Arcadia London Porter

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

Medium brown appearance, light brown head quickly recedes to a cover. Mellow roasted caramel has a touch of anise to it. The hops are mellow, but give the impression of a lactic component rather than citric. Herbal, chocolatey in a milky fashion. Honest roastiness, earthy, oily, comfortable in mouth. Low carbonation, medium bodied, excellent mouthfeel, slightly oily and smooth, rich for a porter though I’m very surprised it is 7%. Good flavour balance, but as with most porters, I’m left on my appetite, I can’t think of a time when I’ll crave for a porter.

Rating update, bottle enjoyed circa Thanksgiving 2005.
Picked up some seductive smoke action and am loving this porter even more.

Original review - July 2005, on tap at the brewery.
Creamy, spontaneous tan head on a mostly opaque, mahogany lacquered, deep hue body. Conservative mocha aroma with some accents of semi-sweet Tollhouse morsels and fudge brownies. Creamy as a porter can be. So smooth, with sweet seductive flavors of chocolate and roasted malts, caramelized and roasted pecans, and a dash of freshly brewed espresso. Everything is dead-on. Very, very nice porter.

The Lure:
Dry roastiness and dark chocolate frown at the grainy, rice-like personas hanging in the back. Raisins and figs try to shift their attention, but fail after a while.

The Festivities:
Roasted malt gives bitterness and flavor to coat the dark chocolate, as smoke slowly rises in the background. Body and flavor intensity are satisfying throughout. Well-done no doubt, but nothing special was in my bottle. After a few bottles now, I’m not sure this ages or travels well. Some have been decent but boring, some have been very good, others unpleasant in the nose, but highly pleasurable once tasted.

Transcendence:
A hard-working employee obviously deserves a reputation for reliability.

In the bottle at the 2005 Bad-burek party. Dark and burned and smokey. I loved it. Rich overtones of chocolate malt and molasses. Limited roasted flavor placing it soundly in my porter taste preference. Great malt body and mouth feel. A tremendous beer to cleanse your palate of over-hopped IPA’s during such a session.

Pours from a 12 oz bottle a dark brown color. Medium sized tan/beige foamy head, with mild lacing. Aroma is coffee and chocolate, hint of cherries and fruit. A medium to full bodied porter. Malts are chocolate and coffee, somewhat fruity. Smooth taste. Nice coffee flavored finish. Excellent porter, good flavors without being over the top about it. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

12 oz bottle poured a deep dark brown with a creamy tan head. Aroma is coffee and roasted malts. Flavor is mostly coffee and roasted malts. I didn’t pick up the chocolate in this one that alot of other raters did. Maybe a touch of cocoa and caramel. Carbonation was light in this one it was medium bodied. Pretty much an average porter to me. The words London Porter make me think of Fuller’s which this is definitely not.. Nothing exciting here...

Dark brown color, fruity chocolate malt aroma, wine mixed with malt and toffee taste. really didn’t detect any smoke,maybe it wasn’t warm enough

Bottle. Brownish/black hue with large light brown head. Complex aroma coffee and smoke. Full body with long complex bitter finish. Flavor was full with coffee, chocolate and caramel. Well above average brew and I look for more brews from this brewer.