J.W. Lees Manchester Star Ale

Commercial Description:
The recipe comes from an 1884 Lees brewing notebook, a hoppy strong porter, brewed in November of that year, called "Star." At 7% ABV, this is more like a Baltic porter in strength but surprisingly light on the palate. There's no caramel malt only pale and roasted malt. Most porters then were brewed with amber malt or brown malt, which hardly exist today, if at all. It is smooth and supple in the mouth, full of chocolate notes and an understated bitterness that only reveals itself fully in the lip-smacking dry finish… with a subtle added background of flavors: cashew, ripe plum, orangey fruit, and just a pubby hint of an open pouch of moist Cavendish tobacco. Manchester Star dries into a long, almost wine-like finish.