Palmside
Castle Island Brewing Co.

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From:
Castle Island Brewing Co.
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
American Porter
ABV:
6.4%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.9 | pDev: 11.03%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
26
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 27, 2018
Added:
Oct 08, 2016
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  7
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SpdKilz:
Photo of SpdKilz
Rated by SpdKilz from Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Nov 04, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by KMcGrath from Massachusetts

Nov 27, 2018
 
Rated: 3.87 by Wizzman from Massachusetts

Nov 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.83 by Maudrey from New Hampshire

May 27, 2018
 
Rated: 3.84 by Gkruszewski from New York

Mar 17, 2018
 
Rated: 3.21 by CreightonSM from New York

Dec 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4.05 by vfgccp from New York

Dec 27, 2017
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Canned 9/05/17

Pours a light fizzy head that fades at a fair pace, a little lacing, very dark brown pretty much black color

Nose brings a nice coconut, not too strong, some baker's chocolate, and dark chocolate, some toasty brown malts, caramel, biscuity, etc.

Taste brings some coconut, toasted biscuity malts, brown malts, a little caramel, some dark chocolate and cocoa cereal, coconut is there but lighter than I expected, but everything blends nicely, with a little bitterness from roast and mild earthy hops.

Mouth is med bod, decent carb, little fluffy

Overall not bad, nice flavors, wish the coconut was a bit more, but better than being way too much, nice malt profile.
Dec 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.82 by TheEpeeist from Maryland

Nov 22, 2017
 
Rated: 5 by redsoxjim from Massachusetts

Oct 15, 2017
Photo of ichorNet
Reviewed by ichorNet from Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
I really like Castle Island (as my positive review for their new year-round DIPA, Hi-Def, indicates!) and I've had a sample of this at their taproom before. So, of course I picked up a four pack of this a few weeks ago when it was super fresh (only a few days old). I didn't really like the one can I had then, so let's see if a few more weeks of conditioning have smoothed out the astringent and overly-roasty flavors, shall we?

Pours a deep brown color with some slight garnet tones coming through. Must be a filtered beer, as it's just too dark of a body to support any particular hue penetrating its inky depths if sediment matter were to be involved. Nice medium-dense head of khaki foam supported by streams of micro-bubbles from the depths of this dark brew. Great lace as the initial foam settles down too. A solid appearance here.

Nose is macadamia, coconut and roasty notes with the requisite "tanning lotion" vibe I get from a lot of these beers. There's been a surprising uptick in the amount of coconut porters on the market in my area, and as a coconut fan, I'm happy with this trend. This one seems to have a bit more chocolate and maybe even coffee in the nose than, say, Baxter's Window Seat. Conversely, it's a little less nutty overall and feels perhaps more "biscuit-y"?

Biscuit forward on the tongue, as expected from the nose. Some nuttiness and coconut in the mid-palate. Velvety smooth with roasted coffee, somewhat-bittersweet dark chocolate (maybe something like 70% cacao?) and more coconut in the finish. Somewhat sharp ethanol-like component, but less bitterness and roast than I remember from the first brush I had with this batch in cans. I'm not sure I like this being in the 6% range... I feel like a more mild brown porter recipe in the low-to-mid 5% range would be a better base. That's kind of nitpicking, though, I suppose.

Feel is fuzzy, well-carbonated and bright in spite of the beer in my glass being dark, and this experience holds true even warmed to cellar and room temperature. There's a lot going on in the body... it seems dextrin heavy but it glides effortlessly across the palate and smooths out toward the finish with a forward coconut flavor. Seems like a few weeks in the can had a somewhat noticeable effect on my drinking experience, which is interesting to note. Perhaps it's just circumstantial, however. Regardless, I think this beer comes out just a bit under the aforementioned Baxter beer and the similar Coconut Hiwa Porter by Maui Brewing Co., but it's still quite a solid choice for those looking for a new sweet-ish porter with a twist.
Oct 13, 2017
Photo of Davepoolesque
Reviewed by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

4.21/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Coconut porter. Roasted malt, toasted coconut, milk chocolate and vanilla. Rich malt flavor. Coconut doesn't taste fake. Awesome feel. Smooth and medium bodied. Shorter, semi dry finish and keeps bringing you back for more. This is outstanding.
Oct 03, 2017
Photo of smcolw
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

3.89/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Deepest dark brown where no light passes through the edge of the glass. Modest head that settles quickly. Decent lace of plentiful spots and an initial ring of lace.

Nearly unidentifiable Porter aroma, this smells more like an APA than a Porter.

Like an Almond Joy, sometimes you feel like a nut. There's a definitive almond flavor to the mostly coconut and semisweet chocolate flavor. Thin bodied with a moderate carbonation, this is an easy to drink Porter.
Oct 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.99 by VelvetExtract from Massachusetts

Sep 17, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by braican from Massachusetts

Jul 31, 2017
 
Rated: 3.77 by Dizzy242 from Massachusetts

Jul 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by Coorsy from Massachusetts

Feb 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.97 by Jofroi from Massachusetts

Dec 24, 2016
Photo of ScaryEd
Reviewed by ScaryEd from New Hampshire

2.54/5  rDev -34.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5
Poured from a 16 oz can into a tulip.

Pours a dark cola brown color with a half-finger of khaki head. The head dissipates rather quickly, leaving behind some splotchy lacing.

The aroma is all coffee. Just burnt Starbucks coffee. There's a faint hint of coconut as it warms, but it's just overpowered by the burnt, day-old coffee note.

The taste is much of the same. Coffee that's been sitting out a bit too long followed by a slight hint of vanilla and coconut. Finishes bitter.

The feel is light bodied with lower carbonation. Burnt coffee lingers on the tongue for far too long.

Overall, a very weak porter. I expected a lot more flavor and depth and I got what is essentially an old cup of burnt coffee that reached room temperature. I hope my other cans are better than this but I'm not counting on it.
Dec 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.92 by Lunchboxhead from Massachusetts

Dec 02, 2016
Palmside from Castle Island Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 26 ratings