Medicine Man
Rooster Brewing

With an eye on America's rendition of the English style, domestic porters are quite content to succumb to the arid, dry and stronger yeast character, neutral flavor and a more stern hop balance for flavor, drivability and simplistic variety.

Rooster's Medicine Man pours with a turbulent bark-brown hue, deep in saturation and with moderate translucence. Its spicy scent is bright with white grapefruit, under-ripened orange peel and fresh-cut grass even though its undertow of burnt toast, dry toffee, coffee and nuttiness is fully intact. Its taste acts in juxtaposition where the robust maltiness makes its first mark with its dry sweetness and medium body.

With the sweetness in quick retreat, the cocoa, coffee, walnut and toasted flavors easily outlast the toffee, brown sugar and caramel. But the rise of hops fill the void, bringing its own tangy, bitter and bright taste of citrus, herb and grass. Its fast drying action suggests a much more drinkable porter than is common.

Creamy and arid, its full carbonation lifts the malts and ushers in a quick finish. Medium-light to close, the beer exits the palate with a woodsy bitterness, hinting of stem and leaf. Its light toast-derived astringency speaks to the beer's light and clean palate that exposes some rougher malt edges. But for a summer porter, its perfectly suited for campfires and cool nights.