25th Anniversary Robust Porter
Great Lakes Brewery

25th Anniversary Robust Porter25th Anniversary Robust Porter
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From:
Great Lakes Brewery
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
Robust Porter
ABV:
7%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.04 | pDev: 8.42%
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
34
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 08, 2014
Added:
May 09, 2012
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by hopsolutely:
Photo of hopsolutely
Reviewed by hopsolutely from Canada (ON)

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A stunning American porter, albeit more expensive than I'd typically choose. Definitely a decent splurge.

Although a clear, well filtered beer, it pours an almost completely opaque black and has a magnificent coffee-coloured head that leaves lacing all down the glass. Mouthfeel is silky without being oily or cloying.

Aroma of roasted dark malts with a smoky rather than caramelized backbone. The flavour is exceptional. It's well balanced, with all the coffee and roasted malt sweet & spicy elements you'd expect, but a delightfully "west coast" bitter finish that lingers for an impressively long time.

Well done, Great Lakes. Very much looking forward to the next 25 years!
May 12, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by kinguy from Canada (ON)

Sep 08, 2014
Photo of mmapes
Reviewed by mmapes from Colorado

3.85/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Thanks to Andrew for the trade. Opened in October 2013, poured into tall goblets.

Pours very dark brown, big tan head - an inch maybe. Smells of stout, molasses, only a hint of smoke, maybe dried fruit. Maybe a hint of licorice. Smells sweet.

First sip is malty, grainy, smokey up front. Sweetness is immediately balanced by smoke. Grainy, smoky long finish. A little too smoky for my taste, but well balanced with big grains.
Oct 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by KeKeKumba from Canada (ON)

Jun 28, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by vande from Illinois

Mar 23, 2013
Photo of ssmack
Reviewed by ssmack from Canada (ON)

4.4/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Pours a solid black colour. Two inches of very dense head. The lacing is incredible. There is actually thick foam on the sides of the glass.

Smells of sweat hops and maltiness and burnt chocolate.

There is a heavy, thick taste of burnt chocolate that fades into warm smoothness. A touch of vanilla extract at the end. There is just enough bitterness to complement the main chocolate flavour.

Full body feel but smooth.

A very well made porter.
Mar 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by DaPan from Canada (ON)

Feb 13, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by tln13 from Pennsylvania

Dec 19, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by bigox420 from Canada (ON)

Oct 07, 2012
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A good complex porter, big beer. Very roasty, with thick mouthfeel, and decent hop flavour. More bitter than 40 ibu would indicate. Black as night, a sipper. Very drinkable, roasty aroma. Ageing this for a few months may have helped the flavour and smoothness.
Oct 03, 2012
Photo of BGDrock
Reviewed by BGDrock from Canada (ON)

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: even under light, almost completely black; big coffee coloured head, long lasting

Aroma: chocolate and anise all over the nose; some bitterness from the roast malt

Taste & Mouthfeel: dark bitter chocolate very pronounced and grows more bitter and dominant at finish; thick and creamy, like if you let a piece of chocolate melt in your mouth; detecting some hop bitterness in the finish as well which may contribute to the length; coffee and anise flavours show as well and are on par with the chocolate by the time the bottle is done

Overall: "robust" is right, it's a hefty beer, almost like an imperial stout; all the components work right and well, but nothing extraordinary
Sep 30, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by kelvarnsen from Canada (ON)

Sep 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by LampertLand from Canada (BC)

Sep 12, 2012
Photo of Rutager
Reviewed by Rutager from Canada (BC)

3.88/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks Liamt07!

Appearance. Pours black with two fingers of creamy tan head that lasts a while.

Smell. Roasty malts and some sweet chocolate with a little citrusy hops .

Taste. Roasty dry malts, some dark chocolate and bitter coffee, some hops, but more on the herby side rather than the citrus I was smelling.

Mouthfeel. Medium+ body, medium-low carbonation.

Overall. Nice porter. Fairly big and still easy drinking.
Sep 07, 2012
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle: Poured a deep pitch-black color porter with a large brown foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of dry roasted malt with some clear black chocolate notes and light sweet notes is quite interesting. Taste is dominated by medium-dry roasted malt notes with some black chocolate and light coffee notes. Creamy mouthfeel with full body is really enjoyable with no apparent alcohol. I really enjoyed this beer and something that would be a good candidate for barrel-aging.
Jul 19, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by bryehn from Canada (ON)

Jul 13, 2012
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

3.39/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Bottle thanks to liamt07. Served in a tulip.

A - A finger of tan foam settles to a thick cap, leaving curtains of lace. Dark brown body with a touch of ruby transparency.

S - This drinks like an English Porter, rather than an American. There's only some mild roast character, with a hefty dose of brown, biscuity, and nutty malts instead. Some semisweet chocolate, sugar cookie, and a touch of herbal hops rounds things out.

T - The taste has a bit of a smoked meat quality to it, helping to offset the sweeter chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and sugar cookie malt flavors. Still, this is much to sweet for my liking, and could stand for a tad more roasty bitterness to help balance things out.

M - Melted chocolate texture, with a mix of sticky and tannic textures. Dry finish, medium bodied, and moderate-to-low carbonation. Plenty ample for the listed 7%.

D - Not a big fan of this one. The sweetness grows cloying, and there's something about the malt bill that is vaguely evocative of extract brewing. Perhaps Great Lakes will make something like Everett for their 50th Anniversary Robust Porter...
Jun 25, 2012
Photo of WeedKing4
Reviewed by WeedKing4 from Canada (ON)

4.15/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark jet black with caramal head. Tastes very roasty, with strong chocolate notes and a hint of smoke with coffee and vanilla in the finish. Very nice body for a porter and its not thin at all. Very impressed with this Ontario offering and I can only hope its somehow more regularly available.
Jun 09, 2012
Photo of wordemupg
Reviewed by wordemupg from Canada (AB)

4.12/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
750ml capped and waxed bottle poured into tulip 3/6/12 thanks liamt07 for the bottle

A near black but has a deep cola edge, large mocha foam falls fairly quickly and leaves no lace

On my second pour the head slowly falls to thin film and leaves a few partial rings of lace, perhaps a dirty glass

S creme brulee, coco powder, faint licorice, booze and hops, nutty toffee and just a little smoke

T some espresso and charred wood on top of what I smell, coco's still strong, no hops or booze though but I'm OK with that, an improvement over the smell with loads of dark roast, robust indeed

M feels not as thick as I would guess, mellow carbonation and just a little sticky on the lips, nice dark roast aftertaste lingers for a while

O taste's and smell great but there's room for improvement in other areas, that being said this is one solid brew

great taste carries this one pretty far, not that thick but still quite rich and smooth. I had no problems with the 750ml bottle and would've drank a second if I had one, for now I'll just thank liamt07 for the one bottle I got too drink
Jun 04, 2012
Photo of jrenihan
Reviewed by jrenihan from Canada (ON)

4.2/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Beer is black, though with a bit of a brownish hint. A moderately sized tan head results from a vigorous pour. Decent retention, some lacing.

Smell is dominated by roasted malt. I also get some vanilla, as well as coffee and some liquorice.

Taste follows the nose, and is very nice. Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, a touch of vanilla and liquorice. Fairly bitter. Alcohol is slightly noticeable. Altogether a very tasty beer!

Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, a bit oily.

Overall, very nice. Liked this better from the bottle than tap (but it was good in both forms). A very high quality offering from Great Lakes!
Jun 02, 2012
25th Anniversary Robust Porter from Great Lakes Brewery
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 34 ratings