Nick's Hazelnut Praline Porter
Broken Bow Brewery

The pour is umber brown with a khaki head of foam. The taste is hazlenuts & roasted malt. The 8% abv drinks like a 5% beer. It was good to try a beer made with hazlenuts & praline. Overall, if you like a sweet & roasty beer then you ought to check this one out. Cheers! A-

Decanted from a 16 oz (473 ml) can into a tulip glass; no production information.
A: Pours dark brown with a one finger, light tan head and a thick rim of retention. Soapy, broad lacing.
S: Aromas of burnt black coffee, unsweetened cocoa, cane sugar, and hazelnut. sarsaparilla more than cola.
T: More semisweet than semidry. Flavors favor sarsaparilla more than cola, black coffee, cane sugar, and almond/walnut more than hazelnut. A little overly bitter without sufficient offsetting sweetness.
M: Rather light bodied, making it come across as a bit thin. Moderate effervescence.
O: Perhaps the above text doesn't reflect that this was actually an enjoyable enough porter. IMHO bitterness and body may need to be tweaked. Grows on you, as you drink it.

 

I loved everything about this brew except the flavor. Don't misunderstand, I loved the TASTE, but the FLAVOR was just a bit different that what I was looking forward to by description. It was smooth and creamy, but had a bit more of a coffee rather than hazelnut essence; that said, you can really taste the lovely praline, which is NOT overboard, and it's still an excellent brew I'd be happy with any time - but the description really made me feel it would be perfect as a dessert in and of itself. It WENT well with dessert, a chocolate peach melba with fried plantains, but as a stand alone, I wouldn't consider it a dessert. The smell and body was inviting and there are very few circumstances I can think of that would make me turn it down. Perfectly weighted and balanced.

Appears near black with a brightly contrasting off-white head. Baker's
Chocolate and praline like the name. Spicy phenols-ginger and clove-- thrown in for good measure. Solid med-full body, just sticky on the edges of the mouth. Astringent taste like unhusked roasted hazelnuts, and decent caramel sweetness. Thus, it has more of an English style porter taste, which I don't mind.

A pint can poured into a Duvel glass. A huge head that says and leaves tons of lacing. A deep dark chestnut brown, reddish hues glinting in brighter light. The head slowly fades and leaves a light covering that remains as I drink.

Nose is warm and lovely. Toasted grains with a light bit of darker roast and a hint of char. Nuts and sugar bring the New Orleans sweets to the blend of toffee and molasses already in the malt base. Some dark fruits, mostly figs and dates and a bit of earthy hops.

Taste is a wonderful combination of big beer flavor and easy drinking porter. A mildly sweet roasted front flows into a rich hazel nuttiness. Caramel toffee tinged pralines flash before the drink dives into a smooth cup of French roast coffee. Hops Build on the coffee bitterness and drop earth and an surprising bit of oil on the back of my throat. Dry with a somewhat astringent quality that restrains itself just before it takes over.

Feel is surprisingly light for a bee of this abv. Smooth carbonation is crisp and refreshing. This is a beer that goes down so easily and without any warning about the strength of the brew. It begs to your winter session ale until you fall on your face. So quenching with each swallow, you just keep going.

This is a superb beer. The flavor combination is unique and perfect for a porter. I somehow maintains the drinkability and refreshing qualities of a porter while incorporating imperial flavors and richness. just a winner.

A: The beer is dark black in color when viewed from afar (and reddish brown when held up to a very bright light). It poured with a half finger high light beige colored head.
S: Light aromas of nutty malts are present in the nose—hazelnuts and pralines stand out in particular.
T: The taste has lots of flavors of pralines along with a subtle amount of sweetness.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The taste of this beer is very nutty and has nice flavors of pralines. It does a very good job at hiding the alcohol from the taste.

Serving type: can