Deschutes Black Butte NA. Canned on 11/14/2025. Fantastic head retention and soapy lacing. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, nuttiness, brown bread/crust, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, dark fruit, yeast earthiness, and light char. Smells just like the normal beer. Taste follows with big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, nuttiness, brown bread/crust, herbal, grass, wood, peppercorn, pine, dark fruit, yeast earthiness, and light smoke/char. Light-medium pine, woody, roast, charred bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and light-medium body; nice creamy/silky malt mouthfeel with lingering sticky hop and chalky roasted dryness. No cloying, acrid, astringency. A little thin, but flavorful and great for the NA style. Tastes very close to the regular porter on malt complexity with a nice amount of their house English yeast notes. I need to buy their beer more often, it's been a long time. I look forward to the Fresh Squeezed NA and Fresh Haze NA soon. Very impressive all around, and doesn't have the usual cardboard and astringent bitterness of NA beers I have had in the past. 4.25/4.25/4.25/3.75/4.25: 4.2/5 Cheers
Nocturnal Storm - Rising Storm Last Porter in the house. Nice and smooth way to transition into evening.
Drekker Sticky Digits S'mores Porter, 6.5% ABV. I overrated this 4.06 back in October. No sticky, small digits. Looks and smells great though.
Anderson Valley BBA Salted Caramel Imperial Porter, 9.5% ABV. Pours brownish black with a 2.61 finger beige head that left very little lacing. Aroma is bourbon and caramel. Taste is caramel and salt, some bourbon, faintly sweet, slightly bitter. Decent mouthfeel, overall very goodish. 3.83/5 rDev 0% look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 OK, my bad. A few months ago, desperate for something to review, I picked up a number of stouts/porters I usually wouldn't. They've been haunting my fridge ever since, but I'm clearing some space for better beers. Barrel-aged a whole six months. Doesn't totally suck, just unremarkable.
Many thanks to @bbtkd for this gem. This is an imperial porter with coffee and Vermont maple syrup expertly blended in by Covert Artisan Ales in South Dakota. So tasty. Dynamite in a 6.3 oz package. Thanks man! Tom
