Appearance: Poured into an Imperial Pint. Dark brown with large head the increases in volume as the beer is allowed to sit to warm up. The head is composed of a tight matrix of densely-packed bubbles of a tan hue. Head takes a while to sink back into the glass; half a finger remains throughout drinking, slight lacing. Dark amber highlights when held to the light: possible ruby tones as well.
Aroma: Sweet malt dominates. Sublte raisin. No evidence of hop bitterness. No roast.
Taste: Malt sweetness is forefront, but a noticeable tinny aftertaste soon takes over. Sign of oxidation? Definite metal. Again, no hop bitterness in the taste. A mild sense of dark fruits also present.
Mouthfeel: Thinner than I expect, but not detrimental. Carbonation seems high for the English-style.
Drinkability: Seems like a well-balanced brown porter, but the metallic taste detracts from the drinkability big time. I know Sam Smith's is a great brewery, but I don't think I'll be choosing this option again anytime soon.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by olllllo
I think unnecessary puctuation and excessive capitalization is a sign of hysterical lunacy.
From a 550ml bottle poured into a standard American pint glass
Appearance - Dark brown, tight inch high tan head
Aroma - Just from the pour I get earthy hop aroma. Aromas of sweet figs in the malt profile.
Flavor - Initial flavors of toasty bread, followed by fruity malt with some dark caramel sweetness. That gives way to a little roast flavor followed by the hop bitterness in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel - Full bodied, creamy, but still dry. A little minerally, chalky, but some of that is from the roast.
Overall - This is a very complex beer. Very easy drinking. It's doesn't have an overpowering roast character like some American Robust Porters can have. The roast flavor seems ot act in cooperation with the hop bitterness to balance the malt. I love the balance between all of the flavors. A fantastic beer.
The third, and final tasting for tonight is a Samuel Smith Taddy Porter. I love dark beers, so I was pretty sure this one would be a no brainer for me.
It poured black, with an almond colored head that stayed present for most of the drinking, although did finally dissipate at the end. It didn't appear super heavily carbonated, which I have occasionally scene (and didn't like) in this style of beer. The smell was wonderful. It was very complex: sweet and malty, with hints of figs, brandy, cherries, raisins, and just a tiny tiny hint of chocolate. Then I tasted it. I have to say the first taste wasn't nearly as good as I was expecting. In fact it was rather bland. But I had poured it straight from the fridge, so I thought maybe as it increased in temperature it would develop a bit more character. And it did. The more I drank, and the more it warmed up, the more the flavors really started to come through. Everything that I smelled in the beer I could taste, along with a very slight roasted flavor. I'm not sure if they used a little bit of roasted barley in this recipe, but it kind of tastes like it. The roasted flavor comes out after everything else. Just when you think you have grasped the full taste of the beer you get this slight roasted flavor, and that is the last thing that sticks with you. The carbonation was perfect, just a very light bubbly feeling, but not overly so. I definately enjoy this beer, and would drink it again, but it seems really sweet, and I think it would make a wonderful desert beer, perhaps with a nice slice of cherry pie, and I'm not sure that I would drink more then one, maybe two in a sitting.
I'll keep my opinion short. I'm not a judge nor do I want to be. I liked it. It was dark and had a full mouth feel. That's about the best I can put it. It was good. Would I get it again? Probably not. But a porter isn't going to be my first choice any way. Cheers
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Think with your dipstick Jimmy.
I think my bottle was a little bit off. I was nervous; the four-pack had clearly been on the shelf a little while (kinda dusty, not protected from light), and it's traveled quite a ways. Almost seemed to be two off-flavors, a bit of a harsh edge that seemed out of place (I think an astringency would be the best description). I think I was picking up the classic wet-cardboard stale/oxidized notes.
Still, I could get a pretty good sense of the beer regardless of the off-flavor.
Really, just not my thing. Very sweet, but sweet mostly with that toffee-sweetness rather than a malty sweetness. The aroma is all toffee-sweetness, there is a bit of balance in the flavor, but still leaning towards "sweet". Without wanting to sound like I'm channelling JZ, it's sweet without the toasty/bready/malty flavor. Imagine there's a fairly significant of crystal malt in there. Pretty thick, chewey. I am picking up some bitterness, but very subdued roast character. Mild chocolate notes, sweetened coffee.
I do think that it's mostly the style that I'm not a huge fan of, it's a bit sweeter than I generally go for. I'd probably like it more (on a cold night like this, not in July) were it fresh and on cask.
EDIT: There's definately an aftertaste there as PseudoChef noted, and I'm debating whether it's atringent or metallic. Definately doesn't seem to be right. Another compelling argument for drinking local!
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter
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