I'm slow to getting around to things, but.... here is my first review of one of Todd's brews.
Avery New World Porter Clone
Let me start by saying that I have never had the original, so I can't make any kind of compare/contrast statements along those lines. I should also add that I am very picky about porters. It's my favorite style, but I am learning that I only really dig porters that fall into a narrow slice of the full spectrum. I lean more towards the brown porters then the robust ones.
Anyway.... on to the review.
Color: pretty damn black. If I hold it near a light, I can see through it around the edges and see that it is a rich DARK brown color.
Head: When I poured this, I got a HUGE head on it that got very rocky very quicky and actually rose up out of the glass. I looked like a root beer float.
NICE!
Flavor: Since we all agreed to be brutally honest here, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10. (Keep in mind the info I gave above about preferring brown porters and being super picky about my porters.... hell I can't even brew one that I like myself and I've tried over a dozen times.
)
There is a subtle bit of sweetness on the nose, wich I quite enjoy. However, this fades quickly into something that my pallette detects as sour. I think that this sourness is keeping this from being an 8 for me on the flav-o-licious meter. It's not sour as in "vinegar", but something else. I can't place it.
The aftertaste left in my mouth 10 to 15 seconds after I take a pull is actually VERY pleasant, but my tounge is left feeling a little dry. I can't decide if that dryness is a pro, con, or neutral.... I'm just making the observation.
Body: Spot on for my picky porter tastes. It couldn't be better. Just enough body to make you notice it, but not over-the-top to make the beer too heavy.
Good beer, Todd.
I may have sounded critical on the flavor, but I would still place this closer to the top of the heap of porters that I have tried than the bottom. There were three or four porters that I sampled at the brewfest that went immediately onto the ground.
-walker
PS: SWMBO drank the other two I had in the fridge (the IPA and the ESB). I'll try to make her do a review when she gets back from her cooking class tonight. I've still got one bottle of each kind, but I kind of promised those to Richard. I might just have to share them with him so we can both review.