Harveys Porter (Bottle)

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Porter
Lewes, England

Bottle at home ... Deep solid black ... good thick off white head ... lots of roast malts ... slightly bitter roast malts ... quite fruity little souness ... some smooth silky bitter chocolate ...

275ml bottle mail order from the brewery. O wow! I had this bottle conditioned way back in 2002 before I started my love affair with Harveys and scored it 4. Hmm. This is better than a 4, so I think I would have underscored that version. This is wonderful. There’s chocolate and coffee - real nice, gently roasty, with little flashes here and there, and wrapped round with that warm and slightly burning hop. There’s bits of blood and metal, there’s musty wood, and damp wool, soy sauce and rain on hot railings, there’s wine in the finish and raw meat. It’s a soft carbonation - almost non-existent. This slips down easy yet is so exciting. A genuine 1859 recipe by a master brewer using the unique and glorious Harvey’s yeast. What’s not to like? Stunning!

Bottled as Harveys Tom Paine Original Old Porter. Poured a clear garnet-tinted cola brown with a short-lived cap of beige head. Aroma picked up sweet, roasty cocoa, dark fruit skins, brown sugar, and molasses.. light herbal accents. Flavor found layers of roasty dark chocolate and cocoa, plums, dark fruit skins, and molasses with a mild, grainy herbal bitterness... very tasty! A hair shy of medium-bodied with wonderful layering of flavors.. left a long, sweet, cocoa and raisiny finish. Just a lovely brew all around!

Bottle (500ml). Near opaque black pour with ruby around the edges, large fluffy tan head with lovely thick lacing left on the glass. Lovely aroma, milky roast chocolate malt, herbal, minty hops, nice acidity. Taste follows, not very sweet at all, dry, almost burnt roast coffee/chocolate malt, dry hops, light lactose. Average, silky/sticky body, quite astringent, quick malt finish, burnt linger. Solid - must get more!

Black with creamy head. All five grains: rye, barley, spelt, oats. Aroma of mollasses and woody as well as multi-grainy. Substantive mouthfeel. Sweetish yet classic porter. Drinkable and serviceable but I could not have pint after pint.

Bottle 500 ml
Appearance :Dark brown with some ruby light sipping trough , velvet like tanned smallish top .3+
Nose :Brown malts with good dose of milky chocolate entering into more bitter end.7+
Flavour/Palate : Medium light body with bitter chocolate blended with green woody character. Not as harmonious as aroma. Disappointing empty front. Richer and fuller sides and finish that could not make up for rest. Uneven brew that led to disappointment.This could be really neat brew only if..

Bottle from the LCBO. Very dark body, small foamy beige head. Sweet aroma, light molasses notes, sweet something I cannot quite place. (7+) Similar flavour, quite sweet, malt and molasses, light hint of lactose? Interesting, pleasant. Average palate. Not bad but I don’t think I would rush out to try it again.

This bottled brew poured a small sized head of frothy fine to large sized mostly diminishing brown colored bubbles that left behind a fair lacing. The body contained soft carbonation, was nearly opaque and dark brown in color. Its aroma contained notes of mild brown malt . Its mouth feel is tingly smooth mild with a mild malt bite in the aftertaste. Its flavor contained thin malty dark brown malt notes. A very average brew.