Pick Axe Porter
Silver Gulch Brewing and Bottling Co.

 

 

 

I had this beer on-tap in a pint glass at the Silver Gulch taproom in the Anchorage airport.

Appearance: deep, dark brown with ruby highlights and almost no haze. Head is a thin finger of frothy tan foam.

Smell: caramelly aroma with just a hint of chocolate and a mild sweetness. Subtle, but good.

Taste: caramelly and nutty; it's more like a brown ale than a porter. For all its mildness, it's not bad, though.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: it's not super porter-y, but it is a highly drinkable brew. Think more dark mild than porter, and you'll find this beer very satisfying.

 

This was poured into an English pint glass. The appearance was a nice hazy dark brown color with a one and a half finger white foamy head that dissipated within about thirty seconds. Light lacing stuck and then slid adequately around the glass. The smell had a nice roasty to sweet blend of chocolate malts and coffee beans. The taste copied the smell for the most part. There’s a light sticky sweet roasty coffee aftertaste leading into a dry sweet finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. The carbonation was somewhat subdued but mostly good, nice rolling smoothness overlays itself on my tongue. Overall, I say this was a pretty good American Porter that I would have again.

 

 

 

 

Pours a deep brown, like cola syrup with almost no head to speak of. Held up to light it almost takes a more mahogany/cherrywood hue.

Nose is sweeter and fruitier than I was expecting. Fairly weak overall though. Faint roastiness and kind of a metallic twang. meh.

Flavour is a bit better, but still somewhat surprising. This does not scream porter to me. For 4.5% there's a definite alcohol-ness to it that might seem in place in a much bigger brew, but it just kind of sticks out like a hitchhiking thumb here. Cherry sweet malts and some caramel and toffee and roastiness, finishes bitter in the way that ambers finish bitter. Feels like it wants to jut out into vanilla creaminess, but its parents quashed that dream early and told it to try and be more... I don't know. But it ends up muddled and confused. I don't regret having picked it up, but I also don't regret having only grabbed the single instead of the six-pack.

Pours a clear brown color with a thin white head. Has a nice roast smell with hints of coffee. The texture is first noticed. It is smooth then the taste of a light roast with a touch of coffee. Very very nice porter. Would drink this all day. Good job the the brewery.

12 oz in a Teku

L: Black with a hint of brown when held to a light source, small beige head, minimal lacing
A: Chocolate, caramel, roasted malts
T: Roasted malt, chocolate
M: Smooth, creamy, a tad thin
O: Very enjoyable, a great porter

 

 

I picked a 12 oz bottle up in the Anchorage airport.

Appearance: Pours a dark forming with a small head and with minimal lacing.
Smell: Chocolate, malty. Not fruity.
Taste: Very pleasant. Chocolate comes through.
Mouthfeel: Thin, no body.
Overall: A pleasant beer that I would like to try again. It could use a bit more substance in the mouthfeel but overall, quite good.