MacTarnahans Blackwatch Cream Porter

Brewed by Portland Brewing Company (Pyramid)
Style: Porter
Portland, Oregon USA

I really enjoyed this Porter quite a bit. It is a good example of a sweet/milt porter. They have really taken the time to craft this brew with particular attention to notes of detail and robust roasting. A very damn fine brew.

I grabbed two bottles of this brew at a local store...I usually don’t when trying a new brew, unless the style is appealing to me. This being a "cream porter" I tried it. I am happy that I bought (2) of them, I drank them back to back. Here is my review: Presentation: 12 oz short/stubby bottle. Nice lable, no freshness date found. Aroma: The aroma was unlike a chocolate porter in smell. The roasty nuttiness of the malt was presant. Appearance: The brew poured a very dark brown with ruby edges where very little light poured in. It poured a nice two finger light tan head that produced nice lacing through the session. Flavor: This is what really stood out for me. The creaminess of the carmel and toffee flavor was a delight. The malt was very strong but not overpowering by the roasted taste to it. Mouthfeel: No carbonation that I could tell. Low mouth feel. Overall Impression: This is one of my favorites so far, out of the ones that you can get locally here in Oregon. I would drink this brew occasionally...if not weekly.

Name: MacTarnahan’s Blackwatch Cream Porter
Date: 04/21/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, 50 More Beers on the Wall

dark brown with ruby edges, scant beige head, rich chocolate and roasted aroma, thin body, rich flavor, lots of roasted, only a hint of sweetness, well balanced bitterness

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 4/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

12 oz bottle. Fine roasty, almost dry stout-like smell. Pours almost black under a frothy head. Taste is again more like a dry stout with perhaps more roast atringency than a porter needs. Some raisin and currant notes, then a light finish of toasted marshmallows. Regular hard carbonation for the bottle much much help.

A decent but unexciting porter. Aroma of coffee and burnt malt. Pour was a nice deep heavy brown...almost black with a little tan ring for a head. Taste was thick and heavily carbonated. Dark and burnt malts dominate, with some creaminess and a nice dry bitter finish.

Black and almost opaque in the pour. Rootbeer licorice roasty aromas, very attractive to the nose yet not overly in your face. Rather clean. No head, just a short mini skirt around the inside edge of the glass. Initial flavor is very nice! A unique back woods experience. Mild burned and charred wood impact on the tongue, but it is not oppressive. It is rather well controlled and friendly to an extent. When you pour it, it appears thick but it is not that way on the palate. The carbonaton is quite nice, creamy forte that nearly tingles the tongue, yowzer. Tho there is a burned sensation during the session, the finish on this is easy to take considering the mild to medium bitterness that deposits itself on the back of the tongue.

pours black with a very small off white head. smell is of dark cocoa powder, espresso, and roasted malts. taste is creamy at first and then dry, bitter, bakers chocolate, a hint of coffee is in there too. this is a nice porter, the smell is fine and the taste is rather good.

Pours a deep, dark brown - almost black - with ruby highlights and medium-sized tan head that laces the glass. The aroma is thick with sweet malts, lactose, and chocolate. The flavor follows the aroma: creamy chocolate, coffee, and loads of sweet malts. Almost too sweet, but it is delicately balanced by the roasted flavors of dark grains - hops are virtually nil (some bitterness in the finish - but most bitterness seems to come from the roasted barley). The mouthfeel is pleasant and creamy, full-bodied, and decently carbonated. Overall, pretty decent.