Porter Warsaw
Browary Warszawskie Królewskie S.A. (Brau Union Polska)

A bit of forewarning about this review. The bottle I have is a bit elderly. I'll try to give the best representation with that in mind. (Also, it's the only bottle of this I've ever seen..)

Pours a very deep mahogany colour. Not quite opaque, but getting there- I have to hold it very close to the light bulb to see through the pint glass. Nice healthy creamy tan head, a bit thicker and longer lasting than expected, with a trailing head underneath reminiscent of the pour on a Guinness- but disappearing much faster. Giving it a swirl, there's a bit of very wet lacing on the side of the glass.

There's a strong alcohol accent on the smell (the ABV is a tad higher than style)- but it's almost overpowered by a deep malty, syrupy smell combined with overtones not unlike soy sauce.

OK, let's taste this elderly porter....

The maltiness comes through right up front- almost syrupy, with lots of alcohol on top. As the flavour progresses, it gets a bit woody, then a bitterness kicks in- but more like a burnt toast bitterness than a hop bitterness. This bitterness seems more apparent as the half-liter bottle goes on. There's just a hint of malted-robitussin flavour in the aftertaste. It's not unpleasant, but not really what I was looking for or expecting.

Right off the top, there's a very tight, concentrated fizziness at top, surrounding a hearty viscous body underneath.

This one is not one I would drink regularly. It's definitely for "thick necked guys named Gunter" as the old Martin Mull beer commercial proclaimed. If this one has mellowed with age at all, it would have killed me when if was fresh.

Granted, for the age of the bottle, It's not bad. It was stored well (placed in a dark cool place and sort of forgotten for ::cough::: a couple of years), so that may have helped.

Be well
-UF