Porter
Big Timber Brewing

Drinking this beer from a pint can poured into
a Belgian tulip glass, on the front porch of an Air BnB, in the snowy Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia at 8:00AM. It’s the middle of January and the birds are singing and the snow is muffling most other sounds as people huddle in their homes to stay warm, but not me— I’m going to enjoy some unhad local beers off the front porch because I’m on vacation.

— I didn’t get around to posting this review until now, almost a month later.

Look: The beer is dark with a large billowy tan head that subsided rather quickly, leaving decent lacing on the glass. How I would expect an American Porter to look.

Smell: The smell is as described on the can; chocolate, coffee, slight maltiness. Beautiful, honestly.

Taste: The taste follows the nose, for the most part. Dark malt on the front end, the aftertaste is nice and chocolatey with some freshly brewed coffee notes. It’s not quite “traditional American Porter”, but it advertises exactly what it is. I am a fan of chocolate and coffee flavors in dark beers, and was not disappointed. There is a hint of alcohol on the initial swallow, surprising for the decently low ABV.

Feel: The feel is quite balanced, not too thick but not too watery, either. I feel this beer would be better served from a tap, or especially, on nitro. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been drinking too many Guinness Draught as of late.

Overall: This beer matched perfectly with the snowy mountain scenes just outside of Ansted, WV in the mid January snow at 8:00 in the morning as a good breakfast beer while the wife slept on an impromptu vacation this winter. I hope to get back up there soon and get my hands on this beer and my eyes on the scenery again. The beer is quite good for me, it checks all the boxes on a solid American Porter. Good job, Big Timber!

16oz can. Bottom can lip is stamped 'BEST BY 04/04/23'.
Black colored body, with red mahogany back lit edge. Two fingers of tan head, and continues as a thick cap. Partial walls of lacing.
Aroma is roasted malts with chocolate and coffee.
Taste follows nose with roasted malts that express darker chocolate and dark roasted coffee. A little bit bitter but there is some sweetness from the chocolate. All follow into the aftertaste. Minimal bitterness.
Fuller mouth feel. Dry finish. Not chalky, not bitter. Good carbonation.
Solid porter with dark roasted malts and expressions of slightly sweet chocolate and coffee.

 

 

16 oz can from West Virginia with a BB date of November 2022 stamped on the bottom rim.

Appearance. Pours with a clear, dark reddish-brown body that looks nearly black in the glass. The tan head looks great for a moment but is just semi-durable.

This is a bold porter with a generous load of dark roasted grains, coffee and earthy/spicy hops. Moderate+ bitterness without an overly bitter aftertaste.

 

Not sure why, but this was really good. (I just wasn’t expecting much I guess)
Poured dark, nearly black with a 1.5” tall head that took a long time to dissipate and left regular lacing.
The aroma was faint for my nose, but I did get some coffee and roasted malts.
The taste, got everything I smelled and then some. The coffee was like a breakfast blend or something- rich and flavorful but not bitter at all. Chocolate shows up here and hangs out.
The feel was a touch thinner than what the flavor implies, if that makes sense. Otherwise it’s fine.
Really good porter, I would be happy to have these local to me.

 

 

16oz can into a pint glass. Best by 11/03/21, s ok just inside the wire here.

Looks decent enough in the glass. Dark, dark brown body. Small tan head doesn't last very long, hence no lacing.

Nice aroma though. Strong coffee notes with a little dark fruit thrown in.

On tasting, coffee and medium roasted malt are the main flavors. Faintly sweet. Warmth suggests a higher abv.

Mouth is slightly below medium, finish roast and coffee.

Overall, really enjoyed this one. The balance hit this palate perfectly. Sad to only have the single can.

16oz can (best by 12/08/21) poured into a pint glass shows a light free, opaque brown body with cola color, at the edges and floats a 2" tall head of milk chocolate colored mixed bubbles that recede to random islands and leaves mostly no lacing.

Chocolate hints lose out to bitter coffee notes above a roasted malt aroma and this continues into the flavor with bitter roast malts led by coffee with a cola-like, and clean, finish.

A smooth, almost creamy, mouthfeel finishes clean.

Overall a fine, solid porter which makes a perfect accompaniment, fortifying both beef stew and patron.

