola and dark malts with a bit of roast and light notes of salty caramel towards the finish.
M: It feels just about medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink and is a good representation of the style while the salted caramel adds a touch of uniqueness.

Serving type: can