Porter
La Conner Brewing Company

 

 

Quite attractive deep dark brown in the Pilsner glass with a big, handsome foam. Plenty sudsy in the mouth. The flavor is nothing to brag about, however. A woody, earthy flavor that makes me think of bark, with more burnt malt flavors than roasted.

The body is watery. Just a tang of hops with the slightest darker finish, but no real hop flavor. A hint of soapy water. Overall, this is a quite unsatisfying and off-balance dark, charry brew. On tap at the brewpub in La Conner.

I noted an odd, punky yeast character to the smell and taste of this porter. I can't tell if this is a stylistic anomaly or a problem. Roasted qualities are cast aside in favor of an implied spoilage. The nitro body imparts a creamy texture and enhances drinkability. But it may be a salvage effort at a beer that otherwise tastes like roast marshmallows. Skates by as drinkable but just barely.

I was served a pint glass from the tap at the La Conner, Washington brewpub. The beer menu indicated that this beer is: " A dark ale with flavors that can be described as roasted and chocolate. 7% ABV".

A: It poured a dark brownish-black body with a foamy on finger tan head and suprisingly uniform and resiliant lacing.

S: It had a pleasant aroma of chocolate and burnt malts with hints of some dark fruit.

T: It had a thin sweet burnt malt and bitter chocolate profile. The bitterness lingered into the aftertaste. There were hints of tart plums.

M: It was a thin bodied and somewhat watery. The alcohol was not well hidden and it finished with a tart and bitter aftertaste.

D: It was a tad bland and watery for my tastes. For a high end ABV porter it did not have a sufficiently robust characteristics to make this a must have porter. But it was pleasant enough to try.

Very dark brown brew, nice off-white head with good lace on the glass.

The smell is predominantly chocolate malts with some hazelnut notes. The flavor profile matches the aroma with a large amount of roasted tastes. Full bodied with excellent carbonation. A very, very good porter.

Appearance – Black body with a nice, tan head that held really well and laced the heck out of my glass.

Smell – Nice, even chocolate and burnt aroma. There’s some really raw sugar in there along with a little bread.

Taste – This is nice. The flavors from the nose come together balanced; strong without overpowering. The sweetness comes out more on the tongue and is now recognizable. Instead of the dark fruits normally associated with a porter, these are actually quite light, even tart maybe. But, they are subtle and non-obtrusive.

Mouthfeel – Flat and creamy with a hint of alcohol. I’d call this full-bodied, but on the lighter side.

Drinkability – If you like the raucous, knock-your-socks-off porters than this might be a disappointment. But, I thought that this was an enjoyable drink and will definitely buy again.