Earl Grey Porter
Royal City Brewing Co.
- From:
- Royal City Brewing Co.
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- English Porter
- ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- +4 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.85 | pDev: 4.68%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 3
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 22, 2026
- Added:
- Oct 16, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
After its warm reception as a pilot brew Earl Grey Porter has earned its place as our winter seasonal. Thick and warming this 5% porter is infused with earl grey tea and transforms into bergamot and black tea dominated beer. Strong notes of bergamot on the nose and palate finish with a distinctly black tea sharpness on the finish.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Rated by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)
3.75/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Jan 22 2026
Jan 22, 2026
Reviewed by scott451 from Canada (ON)
3.81/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.81/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. a two finger light brown bubbly head on an almost black amber brown.. The head diminishes to a layer. Sheets of fine lacing.
Roasted malt smells. Some coffee. herbal. The taste follows the nose. Toast. I am not much of a tea guy so i can't comment on the tea flavours. It finishes slightly dry. Some tea flavours come through in the finish.
Medium body and carbonation. Overall an interesting take on a porter.
Apr 20, 2025Roasted malt smells. Some coffee. herbal. The taste follows the nose. Toast. I am not much of a tea guy so i can't comment on the tea flavours. It finishes slightly dry. Some tea flavours come through in the finish.
Medium body and carbonation. Overall an interesting take on a porter.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.77/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.77/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
500 mL bottle picked up at the brewery within the last month; best before April 31 2016 and served at cellar temperature. I love earl grey tea so there is going to be some inherent bias here.
Pours a ruddy chestnut-amber colour flecked with sediment, initially supporting one finger of frothy, off white-tinged head. It survives a little past the two minute mark, but inevitably recedes in its entirety; a few wisps of film on the surface and a thin collar are all that remain. Looks fairly average, but things start to pick up after a sniff or two - the aroma has a big note of citrusy, oily bergamot that I am really loving. In fact, it's hard to pinpoint a whole lot of anything else because of its prominence. Tea-leafy and vaguely fruity - maybe raisin or blackcurrant?
Very nice; kind of like an English mild crossed with a cup of good tea. More of that tea-leafy bitterness and muddled flavours of currant and fig are complemented quite nicely by the notes of oily bergamot and citrus zest, which serve as the focal point of the flavour profile. Lingering tea leaf and citrus oil bitterness in the aftertaste that slowly fades from the palate. Light-medium in body, with low carbonation levels that gently prickle the tongue; relatively soft mouthfeel. If you're not an earl grey fan then you may find a full pint of this porter to be more than enough, but personally? I wish I'd grabbed a few more bottles.
Final Grade: 3.77, a B+. If I lived near Guelph, I think Royal City's Earl Grey Porter would be a new regular "guilty pleasure" purchase for me. The porter's malt backbone itself is extremely mild and fails to really assert itself above the featured ingredient. Now, if you like this type of tea as much as I do, then you may not consider that a dealbreaker, but it still prevents this beer from reaching its maximum potential. Still, it's recommended.
Mar 13, 2016Pours a ruddy chestnut-amber colour flecked with sediment, initially supporting one finger of frothy, off white-tinged head. It survives a little past the two minute mark, but inevitably recedes in its entirety; a few wisps of film on the surface and a thin collar are all that remain. Looks fairly average, but things start to pick up after a sniff or two - the aroma has a big note of citrusy, oily bergamot that I am really loving. In fact, it's hard to pinpoint a whole lot of anything else because of its prominence. Tea-leafy and vaguely fruity - maybe raisin or blackcurrant?
Very nice; kind of like an English mild crossed with a cup of good tea. More of that tea-leafy bitterness and muddled flavours of currant and fig are complemented quite nicely by the notes of oily bergamot and citrus zest, which serve as the focal point of the flavour profile. Lingering tea leaf and citrus oil bitterness in the aftertaste that slowly fades from the palate. Light-medium in body, with low carbonation levels that gently prickle the tongue; relatively soft mouthfeel. If you're not an earl grey fan then you may find a full pint of this porter to be more than enough, but personally? I wish I'd grabbed a few more bottles.
Final Grade: 3.77, a B+. If I lived near Guelph, I think Royal City's Earl Grey Porter would be a new regular "guilty pleasure" purchase for me. The porter's malt backbone itself is extremely mild and fails to really assert itself above the featured ingredient. Now, if you like this type of tea as much as I do, then you may not consider that a dealbreaker, but it still prevents this beer from reaching its maximum potential. Still, it's recommended.
Reviewed by mark_mla from Canada (ON)
3.83/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.83/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Certainly earl grey flavour. Quite nice, felt like I should have been sipping it in a mug with the fire on at a cottage. Great for relaxing and quieter times.
Feb 08, 2016
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