Great Divide St. Bridgets Porter (St. Brigids)

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Denver, Colorado USA

(Bottled, The Rover, Gothenburg, 6 July) Colour is black, with a beige firm head. Nose is malty with notes of chocolate and coffee, fairly modest hop aroma. Taste is malty with chocolate and coffee (espresso). Smooth mouthfeel. Easy to drink, almost on the thin side, despite the abv. Tasty, but expected some more punch.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trades with bkelley68 and jeffin7, thanks Brian and Jeff!)

14-Apr-05 This will be a two-part review since I have a bottle of the old St. Brigid’s Porter (which I’m rating right now), and the newer Saint Bridget’s Robust Porter (which I’ll rate later on). Fairly flavorful, about average for a porter, dominated by a lightly sweet, moderate chocolaty maltiness. Roast has presence, but is pretty minimal in comparison, as is the mild bitterness. The nose is malty and moderately bready, with a faint roastiness and some yeast. Medium body is about average for a porter. Deep, dark, ruddy brown color shows a slight translucence. Tan head pours to an average size, but shows much better than average retention, as the head never diminishes below a complete, quarter-inch layer. A fishnet of lace adorns the glass.

17-Apr-05 Okay, and now for Saint Bridget’s Robust Porter... Color is about the same. The lazy, slow-to-form, tan head peaks at about ¼ inch in height and very quickly fades away to a wispy sheen inside a thin halo. Chocolate and roast dominate the nose, with no sign of the breadiness like with the older bottle. The chocolaty, faintly sweet maltiness is about the same, but it’s also fairly roasty, ashy and bitter, traits which didn’t seem as prevalent in the older bottle. Fairly dry mouthfeel. Solid body is above average for a porter. Perhaps the only real difference between the two bottles is freshness. This bottle just tastes fresher. So I guess the recipe is about the same. Good, solid porter from a company whose 12-ounce bottles are sometimes maligned.

Dark brown ale, impressive lace - a nice hybrid of traditional british and nontraditional american porter styles - chocolate sweetness and somewhat debittered black malts - quite a bit of roast that works well with the american hop profile - creamy in the mouth - medum bodied - a nice balance of sweetness, roast, and bitterness - a fairly solid porter.

The aroma is very nice. It has caramel, toasted malt, and chocolate. The appearance is a dark red brown. The flavor is very much like the aroma with the addition of some coffee. The palate is a little weak. The aftertaste is bitter. Overall it’s good but nothing more.

Ah just like seeing an old friend long time gone from your life, this one has been gone for over 4 years, well this old friend, has come back to stay, as it’s now available in Arizona thanks to the great people at Little Guy Distributing. The beer after its disemboguing the 12-ounce brown bottle sets in my glass of honor a deep brown to almost black color the head portly in size, the texture semi-creamy and the color a toothsome light tan with the resultant lace a satin sheet to lie upon the glass. Nose is sweet with malt, lightly toasted grain aroma also present, crisps and clean to the senses, start is somewhat sweet with a pleasing grain profile, and the top is middling to full in feel. Finish has a delectable hop spicy bite, the acidity pleasant and the aftertaste dry and linger, a very good porter and one I hope to enjoy quite often, now that its home to roost.

Not sure who Brigid is, but she don’t look much like a saint. Dark clear brown beer. Aroma is coffee, patent malt and dried milk. Dry. A good acid balance, menacing but in good equilibrium. Some hazelnut, coffee, greenish nut/veggie flavor that’s common to stouts and porters. Pleasant long roasty finish. Great bitterig. Medium body. Rerate: On further consideration, this was kinda stinky. Smoked turkey flavor, very lightly sweet, underbittered. Goes flat. Finish is smoky. Don’t know what happened -- either my palate has changed, or the beer has.

Pours a dark brown beer with a tall and foamy tan head. Sweet and creamy aroma with roasted malt and choholate tones. Flavor is also sweet and quite full, dominated by milk chocolate and malt. Fruity notes also. Very soft and smooth.

Dark mohogany color with a thin off-white head. Sweet fruity aroma. Sweet chocolate and toffee flavor with fruity notes.