Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Porter
San Diego, California USA

Pours dark black with a thin tan head. Mellow aroma of roasted malts and slight hint of coffee. Flavor begins with a hint of hops then becomes malty and finishes with a smooth maltiness. Palate is smooth and clean. Medium body. Great on a warm summer day.

On tap - Capone’s (May 2008) - Dry, roasty aroma. Poured black and velvety in the glass. Flavor is crisp and dry, medium body with roasted malts the dominant flavor. That roasted malt flavor is expertly cut with a sharp hop bit that is perfect at cleansing the palate. This is similar to Iron Hill’s Pig Iron Porter, but IMHO, is much better. While Pig Iron is a bit bigger in the body, this one is more balanced between that roasted flavor and hop bite. This is one of the best porters I’ve had in a long time - if not ever.

22oz. bomber served in a shaker pint. Poured a deep brown/black with a slight tan head. Lots of cocoa in the aroma. Roasty/chocolatey malt flavors predominate. A little sweetness. Not a lot of hops, just enough to balance the sweetness. Dry malt finish with more chocolate. A solid porter. Nothing that blows you away, but very drinkable.

22oz bomber. Served at 49.5° in a chalice just a minute or two out of the shorty beer fridge. Aroma is roast, blackstrap molasses, lactose, milk chocolate, woodsy, earthy, and slight dark fruits. Deep dark red color nearing black in low light with a quickly receding khaki head. Initial taste is sweet roast, dark fruits, light fruits, and milk chocolate. The body is soft and smooth. The finish is sweet, malty, and roasty with dark fruits and distant light fruits. I don’t get the "distinctive American hop character." This is a very nice porter, but for whatever reason (I don’t typically drink stout/porters during the warm months) it isn’t appealing to me. Maybe I’ll head outside, get chilled, and taste it again.

Pours mahogany-tinged black into a shaker. Off-white micro head with excellent retention. Smokey caramel aromas. Crisp upfront yet lightly carbonated through the finish. Well-balanced smoked pumpernickel and hops.

Pours a clear dark brown with a beige head and lacings. Medium to heavy sweetness with a light bitterness. Aromas of grains and roasted malts. Bready hint. Light piney hops aromas. A bit over medium bodied. Soft carbonation. Dry finish with a tiny hint of metals.

On tap at Ballast Point brewery in San Diego--Coffee body with tan head. Earthy, nutty, spicily hopped. Clean, crisp, roasty but not overly so. Good representation.

(bottle) Pours black with a light tan head that rings around the glass. Smell alternates from dry cocoa, roasted malt, to a more fruity cherry smell with a light hint of tartness. There are also scents of coffee and chocolate, and a hint of pepper as the beer warmed. A subtle smell of smoke or smoked/salted meat is detected when deeply inhaled. All in all, pretty pleasant on the nose. The flavor is also quite good, with a lot of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and just a terrific roasty/chocolatey, lightly sweet finish that lasts for a long time. With the medium mouthfeel and lower ABV, this would make a really good session beer.