Bluegrass Dark Star Porter

Brewed by Bluegrass Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Louisville, Kentucky USA

This is a great porter. Deep, dark color with a firm, long lasting head. Leaves a nice Brussels lace pattern behind. Flavor notes range from chocolate to coffee and espresso. Light hops bitterness is present and never forgotten throughout the glass. This porter never loses its oooommmph from start to finish. And at $6.99 a six pack this one is going to be a regular for me.

Originally reviewed back on 6/3/03. Received 4.45 score. Added to my RB list to check "Kentucky" as a beer state consumed. A favorite from a state I don’t see much beer from. Fantastic looking porter with an undying head. Great scents of roast and cocoa and some coffee bean. Solid flavors and a good drinker. Healthy body. Great beer.

12 oz bottle. Pours to a beautiful, deep brown, to black color, with a tall, whithe head, and a moderate carbonation. The nose is excellent with lots of good aromas of dark chocolate, coffee, mild roast, and some herbal hop aroma. The palate is firm, with good dark chocolate, and coffee flavor. This beer finishes with more really good chocolate, and coffee up front, then ends dry and roasty. Well done example of robust porter. Very fresh tasting, very delicious beer with excellent dark chocolate and coffee character. A great beer to match with pub grub, shell fish, or deserts.

There wasn’t a lot to the smell. The appearance was beautiful...a dark body with a tan head. The flavor was that of a mild porter. The subtle-nutty, coffee taste was delectible.

I’ll join my fellow Kentuckian in praise of this porter. Very pleasant roasted caramel aroma. Distinct coffee notes, with a very mild chocolate finish. Moderate body. The hops are well balanced and consistent from start to finish. If anything, it might be a little more assertive to qualify as a robust porter.

Appearance: tawny brown color, with a large, puffy, cocoa-colored head that softly, beautifully crumbles down. Aroma: a perfect, subtle blend of chocolate, coffee, cream, with a hint of nuts on the side, and a fair whiff of bitterness. Taste: mouth-filling on first sip and swallow, engulfs the realm of senses, full-bodied, dark, delicious. Excellent texture, big, and giving, while taking, a perfect pull and play on the mouth and tongue. Rolls around inside, bounces and bumps, takes it’s sweet time, and absolutely satisfactory. Eternal, lush, rewarding chocolatey finish, with some fruity notes jutting in at the end. One entirely excellent porter, not too bitter, and not too sweet. Goes down good as gravy. I would have this often, if I could.

Color is a burnt burgandy black toned liquid with slivers of deep ruby red sparkling inside. Soft and puffy tannish head that sits thick for a brief stint, fades to a loose collar and thin broken haze on top, lace in sparatic strings and globby spots. Smell is slightly burnt roasted malt with touches of cocoa, some light dark caramel and coffee beans with some light spiced nuttyness. Taste has a nice overall tight and lasting little roastyness, slighty burnt, slightly dark roast coffee note. Light hop bitterness builds within the roasted malt base and adds a bit of sharpness, but keeps a spicy herbed surface that is benefiting the dry flavor profile and helps to purge the palate. Finishes very nice with milk chocolate coming in with a cocoa powder-like feel and texture in the drying aspects which also has some coffeeness and nutty drying mixing in there which dissipates nicely off the palate. Feel is medium bodied, clean, dry, roasty, and altogether smooth. Goes down with amazing ease and has a relaxing bite and complexing subtleness in its drying. A very nice porter!

Poured out to a nice, black color with a decent aroma of chocolate and malt. Taste is well balanced with plenty of rosted malt backed up by just the right hop presence. A very, easy to drink porter. Porters don't seem to get enough time in my 'fridge. Time to change that. I paired it up with a filet mignon I had just grilled. It was a very good compliment to the beef. I'd drink this one again.