Burton Bridge Burton Porter

Brewed by Burton Bridge
Style: Porter
Burton-on-Trent, England

Murky, deep copper colour, fruity aroma (apple, pear?). Slight sourness, hops in the mouth, a bit thin. Slightly sharp bubbles, maybe from the bottle conditioning? Not a pleasant apple flavour (like seeds, core and peel).

********************************************** /> Re-rated SE23/07

App.: Deep brownish-black with a small light mocha head. Aroma: Light basement mildew, more of the apple notes from before but this time there’s also some chocolate and vanilla, maybe even coffee. Palate: Medium body and full (but soft) effervescence. Flav.: The same unpleasant apple tastes, now with a background of porter (dark chocolate, some coffee and milk chocolate), a touch vinous/woodsy; dry with a hint of tang, subtle bitterness.

Still not a huge fan. Seems better than the last time, with more malt coming through. Seems to get worse as it breathes and warms. 6-3-6-3-11 2.9

Cask at Trafford Arms Norwich 24 Sep 06. Pitch black. A tiny soapy head. Metallic flavour. Hopeless. The state of the beer is questionable. Must try to find it again!

This has to be one of the least exciting porters I’ve ever had. To me, a good porter should be full and rich, bursting with taste and body, but the Burton Porter had none of that. It was as though someone accidentally mixed in a Corona with a proper porter. It pours a dark brown, but with some light behind it, it’s actually much clearer than you’d expect a porter to be. The head rises to about an inch, and fades to a scattered lacing. The aroma is quite nice, but hints at the lightness of the beer. Mouth feel is good, with a nice creamy sort of carbonation. It’s too bad the lack of general taste and body makes it so unattractive. This bottle also carries a premium price, up there with some of the better trappist beers. In that range, I do expect a beer to be special, and this one is not. On the positive side, it is easy to drink, and there are no offensive tastes or smells. It might be better suited to a "hot day" kind of beer. If you want a good porter, try the Sinha Stout and leave this one behind.

What do you get when you cross apples coffee, malt, chocolate and hops? Burton Bridge Porter. I liked it, can’t say that I’ll buy this beer often but there’s a chance I’ll pick it up again just to see if my sense of taste is still with me. It is a very complex tasting beer to describe in under a paragraph, but that is what makes this beer interesting. It was VERY smooth going down, very easy to overlook it’s complexity because of it. In general I was very impressed. In a class of its own I would say.

500ml bottle Poured a murky dark brown ...not much chance to see "ruby highlights" in this mucky looking brew. 2 finger rocky tan cap goes to a surface lace. Aromas of over-ripe fruit, some mustiness some medicinal tones...smells like cheap pipe tobacco. Thin body, weak malting, soapy mouth feel, astringent fruity character. Starts with a mouth full of hops like chewing raw pine needles, then a blast of green apple skin hits the palate...midway there are some interesting flavors that develop like strong espresso, tobacco, burnt grain husks ( but in a bad way..all too sharp and acidic)....then these all coalesce in the bitter finish to produce an unpleasant styptic astringency . Not my kind of porter...I think I’ve bought my last one.

500ml Bottle: Pours a stunning red-hued brown, almost like a flat Coca-Cola, with a very thick brown head; very cloudy and opaque. Aroma is quite strange; heavy on grassy and earthy tones with what seems like hints of tobacco and fruit. Flavour is oddly a burst of apple followed by bitter roasted coffee and making way to a tremendous nutty aftertaste I *loved*. Surprisingly easy to drink due to a thin body of sorts, but intricate and complex enough to please. Well done.

bottle conditioned: "Dark fruity beer with a distinctive bitter palate" Translation: Tastes like over-ripe fruit or left over christmas cake whose bad after-taste is a warning sign to your body that something is rotten! The fruit palate completely overwhelms this beer & the bitterness is like a Bitter’s after-taste x 15 (this is beyond sour). This might actualy ruin a stew I think if you tried to cook with it. This beer smells like cheap wine or port: not a good sign. It even looks murky. Says it was originally brewed as "something different" for a beer festival: this is not a good origin if you ask me. Cmon guys: stop being brainwished, stop the group think, don’t confuse excessive flavour with good taste & call this what it is: one very bad beer! Save your $ and time! I love heavier, flavourful beers but this is just awful. Maybe this was a bad bottle but this whole experience tasted rotten.

Bottled. Brown, somewhat cloudy, thick but weak-bodied head. Smells highly vineous and malty, but the taste is mostly watery, with some coconut and a briny, very dry and slightly sour finish. A bit plasticky, metallic and burnt. I appreciate that this may be an archtypical old-world porter, but I can’t say I liked it.