DuClaw Bad Moon Porter

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Abingdon, Maryland USA

On tap at Camden Yards. Pours a dark brown/black with ruby edges and a medium beige head. Aroma is roasty with a hint of hops. The taste has prominent notes of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. A big dose of hops too. Very tasty. Roasty, lightly burnt finish. Medium body with a smooth texture and lively carbonation. An awesome beer to have at a ballgame.

On tap at Arundel Mills location. Very dark pour, nearly black. Thin dark khaki head that left plenty of lace. Aroma was of toffee, coffee and cocoa. Thin to medium-bodied. Pretty smooth. Roasty. Strong dark coffee flavor along with some caramel and toffee. Bitter hoppy finish.

at the arundel mills location, loads of coffee coming through for the aroma, which translated right into the flavor, which was strong with coffee on the front, giving way to light chocolate malts on the tail end. the pour was a deep brown with a thin solid tan head, but the body wasn’t quite opaque. the chocolate was very prominent in the aftertaste, but was eclipsed by a strong amount of bittering hops, which was alot more than i expected from a porter. also the body was a little bit thin and watery for my personal liking. overall, this fought hard with the venom to be the best beer in the sampler on the day i was there.

Dark brown, small off white head, roasted chocolate aroma, flavors similar, slightly watery body, pretty decent.

On tap at Hanover brewpub. After a long day shopping at the arundel mills mall, this was a very welcome and appreciated respite from the pain in my legs. Black, with a silky smooth mouthfeel served to separate my mind from the extreme pain in my legs. Very chocolatey/not good with fish. But great on its own.

On tap at Bowie brewpub. Poured out an average, dark chocolate color, with a fast fading tan head. Sticky, and lacy head left plenty of lacing down the sides of the glass. Aromas are of fresh malts, some espresso notes, along with earthy hops, and chocolate malts as well. Earthy hops are present in the aromas, as well as the flavors. Medium mouthfeel, and a quick bitterness to it. The bitterness is more from the roasted malts than the hops. Lingering chocolate and bitterness in the flavors. Decent porter, but slightly unbalanced. Needs more in the way of aromas hops to balance it out.

2 L growler, shaker. Moderate roasted, chocolate, and coffee malts. Not anything in the way of hops of fruits. Deep cola-brown body with an average, tan, creamy head. Moderately sweet, lightly acidic flavor becomes a lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter finish that is somewhat drying. Medium body, watery texture, average carbonation. The bottom line is: a bit disappointing to me, even for a porter. And yes, it has the tang ;)

A fairly standard light porter. Pours dark with a small tan head. Nice coffee overtones with bitter chocolate undertones. Not as strong, complex, or thick as I would like, but very drinkable. As the DuClaw issued pin says, "Don’t be afraid of the dark!"