I almost can’t do it. For reals. I’m Raul and I almost can’t do it. Like, you know how it is - ugly sister, that one Kardasian like… but for real, this West Virginia brew can wear the crown. Like, we aren’t talking Miss America, but maybe miss Potomac, and that’s cool. Whatever. Life is and it is, and it is. Live it.

16 ounce can poured into a nonic style pint glass.

Big coffee and chocolate aroma and flavor. Nice and roasty without being to bitter or acidic. Medium weight, silky feel. Nice Porter.

It looks and smells great. A pint can has been emptied into a clear Imperial pint glass mug. This porter has a dense black coffee color with a head thick with tan foam. A very pleasant aroma of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate is pronounced. The glass lacing is another plus. The taste is very well balanced between the additional flavors of chocolate and coffee and the roasted malt. The only negative is the thin mouthfeel. It causes the taste buds to quickly forget what they were sensing as soon as it's swallowed.

Appearance: Pours coffee colored with a one finger ecru head that descends to a film leaving sprinkles of lacing

Smell: Roasted malt, chocolate, coffee and smoke

Taste: Roast and chocolate forward with coffee developing; a hint of smoke, in the middle, with the chocolate returning to wrap things up

Mouthfeel: Medium body but somewhat creamy; moderate carbonation

Overall: This is a really delicious porter; straightforward and traditional

Thanks, Treyliff, for the opportunity

Picked this up on a weekend trip into WV to see some early foliage and get off the grid for a little bit.

A: Fairly typical looking porter--cola dark topped with a thin, sandy head that dissipates fairly quickly.

S: The aroma is chocolate-forward, similar to what you might find in a powdered chocolate--think something like Nestle Quik mix. A little hint of malts peek through.

T: The chocolate and coffee are highlights in the flavour and both are quite strong. The 'beer qualities' seem to take a backburner to these flavours, which is a little bit disappointing. I'd have personally preferred a little more balance, especially in a beer that is not a big booze bomb. It's nice to sometimes have a porter or stout that isn't imperial or quintupled, with intense alcohol spiciness and such--in this case, the flavourings don't need to be quite as strong. A little bit of bitter finish wraps it up.

M + O: Medium body, which does calm some of the intense flavour--it finishes nice and clean and the carbonation is about right for the feel. This is a solid quality for the brew and overall, it's pretty good--just sweet!

First off I should say that I like my beer to taste like well... beer. This one isn’t bad by any means and I can see what the brewer was going for. The taste notes of chocolate and coffee are something I thought I would enjoy. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I want to taste a good chocolate flavored coffee, I will go out and grab an actual coffee. I am a fan of coffee. I am a fan of chocolate. I am a fan of beer. I am not a big fan of mixing these three together.

 

This was a decent enough version, it looked and smelled good, but could certainly use a bit more focus on the flavors, since they felt a bit underwhelming on the palate.

From the tall boy can in a snifter. This nice porter via
Bluejacket74 pours a dark brownish black with a nice head
of tan foam that settles to a thick ring, thin light layer, and
displays some some lacing. Nose of coffee, cocoa, and dark
malts. Flavors follow the nose in a nicely balanced porter
package with dark cocoa, dark coffee, and subtle char and roasted
malts and earthy malts with a hint of herbal hops. Nice mouth
feel; medium full body, moderate carbonation, lightly creamy,
moderately coating, and finishing subtly dry and roasted.

Overall, a SOLID brew from a new to me brewery.

Nicely balanced----nothing to hate and everything to love.

Cheers

Picked this up while on the road as I took a while to get around to it here at the house. This had a "Best By" date of 4/19/19 on the bottom of the can and even though it was a bit old, it still tasted like a good American Porter should. Lots of subtle notes to this but overall, this was a filling beer that was relatively easy to drink and true to form!

Not a bad pour to this as the liquid was a deep brown with just a hint of light seeping in around the edges. Not a lot of head topped it off but the lacing left behind was somewhat spotty, with a thin ring being visible near the top of my pint glass. Coffee, dry toffee, chocolate powder, peat moss, and roasted Malt in the nose as the taste contained all of these to roughly the same extent. Dry and roasted like a British Porter, this had a bit more heft to it as it was a bit more balanced, chewy, and boozy while being a bit dry and slightly sweet in the aftertaste. That was a bit sticky like lactose but not to the extent that it detracted from this beer's essence, which was indeed an American Porter.

