Church-Key Chocolate Porter

Brewed by Church-Key Brewing
Style: Porter
Pethericks Corners, Canada

341 mL bottle from the brewery. Almost black, with a nice brown head. A healthy amount of bittersweet dark chocolate in the aroma, with some underlying roast. Pretty much the same goes for the flavour. Creamy mouthfeel is slightly hindered by carbonation that’s a touch higher than it needs to be. Nothing exciting, but it is well done. Much better than last time I had one of these.

341 ml bottle from tupalev. this is my third bottle of the 3 i got from jeff and each was a little different. pours black with a mid tan head that quickly reduces. muted chocolate aroma, very small but pleasent. flavour is thin but enjoyable. chocoalte and coffee notes. body is thin. ok for a session porter but ive had many better porters in my day. the 3 scores for the 3 bottles ive had would have been: 2.9, 3.9, 3.4. thats shows there is quite a bit of inconsistancy from this brewer.

341ml bottle thanks to Tupalev, thanks Jeff! Pours a totally viscous brown into my snifter, with a small mocha-tanned head. Aroma is very sweet and roasty, chocolatey, hearty malts, robust, nice! Flavour is very rich, roasty malts balanced quite well with sweet chocolate malts. Dry roast finishes out the show very nicely. Maybe just a little bit fizzy, but I’m pretty sure there’s some yeast sediment in there that helps out boosting the body. Almost reminds me of PC Decadent chocolate chip cookies (my own weird interpretation). Very well done! Too bad it’s so damn hard to get stuff from this brewery. A top-notch, bang-on example of this style IMHO.

20oz draught
8.0% ABV
The 8.0% ABV was clearly written on the keg. I tried this beer on January 11, 2008 at "Smokeless Joe’s" in Toronto. The beer poured a brownish black with a finger thick tannish creamy head. The aroma was a mixture of roasted malts and chocolate. The mouthfeel was medium bodied, creamy, and medium carbonation. The taste was definitely chocolatey. The alcohol, while not tasted, was certainly felt.

Deep brown body, medium tan head. Strong roasted malt aroma with touches of coffee and dark chocolate. Thin, somewhat sour, acidic body, with chocolate (Hershey’s syrup) and roasted malt, neither too sweet nor too dry, but somewhat unpleasant. The remainder tastes like stale toast, the kind that was burned and left on the counter for several hours. A disappointing beer.

(341 ml bottle: Obtained 24-Mar-06 in trade with blankboy, thanks Paul!) Pours a dark walnut brown body topped by a small, tan head. The aromas of nuts and roast quickly greet my nose, but contrary to my expectations, it doesn’t smell too much like chocolate. Fairly roasty flavor too, kind of nutty, perhaps a bit yeasty. Somewhat chocolaty in the finish I suppose, but it’s more a baker’s chocolate, definitely very little sweetness here. Moderate bitterness. Body is medium-full and doesn’t thin out one bit in the finish. Rather dry on the palate, and carbonation is gentle. Head retention is nothing special, settling to a sparse, filmy layer, and lacing is minimal as well. Overall, a pretty easy drinking porter, decent and enjoyable, but not nearly as "decadent" as the name would imply. They set the bar far too high with that name and the beer can’t follow through.

Deep read near black pour with a tan bubly thick head. Berry and chocolat scent. Very rich mocha chocolat taste. Malty and earty with a lingering aftertaste that lasts. Foud a bit of nut in the finish as well. The best Church Key I have had.

341ml brown bottle from gilvanblight. Poured deep dark brown, head was sparse, tan in colour. Flavour is lightly roasty, malty, slight coffee. Quite dry with some chocolate and black coffee finishing notes. Body a bit light/thin. Would be a nice session beer.