Mash House Brown Porter

Brewed by The Mash House Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Porter
Fayetteville, North Carolina USA

Draught sample at the brewpub. Quite solid, dark brown, near-opaque with very little head....lightly roasty nose, somewhat grainy and dry, touched by coffee-chocolate seductions late....pleasantly robust body, moderately sweet and solidly roasty, touches of vanilla....a bit too milky (though not sour) and quite grainy, almost worty at the finish.....a decent attempt but seemingly just a bit underattenuated and unfinished.

Draught at the brewpub.Clear dark brown color with tan head. Nutty, milk chocolate nose with roasty chocolate flavor. Finish is slightly bitter.

This was a great beer. Had at Beer Fest 05, and I think whenever (ifever) I go to Fayetteville, we’ll have to stop here. Very fruity. I tasted their IPA Ravishing Red first and then the girl added this to it. Nice addition.

Straight-up brown hue, light, letting in reddish tinges, creating a caramelly tone, and it sits ’neath a lush, creamy, cocoa head of foam. Aroma is nice and nutty, some chocolate notes, and espresso hits, though a bit too cola-ish, too, for my preference. Smooth on the palate, very slick and easy, but that’s no fault, if I wouldn’t like it a little thicker and richer. As it is...a more potent Brown Ale, perhaps...but need a bit more to the kind of Porter I like...well, it just occured to me what "Brown Porter" may mean to suggest...yeah, it’s sweet, and nutty...all in all, like a smoother porter, or a thicker brown ale...I got no problem with that. Gots Newcastle all beat, at least...frankly, I like it, for what it is.

Deep, deep rootber brown, lacy head. Nutty, slightly fruity aroma. Abv prominent. Edgy coffee bittering initially, but then you get into the groove. Chocolate and patent character. Medium body. Medium-long coffee finish with some creaminess.

On tap at brewery: Deep brown hue with average fizzy tan head and good lace. The aroma hints of almonds, cashews, wood, wet hay fields, grainy, mocha and an off nose of band-aid. The taste is hoppier than expected, sloid bitter front with a buttery and mocha undertone. Just a hint of coffee and wood on the finish. The mouthfeel is chalky and somewhat dry. Other than the off aroma, I liked this beer. It among the sweeter porters I've had, not very smoky or crisp.

On tap at Good Fellows Bar in Chapel Hill. Pure chocolate! Aroma was of chocolate and caramel, with a little bit of smokiness thrown in there. My only complaint is that there is very little hop balance, but a good porter nonetheless.

Nice foamy head with good retention. Very sweet. Good balance of maltiness. Not very bitter, but that’s ok for a porter. It was served with a straw and a pretzel. I think the place I bought it at thought the beer was a stout, because they asked me if I could taste the coffee. I said "no, but I can sure taste a lot of chocolate."