Dry Dock Porter
Amsterdam Brewery

20oz draught
5.0% ABV
I tried this beer on draught on January 29, 2010 at "Smokeless Joe's" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The beer poured a dark brown with black hues and a 1" thick light brown. The aroma was roasted malt, molasses, and cherries. The mouthfeel was medium to full bodied with mild carbonation. The flavour was dry cocoa, roasted malt, and sweet fruit with a bitter finish.

I picked up a sixer from the brewery a couple weekends back, and it was the first time anyone who worked in there actually treated me like a human being, and not something to be ignored. It probably helped that it was one minute till closing and the guy was packed and ready to go home. But still. It was a nice change of pace.

It comes in a clear bottle and, nitpicking asshole that I am, I can't help but wish they put at least a modicum of effort into packaging their seasonals, because most at least have a neck label to signify what lies within. But not this. This is just a clear bottle with the generic Amsterdam label. Oh well.

Pours an incredibly dark black, completely impenetrable by light, with a thin tan head.

The aroma is full out roast, with maybe a little Nutella and marmite on toast along for the ride. God that sounds like an appalling breakfast from hell, but it smells better than I make it sound. Trust me.

The taste follows, with a nice dry roast, loads of cold black coffee in there. I almost feel compelled to pick coffee grinds from my teeth. Some baker's chocolate mingles in there as well as a nuttiness and just a hint of a trace of dried black fruits. There's a slight bitterness in the middle that's washed away by the dryness of the finish.

The mouthfeel is pretty light and thin, which is definitely this beer's major weakness.

It's certainly one of Amsterdam's better offerings, one which doesn't really strike me as a porter so much as a sort of brown ale/Irish dry stout hybrid, if such a thing exists. But yeah. It's good. And I like it.

A rich dark brown with a hint of mahogany, red-ish hue in the light, with a thick thin bubbled head, dissipating fairly quickly, with some lacing around the glass. This looks appealing.

The aroma is full of roasted malt, coffee, a little smokey, some woody notes of cedar or peat and a touch of vanilla.

The tongue brings some bitter sweet chocolate, some roasted and chocolate malt fronting, vanilla, bitter cocoa beans, coffee notes, and a slight licorice twist on the dry bitter backing. There are also some caramel flavours, but nothing too heavy.

This has a medium carbonation, and a moderate body, and a very nice dry finish.

This is very drinkable and a good example of the style.

Good work!

Viggo hooked me up with this one. thanks eric!

12oz bottle. sampled feb 5/2010.

pours deep brown with a small fine brown head. drops fairly fast but leaves some spotty lace behind.

aroma is nice. dark and bittersweet chocolate. espresso. dark toasted whole wheat bread. biscuit. bit of cracker. caramel. buttery toffee. touch of alcohol. light lagery character. fruity english character. bit earthy too.

taste is nice. espresso. dark and bittersweet chocolate. bit of milk chocolate. toasted whole wheat bread. cracker. bit of biscuit. light alcohol. caramel. bit of buttery toffee. fruity. medium-low bitterness level. touch of herbal character. lightly earthy.

mouthfeel is good. medium body. medium carbonation level.

drinkability is good. nice balance. a decent porter.

With their revamped nut brown, I wondered where they were going with this... but it is considerably different.

A: Brownish-black with ruby highlights, tan head, thin ring of retention, some lacing.

S: Coffee and roasted nut, dark chocolate, nice British fruityness.

T: Strong coffee flavour, with some bakers chocolate & roasted nut; dark caramel; biscuit; light, non-descript British fruity esters; good bitterness.

M: Well-attenuated with a body on the lighter side of moderate, carbonation is just a tad high for a 'London' porter.

D: A good drinker, but I'd love to try it on cask, unfiltered with a modest carbonation.

The Porter style has continually evolved, and I think this one is bordering on what we'd now call a dry stout. I suspect it's of the late 19th century (perhaps even turn of the century) variety. I think the Americans (BJCP?) would be inclined to call this a robust porter.

Good stuff.

Pours very dark muddy brown, with a little white head. Roast in the smell. taste is roasty, and its drinkable like a decent shwartzbier, but it is acidic and highly carbonated. Several positives and negatives, worth it if its available at your bar.Cut the carbs(ination).Second bottle shared with Milos et al seeral weeks later and dry like an Irish dry stout, more decent appearance with black body and white head, and aromas of chocolate came through nicely (mellowed).

12 oz bottle, big thanks to bobsy for grabbing me a couple!

Pours a very dark brownish red, some light in the edges, very thick brown head forms, quickly settles to a very thin ring, a few lace spots stick, not the greatest retention.

Smell is neat, lots of dark fruit, very sweet, some caramel and brown sugar, a good dose of chocolate and roast, a bit of cherry, some vanilla, a touch of licorice, nice biscuit/bready character as well, smells alright.

Taste is alright, malty, lots of licorice up front, caramel, some brown sugar, light bit of smokiness, some dark fruit, a bit of iron, light chocolate and coffee roast in the finish.

Mouthfeel is light bodied, very thin feeling, low to medium carbonation. Not a bad porter, certainly would be better with some more heft to it. Thanks Rob!

Picked up a few bottles from the brewery to give this new offering a spin. Amsterdam seem to be a bit more successful when they make forays away from lagers, so we'll see...

Comes in a clear glass bottle with no indication of the contents. Its cheap and probably also contravenes Ontario packaging regulations. Pours such a dark brown you'd swear it was black. Immediately a bubbly tan head jumps up and lasts for a few minutes before settling to a collar and depositing the odd streak of lace on the way down. The aroma is full of roast, but mostly coffee and bitter chocolate. There's perhaps a touch of earthiness to it as well.

The flavour is impressive. Both the coffee and the chocolate come through strong, and there's a fairly assertive bitterness that lingers on after the sip. The earthiness is there, but its definitely the roast that dominates. Unfortunately the body is a little off, but not enough to ruin the beer. Its a touch too light and the carbonation is a little higher than it should be, which lends the feeling of a soda.

This is a pretty good effort, and better than their regular lineup. If the body was bulked up and the carbonation toned down I think this would be a winner, but at this point I can't overlook that issue and it will prevent me from buying any further bottles.