Natty Greenes Smoky Mountain Porter

Brewed by Natty Greenes Pub & Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Greensboro, North Carolina USA

Tap at the brewpub on 2/2/08: Pours a mostly opaque black with dark mahogany edges and a well-lacing tan head. Aroma of smoky earthy dark malts and chocolate caramel with a touch of ash. Body starts pretty thick and dark malty sweet with some sticky chocolate and earthy roasty smoky complexity toward the finish. A nicely balanced and enjoyable smoked porter.

Stumbled upon Natty Greene’s Brewpub on a trip to Greensboro this weekend. What a find! They’ve got a growler deal where you can refill your used jug from the tap for $8 which really isn’t that bad a price for the equivalent of a pitcher of fresh-tapped beer. The beer itself was a thick black concoction, which seemed dry for a porter, and pretty strong carbonation. The beer had a really nice looking thick tan head, and a smokey aroma. Flavor was sweet dark chocolate, which led into a sharp smokey, fruity sweet, coffee finish. Pretty good stuff.

Draught at the Brewpub in Greensboro 3/25/06: Brownish black body, opaque, with a lasting medium tan head. The head leaves nice lacing around the glass. The aroma is burnt malt, roast malt, and coffee. Taste is roast malt, coffee, dark chocolate, with a hint of yeast. Medium-full bodied, lightly carbonated, very smooth in the mouth.

Almost black pour with brown head and lace. Light hint of coffee on the nose. Hard coffee flavor and a very nice finishing medium bitter. Nice silky smooth palate. One of the best BP porters ever for me.

Draught during my NC brew tour. Pours a dark ruby tinged black with a tall, dark tan head. The aroma is very roasty with hazelnuts and coffee. Much more assertive nose on this than the General Stout. The flavor is chewy with toffee and almonds with some ashiness in the finish. This is distinctly English in style, but even better than many of its British counterparts.

Draft @ NG’s: If you don’t like sweetness in your stouts/porters, this is a great one to try. Pours a dark black, and packed full of ashy smoke and bitter chocolate malt from the beginning to end. I liked it.

From tap @ Natty’s: Pours nearly black with tan head. Aroma of malt and slight sweetness. A rich smokey taste with malt and slight chocolate sweetness. A nice bitter finish with a medium body. One of my favorites at Natty’s.

From notes 1/11/05: Per the chalkboard: a full-bodied, robust porter. Brewed with beechwood smoked two-row malt and dry-hopped with Progess from England. Per http://www.ebrew.com/hops/progress.htm these have a "robust hop aroma type with moderate bittering potential, somewhat similar to a Fuggle. Alpha Acid: 5.0-7.5%". Pours a deep molten brown, virtually black. A creamy slightly merengue-like head formed easily, but plopped away to a thin cap in moments once reaching the table. Spotty lacing. Aromas were mild in the smoke department. This isn’t a smoked porter for the edgy, but rather a gateway to the world of smoked beers. Subtle hints of char and mild backyard smoker qualities. Some glimpses of robust coffee bean in the scent. Flavors are creamy and satisfying, with enough smokiness to be noted. Coffee bean (heavily roasted of course) and lingering smoke. Towards the bottom of the pint(s), the smoke note dilutes away and more of a rich porter flavor is had. Chocolate malt, coffee grounds, and a zip of finishing hop. Not a fruity porter, this one is straight-forward and robust without being too heavy on the palate. Smokiness is not to be feared, this smoked porter is tame.