Anchor Porter

Tasty. I loved the Anchor Steam I had, so it compelled me to seek out another Anchor offering...and lo, my Dad had one in his fridge ripe for the picking! Beer poured dark brown with creamy head. Aroma was strong of coffee. Taste was rich coffee taste with sweet milky chocolate. I’m not distinguished enough to pick out all the other flavors, but it was a nice, complex beer...maybe something fruity, and also the slight metallic tinge noted in another review (only thing stopping flavor from being a 9 in my book).

Date: December 01, 1995
Mode: Draft
Source: Taco Mac, Sandy Springs
Appearance: dark, nice lace
Aroma: roasted aroma
Flavor: rich smokey roasted chewey chocolate flavor, smooth finish

Date: August 21, 1998
Source: brewery
Aroma: very rich aroma
Flavor: lots of chocolate aroma and flavor

Date: August 16, 2005
Mode: bottle
Appearance: black with ruby edges, thin tan head
Aroma: sweet vanilla and chocolate aroma
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, nice sweetness, a bit of tart bitterness in the finish

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Score: **4

The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Deep dark brown with a red hue. Faint brown head. Aroma of dried fruits. Couldn’t get much chocolate or coffee of this but very good for a porter. Similar port like taste with a roasted malt character and thick mouth feel.

Black body with a medium tan head with medium retention and good lacing. Strong yet mellow flavours of roasted malts, rich black chocolate and coffee beans. Nothing new in the flavour spectrum except for a perfect dosage. The light fruity notes (plums mainly) know to stay in the back. The fresh herbal green hops are well integrated. Creamy yet roasted mouthfeel. Very lively carbonation. I’m not rating it as high as some of the best Imperial Somethingblack although honestly I cannot think of a stout/porter I’d like to have more often. One of the cheapest and most easily available basic stout/porter also happens to be one of my favourite!! That’s great news. Sometimes I feel like I am blessed by life… until I walk in front of a mirror...

12 oz. bottle, pours a beautiful opaque black color with a small light tan head and a coating ring of lace. The scent was very chocolately, with hints of roasted barley, nuts and malt. The first sip provided a rush of malty flavor to the palate. A coating mouthfeel with some nice notes of chocolate cake, figs and barley present themselves. An excellent porter.

Almost black and opaque, with the deepest of ruby hues etching the pour. The head is thick and brown, with decent retention and webbed lace. The nose begins with a dark vinous nature, and transforms as it warms into semisweet and baker’s chocolates, with roasted coffee beans... all the while maintaining the wine effervescence. The flavors act accordingly.... at first, a somewhat dry bitter (not quite acrid) flavor steps to the forefront, but as the brew warms, it begins to open up substantially. I pick up bitter chocolates, smoky roasted coffee beans, cacao, a vinous hint (here and there), accompanied by a nice bitter, roasted, lasting finish. The mouthfeel is somewhat creamy and complex.. the body is deep and round. This is definitely one to think about before rating. Honestly, at first, I wasn’t very hip on it, but as it warmed and opened up, it definitely cozied up to my palate. Decent.

Ok.. After trying Anchor Steam and giving it a poor rating, people are going to think I have something against Anchor brewing. Well, I don’t, but this porter just didn’t do it for me. Average

I’m a porter fan but this one just doesn’t do it for me. I expect more complexity and thickness and this didn’t have much of either.