Hartford Better Beer Co. Praying Mantis Porter

Good lord that is a long description! Nearly black with a light tan head. Pleny of roast in this one with a hint of chocolate. Flavor is very roasty and over carbonated. Carbonation steals away some of the flavor. Not bad, but not amazing.

Pours a deep brown with ruby highlights and an insanely huge, pillowy beige head that leaves behind creamy lace once it retreats. The nose is a roasty blend of milk chocolate and a light cherry-like fruitiness. Light-bodied and creamy yet quite thin with a lightly drying, flinty finish and a touch of lingering astringency in the aftertaste. Roasted and lightly fruity with an ashy chocolaty flavor. This is a decent sessionable porter. Not too shabby.

Sweet malt initially. Hops and must old wood late in the aroma. Opaque brown color with a large tan head. Tangy sweet beginnin fading in the finish.

Explodes out of bottle and leaves a five+ finger light tan head that fades slowly, leaving a good lace. Totally black color. Good carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Roasted coffee nose. Flavor is sweet roasted coffee/chocolate, well balanced, decent porter. $1.50 for a 12oz bottle from Manchester Wine and Liquors Manchester, CT

bottle BB may 08 courtesy of dragonstout...nice dark brown pour with a monster tan head. aroma is dark malt, cream, allspice, wood and sour fruit. dang... it’s infected. the flavor has some recognizable good qualities to it...mostly wood, coffee and chocolate in the aftertaste. but something went horribly wrong with this one. a definite sourness gets in the way of tasting anything else. watery mouth feel and lots of stingy carbonation. it doesn’t taste terrible if you don’t know it’s supposed to be a porter.

Bottle: Deep brown, nearly black, large frothy light beige head, falls quickly, spotty lacing.   Airy milk sugar like aroma, slight roasted malt.   To me appears to be one of those Porters that is light on everything, and severly lacking.   No real roasted malt character to speak of.   Light roasted malts on the tongue, but very pale, thin, watery, and lacking in depth.   No real body to this one.   Spritzy, lactic, even a touch of sourness.   Body and mouthfeel are average, er barely.   Pretty boring overall, nothing at all interesting.   Too thin, spritzy, sour milk, and lacks the roasted malt depth one associates with the style.   Blech... Thanks John for the bottle!

(12oz bottle, best before end 5/08) Large beige head atop clear mahogany body. Aroma is medium sweet, licorice, lactic sourness, light raisin. Taste is medium sweet, roast, some anise, earthy/orange, spice. Light-medium body, light effervescence.

Thanx to JJPM for this.Pours a dark brown with a big head.Roastedness and chocolate on the nose.A good strong flavor with a medium mouthfeel.Tis finished with some hoppy bitterness.