Charcoal Porter
Innocente Brewing Company

 

 

A-Nice dark black brew with a light brown head that dissipates quickly
S-Aroma is generic bar beer and not much else
M-Light and watery with carbonation at a slightly higher than wanted spot
T-Really it much going on, simple and a subtle bitterness that does linger
O-Not wonderful, no real character, charcoal actually describes it quite well. Sorry Innocente brewing but I think you could do better

Poured from a standard 473 ml Canadian tall boy pint can. It's a tasty porter, but not as rich as some others. Still, it is a good example of the style. Despite it's name (and apparently the brewer's intent), it's not especially smoky. To me, that's a good thing.

Dark mud brown with a thin tan ring.

Smell is cocoa, charred wood and cola while taste is similar, adding semi-bitter woody roots and amaretto.

The medium-light body has a light but ever-expanding froth and a semi-wet to semi-dry finish.

473ml can
L: opaque dark brown
S: bright, salted caramel chocolate root beer
T: not much taste at all... surprising, just a single one dimensional taste of low intensity. Balanced.
F: medium to light body
O: after all the awards this beer has won I had high hopes but this was really nothing special at all. It's not off or bad just nothing simple and plain and forgettable.

Pours a nice opaque dark brown with a giant foamy mocha head which lasts forever. Aromas of sweet roasted malts. Taste is sweet roasted malts, oat sweetness is definitely evident, with hints of coffee, chocolate & vanilla. Taste & feel are pretty smooth & full, perhaps just a touch watery, although even using the word watery may be a touch harsh. A very nice porter; I would enjoy this again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got this one from hopsolutely this past summer

From a 500ml bottle into a snifter
IBU: 21
Bottled 17 Jan 2015

APPEARANCE: Pours out clear dark brown and yields a three finger, medium-looser looking, creamy tan head with great retention Black boy with medium levels of carbonation. Head slowly fades to a full wisp and clings to the glass. A ring remains until the end leaving lots of lacing to the glass.

SMELL: Roasted aromas, chocolate, leather, toffee and light notes of tobacco. Sweet cream as well. Good nose.

TASTE: Roasted flavors, sweet cream and milk chocolate up front. More sweet cream and toffee at the swallow with a bold and lingering finish of sweet cream, toffee, milk chocolate, leather and lightly roasted malts. Nice stuff.

PALATE: Thinner body and higher levels of carbonation. A little foamy on the palate, goes down fine and finishes a touch mouth-coating. A bit too light and foamy, unfortunately.

OVERALL: This is good. The feel could certainly be fuller and creamier, but the aroma and flavor is certainly up to par. Solid stuff and worth checking out if you see it. Cheers guys!

 

Bottled 11.02.15

Bubbly ecru head, aroma has wisps of smoke and charcoal. Tad too prickly of carbonation, flavor hints of oatmeal bit overall flat and even nearing room temp doesn't open much more.

 

Pours a nice head, some retention, leaves some lace. Predominantly black liquorice in the aroma and flavour. Slight residual sweetness is overcome with bitterness. A good drinking porter!

 

 

 

Looks good enough out of the bottle, but gets ordinary pretty quick. Thin film and minimal ace after such a nice big head. Lots of chocolate on the nose, along with some ash and coffee. A Hi T of sourness that carries right on through to taste. Thin bodied and tart, not a real sturdy sort of stout. Taste is predominantly ashy, less chocolate and coffee. A lot of the flavourcseems drowned out by sourness. I like porters generally, but this one didn't strike the right notes with me.

 

 

 

500 ml bottle served at cellar temperature into a pint glass. First experience with this brewery looking forward to another good craft brewery popping up in southern Ontario. Bottled November 24, 2015. Bottle is advertised as 5.1% ABV.

Appearance - pours the darkest shade of brown possible, virtually black. Topped with a big creamy head of about two fingers which sticks around for a good while. Minimal lacing left trailing behind, but still an attractive porter.

Smell - pretty impressed with a big coffee note up front and a hint of booze soaked vanilla bean in behind. Some surprising sweetness of a butterscotch melded in between.

Taste - flavours are light, with moderate intensity coffee, a hint of vanilla beans again and some lingering sweetness. Bitterness is toned down from a porter and flavours aren't too intense, yet still flavourful. Mocha like.

Mouthfeel - on the high end of fizzy, carbonation is quite high and body is not quite creamy and seems grainy, but with the coffee flavours, it somehow works. Easy to drink especially once you get towards the bottom of your glass.

Overall - one of those beers that's a little more than the sum of all of its parts, it's easy drinking quite flavourful with coffee and vanilla, and easy to like. Two thumbs up and I look forward to seeing more of Innocente's offerings in the LCBO soon.

 

 

Purchased at the LCBO for just under $5.00 for a 500ml bottle. Served at 12deg C in a tulip.

A- Opens well and pours a 1/2" high off white head that is gone in seconds. Fairly dark brown colour

S- Has a very slightly smoky nature to it. Slight coco scent to it.

T- Very light and uninspired brew. No complexity at all. Super not good

M- Light and watery.

O- Not for me. It's going back as it has no body at all. Not happy with this one and will not buy again under any circumstance. Avoid at all costs. I wouldn't even call it a porter.

Food Pairing

Thing not so good brew would go ok with....... nice and salty pretzels to get it down.

Enjoy

 

 

cask sample at the only cafe, toronto, sep 25 2015. dark brown with tan head. roast coffee, ashy charcoal, cocoa. taste follows nose. mild milk chocolate-y sweetness. light-bodied beer. interesting charcoal presence while still being a tasty porter

 

Unlabelled 750 mL swing-top bottle picked up at the brewery about a month ago, and kept in the back of the fridge ever since. Served slightly chilled.

Pours pitch black, with some dark brown highlights around the edges. It's capped off with one inch of creamy-looking, light beige-coloured foam, which proceeds to wilt away steadily over the next five minutes or so. A wide collar and modest cap survive, along with a messy curtain of sticky lace. The aroma is chock full of roasted malt notes, including hints of milk chocolate, mocha coffee, brown sugar and molasses. Buried underneath, you might also be able to pick out suggestions of vanilla, anise and herbal hops.

Agreeable flavour profile; caramelized sugar and molasses sweetness are prominent initially, but these saccharine qualities are appropriately countered by the rich, roasted malt flavours that follow. Coffee beans, cocoa powder and toasted nuts provide a sturdy dose of bitter/astringent roasty flavours, bordering on burnt at times (not entirely surprising for a beer with 'charcoal' right in the name). Vaguely herbal and earthy toward the finish, ending with a bittersweet chocolate aftertaste that lingers briefly on the palate, encouraging another sip. Light-medium in body, with fairly restrained, soft carbonation levels that weakly prickle the palate. It feels a little bit on the thin side, but that is my only coherent complaint about this one - because other than that, it's a pretty delicious porter.

Final Grade: 3.91, a worthy B+. Of the handful of Innocente beers I picked up while visiting Waterloo last month, I'd have to say that Charcoal Porter is definitely one of the best. By Ontario standards, this is a very well-made, light-ish porter that drinks like a champ and is priced pretty reasonably. While I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way for more, I think I'd continue to drink this beer in the future if it became available locally. Good stuff - worth a try.