John Sleeman Presents Fine Porter

Brewed by Sleeman Brewing & Malting Co. (Sapporo)
Style: Porter
Guelph, Canada

A suprisingly good porter, I wasn’t expecting much since the beers from this particular brewery haven’t gotten very good scores, but I was pretty pleased with this, very dark appearance with tones of ruby red & deep brown, modest tan head with decent lacing around the glass, not a whole lot to the aroma though, thin all-around but tasty nonetheless, notes of toffee, light coffee, caramel & hops, more of a bitter hoppiness toward the finish & aftertaste, smooth & fairly enjoyable

340ml bottle from BeersOfEurope. Soft and fruity dark beer. Difficult to tell if this is lager or ale from the taste, but the mouthfeel is perhaps a little light and dry for a 5.5% abv ale so this could be a lager. There is some dark malts - chocolate, and crystal, and a good dose of bitterness. This is like a dry stout (Guinness). It’s OK. It has a full mouth of flavour - pleasant fruity sweetness, followed by a good dose of rough bitterness. The more I drink this the more I like it. Drink it at room temperature like a Guinness to get all the flavour. Decent stuff. Mmmm. The more I sip this the more I like it. Creamy lactose, and a little touch of lactic. Better than Guinness.

Rating for Sleeman Porter 68

Pours a thin, "bocky"-brown with a cream-colored head that leaves a wet lace despite legs that are thicker than spit. Aroma finds a roast coffee bitterness over a base of malty grains. Creamy, chocolaty flavor with grapish fruitiness and a splash of alcohol. A low bitterness in the finish rounds out this decent porter.

<font size=-4>Single bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/palati Worldwide Liquor, Palatine, IL 60067</font>

Bottle. Black beer with a light head. The aroma is malty and lightly roasted and the flavour is quite herbal, oaty and dry. Overall an average beer.

From a 12-ounce bottle labeled 68 Porter, poured a clear dark brown with a light tan head. Slight malty aroma. Medium body with creamy mouthfeel. Nice chocolatey flavor at first. Finishes dry and roasted. Not very rich or complex. A bit over carbonated.

Bottle into a pint glass. Pours a very very dark amber. Decent sized head with medium lasting power. Aroma of hops and slight hint of coffee. Very thin mouthfeel. Thin on the tongue. Very harsh aftertaste of bitter coffee. As others have pointed out, too much carbonation. Very acidic feeling on the tongue.

Not a bad porter, but it just didn’t nail it on the head for me. Slightly thin, not really robust. Some coffee roastiness but not much more. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed it but there are much better porters out there.

Dark and far more powerful than you would expect from a 5.5 per center. Malty with a slight coffee flavour this is an impressive porter.