General Lafayette Chocolate Thunder Porter

Brewed by General Lafayette Inn and Brewery
Style: Porter
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania USA

On cask at Friday the Firkinteeth. This was the highlight of the day. I loved this stuff! Basically imagine sitting at breakfast, having a nice full pancake meal, with maple syrup, sausage, and a little fruit bowl. Take in that smell and that is this beer. Flavor was chocolately and maple syruppy, but also smokey. It was a beautiful cloudy dark brown color. The mouthfeel was unbelievably smooth. All I can say is wow! I wonder if this is as good when its not on cask.

Wow - intense, rich, and chocolatey. Its like drinking a chocolate truffle. Slightly roasty malt flavors balance out the sweetness. Hearty body, and very dark black color that shows a hint of brownish red when tipped and help to the light.

On draft at GLI. This one is a top notch porter...a definite upper echelon porter. Pours obsidian with a medium, tan head. Aroma of malt, big chocoff, some fruit. Tastes malty, with a rich chocoff presence that gets dark chocolatyer at the finish. Super smooth, rich palate, and a great finish. This one is up there with Smutty Robust and Alpha Klaus as my top-of-the-heap porters.

Growler courtesy of JB175. Many thanks for making this possible, finally. I’ve been waiting a long time for this one. Pours a light devouring black body with a huge, creamy mocha colored head. Great lasting power and then excellent lacing once most of the head is gone. A ring of foam sticks around for the duration of the beer. Heavenly nose - milk and dark chocolate, bitter roasted espresso beans, coffee grounds, vanilla extract, roasted malts and cocoa powder. Allowing it to warm brings out new aromas at every turn. Beer just doesn’t smell much better than this, to me at least. Flavor is huge on chocolate - all kinds: milk, dark, bittersweet. Also the espresso notes are very prominent in the form of a huge roasted note, along with a background sweetness that I can only think of as vanilla or creamer. To me, even moreso than the nose, the palate is the best part of this beer. Chewy body, full bodied and very filling. Unbelievably sticky and coating mouthfeel, sticks with you for a tremendous amount of time after each sip. Carbonation is lively and perfect. Finish is roasty, bitter and super lengthy. A world class brew, and my favorite porter ever.

One of the best portors I ever had. It usally the last beer I have when I am finishing up my meal at the bar right at the Inn. A must try when you visit the General Laffatte INN.

Now this is a good porter! Blackish pour with tan head. Coffee-chocolate aroma that is quite inviting. Taste is deep, rich chocolate with plenty of coffee and roasted malts. Good stuff! Bottle re-rate: Still prefer this one on tap, but the bottled version is quite smooth, buttery, and tasty. Lots of chocolate and roast. Awesome that its being bottled!

Growler via the ever generous Degarth! - Thanks Joe! - Shared last night with a non rating friend - Pours dark black with a big mocha head that stays pretty well and leaves a fair amount of lacing on the english pint that I served it in. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, and burnt malts.. Some fudgy notes there as well. Aroma was pretty dessert-like. Flavor starts out with fudge, coffee, vanilla, caramel, then some roasted notes mostly come through. A good degree of burnt flavor too before the dry yet lingeringly sweet finish. Good smooth balance and a creamy mouthfeel make this one a fine example of a porter.. Reminded me a lot of Thirsty Dog Old Leghumper.. Very robust and delicious..

Big thanks to tpd975 for bringing this rare treat to the weekly tasting. Pours deep and dark with infra red edges and thin mocha head. The aroma is rich and inviting with roasty and toasty malts mixing with chocolate, burnt molasses and a mild coffee note. The aroma is poetry. I could tug on it all night long. YUM! The taste starts with a rich creaminess yet a bit thinner than the rich aroma was hinting at. I get the same notes as noted in the nose with roasty and toastines followed by rich dark chocolate. Yum, lots of flavor going on here including burnt molasses and coffee. All the flavors blend together cohesively creating a wonderful sensation.