Hoppy Porter
Two Brothers Brewing Company + Tap House

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had lunch at Two Bros yesterday and tried the 2011 Hop Juice Fest winning recipe....Hoppy Porter. The beer poured an opaque black with cramy off-white head that laced all the way down my glass. The smell had good pine/citrus hop notes mixed with good earth and roast hints. The taste followed the smell quite well. The mouthfeel was a medium cramy body with good carbonation. Overall I thought it was a pretty doag gone good porter. Nice jon Mike and Mark!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours pitch black, blacker than Northwind. Barely any light on the edges. Walls of lace.

The nose is fresh and hoppy as hell with some strong citrus notes that fade into a bit of robust malt and cocoa. Hop forward for sure.

This beer has a great balance between hop and roast. Up front, you taste the fruity hops and then immediately follow some coffee, cocoa, and roasted malt. The roast is subtle, as is the floral hop offerings, making a great balance.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied but on the heftier side. A nice level of carbonation keeps the flavors stickin' around for quite some time.

Overall, great black ipa/hoppy porter. The hops are fresh and delicious while keeping great balance with the malt. Yum status.

A gift from Vonenrichs. Thanks!

A: Poured from a growler into a shaker pint. Bubbles cascade from the bottom of the glass to form a sizable mocha colored head. Good retention. Lots of lacing. Beer itself is a very dark brown, enough to appear black in a pint glass, but it did manage to show some light through when I got to the bottom of the glass.

S: The aroma is surprisingly subdued, but there are some notes of heavily roasted malts, coffee, and chocolate.

T: Quite flavorful and robust, though at first I didn't care for it. Loads of dark roasted malts. Some cocoa, chocolate and coffee. Then a strong hoppy quality comes through as citrusy pine and a herbaceous mintiness, giving the beer a somewhat chocolate mint quality that I don't care for much. But the hop flavor subsides, becoming more a simplistic pine flavor, as the roasted malts begin to dominate the beer. Light char quality. Long finish.

M: Full bodied with appropriate carbonation. Mild to moderate bitterness. Dry and somewhat chalky.

O: After 3 pints of this, I've come to enjoy this beer. The flavors at first just seemed out of balance and minty, but luckily it just seems to fade. Not sure what the ABV is on this one, but it can't be too high as I can barely feel the 3 beers I've had. Overall, a nice hoppy porter.