The amount of alcohol was spot-on as I could feel a bit of it but never really warmed up or had a buzz come over me during my time with this. Not quite a winner, this was a good take on an American Porter that was enjoyable to drink from start to finish. It might even win a few neophytes over to this underrepresented style!

RBSG bus share. Normal looking dark brown pour with small beige head. Roast grains feature prominently in aroma and taste, with notes of cocoa and coffee. Small hints of sweetness, then a bitter end.

Taste is too smoky.
"Leather" and "coffee" flavors are too prevalent to drink comfortably.
This coming from a man who enjoys coffee porters.
The only thing being it isn't a coffee porter.
Also tends to taste thin and watery.
Usually this could make it taste "crisp" but unfortunately,
it tastes like flavors have been added onto a nondescript beer.
Not bad with a meal, but not good on it's own.

Three inches of mocha foam holds for a long time. The beer is very dark brown and clear, with cola highlights and dense lace on a Pretentious Beer Glass Company pub tulip glass.

The mocha theme carries forward into the aroma very strongly. Rich chocolate and coffee lead to a note of charred peat. The chocolate becomes more like dark chocolate nibs, while the coffee transitions to malted milk balls. There is a hint of wood smoke and warmth brings out cashew butter.

The flavor closely follows the aroma. Coffee tends more towards ice cream with chocolate fudge swirls, and the malt is still quite evident. The sweet and bitter balance both seem to be at appropriate levels. The finish is long and modest, much like iced coffee.

A medium body with satin texture and fizzy carbonation. Alcohol is as anticipated.

This is a good Porter. Personally, I prefer robustness like this rather than the elevated bitterness that seems typical of American versions. I enjoyed this quietly late one cold Saturday afternoon.

A: Dark brown in color with a large soft tan head.

S: Light caramel, coffee, and chocolate.

T: Mellow caramel and roasted grains, with a light sweetness and a coffee aftertaste.

M: Medium light in body, with moderate carbonation.

O: Overall there is a touch of astringency in the finish, and is in opposition to an otherwise creamy brew.

 

Picked up a 16 oz can on a recent trip to WV. Pouring at cellar temp into my snifter glass. the beer pours a dark cola brown color with a creamy beige head of 1 cm that fades to a thin surface layer that remains throughout the sampling. Dense lattice covers the sides of my glass after each sip.
The aroma is pretty bold from the pour with solid hits of roasted malt and some dark chocolate mixing together on the nose. There is a little bit of coffee ground n the background a well but no hops nor any hint of any booze.
The first sip reveals an average body with a bit of a watery texture and very fine and gentle rolling carbonation.
Flavor is similar to the nose with dark chocolate and roasted malt and a bit of coffee too. This roast malt note lingers long after each swallow. Again no hop presence and the alcohol is hidden.
This is a decent malty porter with good roasted character, but the body is a little thin for me. Glad to have tried it, but not sure I would chase it again.

Thanks to BrutalFarce for helping me complete all 51 states!!!!!

16oz can poured into 14oz teku. Poured a solid black color, none of the translucence that typifies the style, with almost an inch of light brown head that had good retention and light lacing.

The aroma was led by very strong roast notes, almost coffee-ish, with solid base grains underneath. On the tongue, the flavor was all coffee, 4 hour old mini-mart coffee.

The body was fairly typical for the style, maybe a touch on the thin side, and had a semi-dry finish. Drinkability would depend on how well one likes that old coffee aspect. Overall, a solid and enjoyable brew, if ya like coffee.

 

 

From the pint can, it pours a deep dark brown with a robust light tan head that slowly fades to a layer and leaves a bit of lacing. The nose picks up roast, chocolate and some alcohol. The mouth gets a well balanced with some roast malts and chocolate. The body is medium.

 

Morgantown WV

 

Look: Nice almost black beer but almost no head.

The hops strains are pungent and don't quite match the flavor of the dark malt.

Otherwise, a pretty standard porter.

 

Had this awesome Porter in Morgantown WV at the full service Marriott. Very nice end of the season (early July) Porter on draft!

Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a cola color with a 1 inch head. Smell has lots of chocolate, some coffee. Taste is a great balance of chocolate and coffee, hints of hops. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall this is my first beer from this brewery, and I'm impressed with it. I look forward to trying some more.