Kona Pipeline Porter

Brewery: Kona Brewing Company
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.40%
Country: USA, Hawaii

Deep and dark brown, nearly black but not quite. Nice sized head that lingers a long time and leaves plenty of lace. Rich coffee aroma with a hint of sweetness behind it. Great smelling brew. Dark coffee flavor, almost espresso like. Has a little bit of grassiness to it. Flavor ends with a deep roasted flavor and a mild bitterness. Nice medium body with a little acidic feel to it. There was an odd flavor/feel to it that I couldn't quite figure out. Still good though. B-

The Duck-Rabbit Porter

Brewery: The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.7%
Country: USA, North Carolina

This bottle claims that the Duck-Rabbit brewery is the "Dark Beer Specialist" so I had some high expectations when pouring this one.

Pour was a dark black color that had some brown around the edges. Tan head dissipated quickly not leaving much lace. Smell had a light sweetness combined with a smoky, roasted character. Taste is fantastic. Plenty of good and dark flavors to choose from. Smoke, coffee, burnt charcoal. Similar to what I'd expect a fireplace to taste like. I really enjoyed this one. Just for the record, I can see both a duck and a rabbit, but it looks more like a rabbit. A-

Samuel Adams Holidy Porter

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.9%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Poured mostly black with some brown around the edges. Aroma was mostly sweet and sort of medicine like, hard to place. Initial taste was very sweet, almost cola like. Finish was quite bitter as well though the two flavors were disjointed. This somehow managed to be both too sweet and too bitter at the same time. I also felt like the medium body was overly carbonated as well. I didn't care for this one at all and don't want the second one that came in the case. D

Sierra Nevada Porter

Brewer: Sierra Nevada

Style: Porter

ABV: 5.6%

Not usually a big fan of Sierra Nevada's offerings I was limited in choices from the local convenience store. I went with this due to it being winter even though I was in Florida with temps in the 70s.

Upon initial pour and inspection all I could think was coca cola only it maintained a slight lace once some of the head receded.

The aroma was that of toffee and roasted malt.

Taste wasn't anything to write home about, I didn't get much of anything until about mid mouth. Thats when I could taste the toffee with a slight hint of licorice. Finished off with a short lived bitterness. Mouth feel showed a light carbonation but not the smoothest beer I have drank.

I'm giving this a C, overall average, nothing to special.

-Roy

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Old Dominion Baltic Porter

Brewer: Old Dominion
Style: Porter
ABV: 7%
Country: USA, Delaware

Was out and about the other night at American Tap Room for drinks. Not a bad selection here, plenty of choices outside of the typical selection of lite beers. Decided to give this a try based on the recommendation of the bartender.

Standard pint glass was nearly black in color some faint hints of brown around the edges. Thin Head.

Pleasing aroma of light coffee mixed with some toffee sweetness.

I was expecting a thick stout like body, but this was surprisingly light and watery. First tastes were of mild coffee and not much else. The problem was that this was served WAY too cold initially which I suspected was hiding a lot of the flavor. Sighing, I decided to wait it out. After maybe 15 minutes of my hands providing heat to the glass, I ventured another attempt. Much better the second time around. Coffee flavor was much more pronounced than before. The toffee that I detected in the aroma also became noticeable. Notes of licorice also started to make an appearance. The biggest change was that the mouth feel took on a wonderful buttery and creamy character. Finish had a good bitterness to it with pleasing smoked wood taste.

This served as an important lesson on having your beer at the right temperature. A general rule of thumb is the darker the beer, the warmer the serving temperature should be. Had I done this rating based on the cold temperature, this would have been a C or even a D. Having it at the right temperature turned this into a great beer that I would certainly enjoy again. A-

Road Dog Porter

Brewer: Flying Dog
Style: Porter
ABV: 6:0%
Country: USA, Maryland

Poured mostly dark and opaque, some caramel around the edges. Sort of like a darker Coke. A thin head recedes quickly to a ring of lace around the edges.

Has an aroma faintly suggesting coffee, caramel, and even a hint of chocolate.

Licorice, coffee, almonds and sweet caramel malts give way to a slightly spicy-bitter finish. All flavors are mild and fleeting. Less bold than a stout less sweet than other ales. Strikes a good balance between the two but leaves me wanting a bit more. C+