Mr. George's Ruby Porter
George Bateman & Son / Batemans Brewery

The appearance was a nice dark brown close to black color with a one finger white foamy head that quickly dies to barely nothing. Lacing is nowhere to be found, The smell makes up for the look as there’s a nice roasty yet somewhat dark fruity/mostly plum-like aroma overcoming some slight sweet malts that try to come through. The taste was mainly sweet and roasty with a nice leading dry roasty aftertaste that ends up leading to a semi-decent dry finish. On the palate, this one sits about a light to medium on the body with a semi-decent sessionability trying to run about it and end up leading to a fairly decent carbonation somewhat good for the style. Overall, this was a very good English Porter and for the most part nothing to be reckoned with since this is from England.

<This review was posted 3/4/11, but was moved to Dark Lord, the name this goes under when sold in the UK. Now that there are again entries for each version of this beer, I'm moving it back>

1pt,0.9oz bottle given to me by my brother for Christmas. Thanks, Bro! No freshness date, though some sort of code that appears to have been stamped at 10:23 is on the neck of the bottle. According to the label, "This is a VEGAN BEER."

Poured a dark brown with a slight, tan head. It takes on a dark, rubyish tinge when held up to light (hence the name ruby porter, I suppose).

Roasted malt and mollasses in the nose. Smells like a straightforward, no frills porter.

Roasted malt provides a coffeeish flavor, there's also some nuttiness and some restrained brown sugar. Slightly acidic tasting. Modest dryness at the swallow.

Mouthfeel is a little bit thin, slightly prickly.

This is a no frills English porter. Not a bad beer, but there are better ones out there. I'd definitely choose a Fullers' London Porter or a Taddy over this, but it hit the spot paired up with some scrambled eggs and toast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attractive but undated brown 500ml bottle served in a snifter.

Poured a very dark mahogany color, less ruby colored than expected, with a small tan head that mostly dispersed quickly.

The aroma features dark roasted malts, dark fruits and hints of chocolate and some light spicing.

Taste: Subtle hints of spices mixed with vague dark fruits, dark breads, a touch of toffee and hints of coffee and chocolate: a nice and fairly well-balanced mix. Good sweet/bitter balance too.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth and properly carbonated, but a tad watery in the finish.

O: quite enjoyable English porter that improves with some warming (Mine started at about 45F).

This is a nice English porter. Polite. It is a dark brown color with a thin head. It's smell is malty, gristy, and just a little musty. Semi sweet in taste. More attenuated than expected, and carbonated as well. Firm bitterness, but not much hop flavor. Medium body. Very English.

Comes out of the bottle a slightly ruddy sable that lets in a peak of light at the edges. Light wheat head has average thickness, and doesn’t stick around too long but leaves some good lacing. Rich, smoky aroma has notes of molasses, licorice and roast malt plus a hint of caramel. Flavor has caramel, brown sugar and mocha tones, not much depth but still palatable. Texture has decent fizz, but body is on the thin side and finish is rather wan. Overall, a decent porter, if not an outstanding one.

Poured a deep well..ruby tinged brown with a very thin almost non existent head atop,aromas are deeply fruity with underlying caramel and molasses,very rich.The mouthfeel is smooth but a tad watery,it does go down easily.Fruity flavors with some cakiness and caramel notes as well,it's not very roasted and not much hops presence.Not a bad old school porter,it's very English and is a fitting drink after seeing the Hobbit tonight.

 

 

 

A: The beer is very dark reddish brown in color (it’s not quite opaque because light is visible at the bottom of the glass when it is held up to the light). It poured with a quarter finger high beige head that died down leaving lacing on the surface and a ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of brown malts and fruity yeast in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell but has stronger and more complex flavors with notes of toffee and raisins as well as hints of roasted malts. No bitterness is noticeable.
M: It feels on the lighter side of being medium-bodied on the palate and has a low to moderate amount of carbonation (similar to what you would expect from a cask beer).
O: This beer is very easy to drink and tastes rather complex for its lighter bodied nature.

Poured into a snifter.

3.5 A: Dark brown color. Just about a finger of frothy tan head. Retention is average at best and a short ring of lacing is left.

3.5 S: Dry grainy roastiness. Semisweet chocolate with notes of caramel and molasses. Maybe a touch of prune as well.

3.5 T: Drier than the nose and graininer too. Less chocolate and molasses as well. Caramel's still there with a light pruny fruitiness. Clean.

3.0 M: Lighter medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Could be creamier as it lays heavy on the tongue.

3.5 D: Tasty, easy drinking beer. Nothing special though.

Poured from 500mL bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: very dark brown with, indeed, ruby highlights. Head pours two fingers of frothy tan foam. Not bad.

Smell: sweet malty aroma with a lot of fruity character and some caramel notes thrown in as well. There's also almost a woody character in there. Not bad, but a bit on the sweet and caramelly side.

Taste: very much like the aroma. Sweet and fruity with caramel character. A tiny hint of roastiness comes in at the end. Tasty, but a rather mild porter experience.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a decent level of carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: this is an interesting porter, in that it has almost no roast-malt character at all; that said, it is tasty enough and eminently quaffable. I'd have it again.