Tuatara Porter
Tuatara Brewing Co.

A: Dark brown with a ruby tinge when held to the light, 5 fingers of beige foamy head and a thick lacing.


S: Chocolate, Kailua, a light fermenting cocoa bean, cocoa, toasted notes.


T: Chocolate, toasted notes, a hint of metallic, leather as in a new leather couch or baseball mitt, a hint of sweetness, a hint of acidity, old and new mixed together well here as a porter should.


M: Medium and balanced of body and medium light powdery carbonation.


O: Very well done New Zealand brew for the style. Got at Beer Box, Chiang Mai, drank Dec 9th, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Tuatara London Porter [5.0% ABV]

330 ml brown reptilian bottle, stamped best by July 2014, purchased and consumed in Wellington, NZ.

Pours opaque and near black with a proportionate tan head. Excellent lacing.

Aroma: rich and moderately complex, with a mix of roasted grains and a clear suggestion of chocolate.

Flavor: fine blend of dark malts; no burnt tones; some dark chocolate.

Feel: medium-full body; lively carbonation for style.

O: A solid London style porter.

 

The last of six Tuatara bottles from a mixed pack. Certainly looks like a London porter, strong coffee brown to almost black with ruby red highlights. I was surprised by the copious amount of tannish head that kept its shape astonishingly well. Aroma hits most of the style essentials, milky coffee, roasted barley, and fruity notes that recall dried currants. Some subtle citrus on both the nose and palate, of the sort that seems endemic to NZ hops. Thinnish body for the style and quite crisp and dry with a creamy body, recalls an Irish dry stout in this regard and also veers this way in the flavor department. Not particularly fruity, smoky, or sour, instead provides a mosaic of chalky chocolate flakes, leather, and faint Irish cream caramel with just a hint of dark fruit. Roasty but not exceedingly bitter. Nice visual presentation and solid robust flavors, I would have liked more of the sourish character you get with bona fide English examples like Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter, and again the malt character was tasty but a tad unidimentional. Still, a solid finish to an enjoyable foray through the NZ jungle.

 

 

 

 

A -nearly impenetrable cola black, half finger of head dissipated to a thin cover, some random lacing left behind
S - big roasty and cocoa aromas, some dark cherry, mild coffee and licorice
T - the roasty and mustiness is powerful, mild cocoa powder, touch of breadiness
M - slightly heavy, very dusty and dry thoughout
O - the dark malty flavour is in your face and not bad but maybe a little over the top for the style, and its a little heavy to the point where it has definite stout tendencies, not bad but not a standout

330 mL btl into an oversized wine glass.

Pours a cola, dark earth black with some brown-ish hues. almost no head what so ever. Carbonation looks like a flat-ish coke.

Smells slightly sweet and burnt coffee with some crushed coco nibs and warm winter spices: anise/all spice/ clove/nutmeg.

The malt base is slightly sweet, with a bitter hop note to balance it out rather well. Some of the spice remains but is intergrated very, very well. Deep spice blend with over tones of light roast, too fresh coffee (especially the dry, green, woody finish)- very cola like. Some citrus in the acidity.

The mouth feel is dry like oak and green coffee. Medium body with marginal carbonation.

I think i got a flat, dead beer. the taste is there as well as the nose but it was just dead. I look forward to having another one andhopefully it will improve.

330ml bottle poured into tulip 24/10/12

A the darkest brown with a deep cola edge, just a thin mocha cap that's gone quickly but it manages to leave a fair bit of lace

S chocolate covered raisins and coco, bakers chocolate and leafy hops mix with a little burnt coffee

t roast is even darker and I pick up on a little citrus I didn't smell, dark chocolate and espresso, its not the most complex brew I've had but it tastes pretty good

M pretty thin but creams up from the bubbles and has a nice hoppy coco finish

O solid porter and you could drink a few without falling over, I could drink a few no worries, not the richest beer but some hops sneaking around the hops

not a bad little beer from my mixed 6er, I've had good luck with Kiwi craft beers and I hope it continues

330ml bottle, the last (planned by the Canadian calendar, BTW) from my Tuatara mix-pack. The rainy post-Thanksgiving weather very much calls for this now, even though it only comes in at a standard 5% ABV.

This beer pours a deep, dark brownish hue, with reddish cola highlights, and two fingers of bubbly, densely foamy beige head, which leaves some limestone bluff lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of roasted caramel malts, bittersweet chocolate biscuits, some mild nut butter, and somewhat zesty leafy, earthy hops. The taste is more chocolaty up front - the dry, flaky baker's sort - supported by a decently stout caramel malt, some further milky nuttiness, and still prominent, and agreeably bitter, earthy, leafy hops.

The carbonation is somewhat zingy, but mostly just supportive, the body a healthy medium weight, and flirts with smoothness amongst that still loitering hop edginess. It finishes off-dry, the chocolate centerpiece still holding fast, and the mostly sweet milkiness and bitter hops providing overall balance.

A decent old-world porter, though lacking in that subtle sourness that one expects in the style. The big, though well moderated, chocolate notes make up for this to a point - I could see sucking back a few more of these as things outside get colder and more bleak by the day.

Not bad. Served slightly cold and poured with a nice, tan, foamy, fine head that settled down after a bit and a little lace. Color is a perhaps clear, but very dark brown mahoganey. Aroma is quite mild - malt, dark fruit, cocoa, roast. Flavor’s much like nose, but much more pronounced and all the main parts well balance: it’s fairly sweet, but good carbonic tang, plus some nice dark malt bittterness. Body is good; ditto carbonation. Finish is like flavor, on the short side in length;very drinkable.

Pours black with ruby/copper highlights.
Nose shows a lot of sweet crystal, they weren't joking about the "generous" amounts of specialty malt. Also nice nutty notes and soft roasted hints.
Flavours present more dominant roasted malt but includes some harsh notes. Not enough sweet malt (which is wierd considering the aroma).
Good carbonation, not too high!

Its a minerally, sharp, slightly roasty nose. Decent.

Good, dark brown colour with a big, foamy, tan head. Great head retention and lacing.

It's a tasty porter. Chocolatey with just a hint of roast. A tiny bit fruity in the background. Good. My only criticism is that it is just a touch thin.

Medium-light body augmented by a high carbonation. This is a little off for me as I like my porters a little smoother.

A tasty little porter. Easy to drink and still satisfying.

Appearance-Pours with two fingered tan head which quickly dissipates to thin head.Dark amber colour when held up to the light.Good carbonation.Leaves lacing all the way down the glass.

Smell-Chocolate malt smell,nothing to write home about.

Taste-Creamy,roasted chocolate malts.The label says Smooth,Dark and Rich which is an accurate description.A tastey brew.

Mouthfeel-Creamy and full at first but gets a bit thin towards the end.

Drinkability-A nice brew i could quite happily have a session with this.

Poured into a glass mug. Best before 15 apr 2010.