Eel River Certified Organic Porter

Brewed by Eel River Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Fortuna, California USA

Nothing spectacular about this. I’m always confused at the "organic" label as if that is supposed to make it taste better. Perhaps it’s for the environmentally conscious beer drinker. Anyways, this was a standard porter. A nice roasty aroma with chocolate and coffee. The flavor was a bit...ashy..is the best I can describe as I didn’t really care for it. Sweet malt and coffee also has a profile in the taste. Not bad.

02-Apr-06 (12 oz bottle: Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA) Seeing how much I raved about this porter last year, I had to try this again just to see if I still held the beer in such high esteem. Wow, this is a serious chocolate bomb. Sweet and very chocolaty from start to finish with only a light roast and bitterness early that totally succumbs to the dominance of the milk chocolate. Again, roast is light in the nose, but the aroma is more sweet malts rather than blatant chocolate. Medium-full bodied, smooth and creamy on the palate, and pleasantly carbonated. Mahogany color is quite pretty and the light-tan head exhibits solid characteristics for initial height and retention. Lacing is patchy, but still considerable. Not a very complex porter, but oh so tasty!

28-Apr-05 (12 oz bottle: Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA) This is the fourth and final of the Eel River bottled beers available in my area, and I opened this with apprehension, expecting mediocrity. I’m very pleasantly surprised and pleased by how good this beer is. Sweet, roasty, chocolaty nose isn’t especially aromatic, but smells great and is sufficiently enticing. Very nice flavor, again, not dramatically flavorful, but very delicious. Strong chocolate, moderately sweet and roasty. The sweetness dominates early, but is countered by a moderate bitterness in the finish. Eel River touts the organic hops, but aren’t a major component of the flavor. Full bodied, gently carbonated, with a smooth, rich, round mouthfeel and a long lasting finish. Dark mahogany color is slightly translucent when held to light. Light tan head pours to a good size, very gradually fading to wide halo, and leaving a drooping ring of lace near the top of the glass. Really a very good porter, and next time, I’ll buy more than just a single bottle. (7, 4, 8, 4, 16 = 3.9)

12 oz bottle, via Bück Dich. Pours a translucent mahogany color with ruby highlights and a small light brown head that faded quickly. Aroma of chocolate malt, chalk, a little coffee, and a touch of caramel. Flavor is very dry, with some coffee, roasted malt, some alcohol, and on the finish a little smoke. Moderate hopping level reveals itself in the finish as well. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with moderate fizzy carbonation. Slightly astringent on the finish. Overall, a middle of the road Porter at best, but if you’re into the organic thing, this might make a decent choice compared to some other "organic" beers I’ve had.

Pours deep, slightly translucent brown with low to moderate carbonation. Aroma is primarily chocolate, with caramel and fruit/flower. Starts light and sweet, reminiscent of chocolate covered cherries, then moves to coffee with pronounced floral undertones finishing with mild dryness that leaves dark chocolate and strawberry aftertaste. Smooth and milky throughout. Wow, this is one damn fine beer, and organic to boot!

Bottle. Had a decent chocolate and dry coffee grounds aromas. Dark body and agressive pour got a good tan head. Flavor had a creamy milk chocolate feel and that was surprising concidering the last two El River organic beers were mainly water for flavor. Dry chocolate and some roasted malt aftertaste. Decent brew.

This was real tasty. A weightier mouthfeel which was nice for a porter. Lots of deep dark roasted chocolate, some sweet malts and also what seemed a rich sweetness from the hops. Quite enjoyable.

Very rich and roasty porter that blends light flavors of chocolate, molasses, and caramel in the malty front. The hefty hopped finish is there to rescue the palate from the heavy sweetness and helps to refresh a bit. Very smooth texture and medium weight on the palate, actually seemed a bit light to me for the amount of sweetness upfront.

Had it both in the bottle and on tap before making my rating. A solid porter that poured nearly black with medium, but very nice textured tan head. Very enjoyable nose of caramel and chocolate, with good hop balance in the background. Very good feel in the mouth and smooth going down. Rich, in fact almost too rich. At the end it began to seem a little too sweet. But that quibble aside, this is good stuff.