London Calling
Lamplighter Brewing Company

This beer is showing as retired, but is very much still available. The label is a bit changed as it is now 5.4% ABV and there's no reference to Taza Chocolate but rather "Porter with Cacao" is now on the label. The beer is medium bodied, maybe a little on the lighter side. The nose is all chocolate and the taste is the same. Lots of chocolate, dark and roasted malts, somewhat sweet, no hop presence to speak of, not at all boozy, easy to drink, not much aftertaste. The beer does not lack for anything even at 5.4. This is a lighter, slightly less complex and less robust version of its cousin Werewolf of Cambridge. I like this one better. It isn't fancy but it hits all the right notes and I'm glad they un-retired this beer.

 

 

NO can date. Had to drink this and get it out of the fridge. Everytime I opened the fridge to get a beer, I saw this and then The Clash would be stuck in my head all day

Pours a tan colored fizzy almost 1 finger head with lower retention, fades to nothing pretty quick, no lacing, chocolate brown dark color with no real light coming through

Nose brings layers of cocoa and dark chocolate, with red raspberry notes as well, chocolate raspberry cake like characters with a little cake-like malt character, and sweet malts with a touch of caramel, then some mild roasted coffee

Taste brings some fruity flavors that I didn't expect, almost like a tropical stout level of fruit but not tropical, instead more berry and a strange generic fruity character that I often get in beers that continued to ferment, but I don't think that's teh case here, rich layers of chocolate, cocoa, dark chocolate, then more of that chocolate cake character, light espresso coffee like but not a harsh coffee tannin, light bitterness, a little yeast character though so maybe it did ferment a bit more in the can, mild sticky finish

Mouth is med bod, a little creamy lush, med to a bit higher fizzy carb

Overall not bad, nothing too special, the chocolate and raspberry was nice, but there was something off with it, likely fermented in the can a bit too much

 

Picked up a can of this at Julio's Liquors. Odd that it's canned on 10/10/19 yet this wasn't added until almost a month later.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a nice dark brown hue with a thick almost two finger light mocha head that fades to leave light lacing and a thin wispy head.

S - Aromas of light roasted malts, flashes of chocolate before going towards rich cacao nibs, rich dark chocolate, slightly dry and chalky, little earthy and almost red berry like dark chocolate aroma. As it warms the dark chocolate pops out even more.

T - Taste is similar to the nose with solid roasted malts, light vanilla, good chocolate malts before leading way to a creamy almost milky dark chocolate. There is a little bit of fruity chocolate as well along with more of that dry, chalky flavour that's slightly off putting. There is an almost creamy lactose thing going on that is interesting but becomes rather one note after a while.

M - Mouthfeel is a bit higher carbonated than is typical for a porter yet still creamy. The body, however, is rather light which leads to a thin mouthfeel.

O - Overall this was a decent enough porter but perhaps I had higher expectations. Taza chocolate is just lovely so I expected more of it to pop on the nose and taste. Maybe a heavier stout would translate better than this lighter ABV and feeling porter. A shame.

Serving Type: Can

 

 

Poured from a can fresh from the brewery, dated 10/10/2019. Porter brewed with cacao nibs from Taza Chocolate.

Looks nice, dark brown with a tan head that fades to a fine layer, with sudsy lacing.
Smell and taste are bold chocolate and dry cocoa notes with dark roasted malts and caramel grain. Some earthy bitterness balances with chocolate sweetness and light floral honey too.
Medium thick body, fine carbonation. Somewhat bitter, dry finish.

Overall very tasty! Always happy to find a nice dark beer from these guys, glad I picked this one up. Hope they make more!