Beer Here Mørke Pumpernickel Porter

Beer Here
Brewed at Nøgne Ø
Style: Porter
Copenhagen, Denmark

Bottle at home .... thanks to Jeppe for this one ... deep black .. thin tan head ... sweet soft chocolate roast ... dark malts ... little chcocolate ... little nutmeg ... almost pumpkin ... little toffee ... over spiced

Bottle. Pours a black color with a small longlasting tan head. Has a roasted malty spicy chocolate and bready aroma with some hints of coffee. Roasted malty spicy chocolate flavor. Has a warming roasted malty spicy chocolate finish with some bitterness in the aftertaste.

500mL bottle poured into a tulip. Pours completely black, opaque, with no light coming through anywhere. There’s a small but thick tan head that shows very good retention and some delicate lacing. The aroma has a healthy dose of roasted black malts and a noticeable licorice and molasses presence. The spices are present but certainly not dominant. The taste starts off much like the aroma with a thick, slightly charred black malt backbone supporting some molasses and dark fruit sweetness. The spices are much more present in the taste, especially in the finish where there a tingly spice presence lingering after each sip. The mouthfeel is full bodied and extremely viscous with soft carbonation and pretty thick on the palate overall. I enjoyed this beer quite a bit as I think the pumpernickel really brings some complexity to the flavor and mixes well with the heavy roasted malts from the porter. Very unique.

Bottle. The body is an extremely dark mahogany color, almost black, with a thick and lasting head of smooth, brownish-mocha foam. A dense wash goes over the glass with each sip, slowly breaking apart into fat spots that dribble their way back towards the surface. The nose is complex and robust, striking an excellent balance between toasty dark bread, sweet dark fruit, dry cocoa roast, and bitter, earthen hops. Hints of smoky molasses creep in, as do faint notes of licorice and coffee. It’s really quite a nice smelling beer. Flavors are similarly balanced, though perhaps not quite as complex. The rich cocoa, burnt caramel, and figgy fruit show ample sweetness to counter the roastiness of the dark bread and the earthy, peppery hops. It’s smokier than the nose would indicate, with the molasses coming through nicely, but there’s a touch of saltiness that I don’t really care for. The coffee element intensifies on the finish. Medium-plus in body and initially creamy, the palate shows a drying chalkiness on the back end. Overall, this is a damn fine porter. A few tweaks here and there would set this one near the top of the genre.

Bottle poured a clear dark brown with a lasting brown head. aromas of bitter chocolate, vanilla, coffee, licorice, plum, raisin and light spice. Palate was medium to full bodied and smooth. Flavors of dark chocolate, licorice, roasted malt, light coffee and light plum with a smooth lingering chocolatey fruity finish.

THOUGHTS: Brilliant. I was disappointed when I looked this beer up because the guy at the store told me it was a Nøgne Ø, but I tasted it as was very surprised and pleased. Reminded me or Tröegs Dead Reckoning Porter and was a little like Beer Geek Breakfast. It’s crazy that not many others think this smells or tastes like pumpernickel bread, because it does. It was way better than I ever expected. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was an opaque black in the glass with a large, light brown head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma was moderate to heavy dark bread, pumpernickel, roasted and burnt malts and rye; a little less chocolate and coffee; and licorice and cola. The initial flavor was lightly sweet and bitter; while the finish was slightly sweet and rather bitter. There was roasted malt, dark bread, pumpernickel, rye, dark fruit, licorice, coffee, and a little bitter chocolate. The medium to full body that leaned more toward full was a bit oily, but somewhat creamy had fizzy carbonation and a slightly metallic finish.

Pours black into an English pint. Creamy mocha micro head with excellent retention does not recede. Dark caramel aromas. Creamy anise and licorice upfront turning to a smoky pumpernickel finish.

(Rating #3000) Black colored with little light brown head. Rich chocolaty aroma with natural cocoa note, some herbal spicy tone also here. Medium bodied. Flavor is also soft with roastiness dominating, some caramel and chocolate also here. Aftertaste is sweet still with some peppery tone.