Piece Big Black Mariah Porter

Brewed by Piece Brewery & Pizzeria
Style: Porter
Chicago, Illinois USA

on tap at the brewpub. pours a black color with an off-white head. I detect no smoke to the aroma at all. The flavor is only mildly smokey. the highlight of this beer is the solid level of roastedness.

Tosa gathering, growler provided by KP and the Cougar, thanks guys! The beer is nearly opaque with a small fading head and okay lace. The aroma has notes of espresso, toasted, charred and chocolate malts along with a raisin and plum fruit ester. A hint of wood for some reason on the nose as well.

The taste as a nice fruity character balancing the sweet chocolate layers. A nice smokey dry finish with a hint of coffee bitterness. For the genre this displays a great amount of complexity. The mouth feel is smooth and a tad watery (but then it is a porter), dry and ashy finish. I well done brew and I could finish a growler by myself.

draft at piece. a big surprise. dark black, watery looking with minimal head. hardly any aroma at this temperature. it’s too cold. i like it despite it’s simplicity. chocolatey, smoky tasting without all the bad things that sometimes come with smoke. i haven’t had a porter in ages and can’t remember one of the tastes i’m picking out. this is good. too bad there’s no aroma.

On tap at Piece. Great Porter! Arrived looking all dark and mysterious with a thin foamy ring of mocha colored foam. A smooth roasty nose. Greets the tongue with chocolate and smoke, a slightly tart middle rides on the back of the malt overtones, and a subtle licorice flavor at the end. Very solid mouthfeel for a porter - almost like a stout. A good amount of carbonation and a very pleasant finish. Really solid porter. (And great pizza too! Piece is a must see in Chicago!)

Growler at pre-RBSG tasting

Thanks to KP and CaptainCougar for bringing this to tasting. I’ve been to Piece once and was very impressed at the time with their diversity of offering and overall quality. If they make an appearance at the Great Taste of the Midwest I may be swinging by their booth more than once. This porter highlights that they can not only make a great dunkel (Dark and Curvy) but other styles as well.

Aroma / Appearance - The deep black body looks almost like an imperial stout but is just a tad too thin to pass itself off as such. Instead it swirls nicely around the glass. Smoke, expresso and charcoal mingle to form the impression of a late night at a college bar. To complete the picture imagine a small wood burning fireplace in the corner adding to the rich scents.

Flavor / Palate - Smoke, malts and wood introduce themselves on the first sip. Black licorice and more malts come through on closer inspection. The mouthfeel is a trace watery but that’s to be expected with the style. I won’t fault itfor anything other than perhaps a little bit of unbalance. The maltiness could be a little more subdued. Still, this is smooth and easy to drink for a porter. If I ran out of other options this would be a great choice to go with a pizza.

Growler: Poured black with a dark tan head. Aroma, smoky, chocolate, and some roasted malts. Flavor, chocolate, smoke, some roasted notes, and an earthiness to it. A little gritty on the palate, but overall pretty good.

Growler via someone at the Pre-RBSG tasting. The beer pours to a pitch black body with a dark brown head. The aroma is chocolate, sweet milk chocolate, roasted coffee, oatmeal. The flavor is roasty anise and black patent. Some dark roasted coffee too. The beer has a tart moderately full body. Finishes dry on the palate. 8, 4, 8, 4, 16 = 4.0
Tap at Piece. Was good, but not as good as I previously rated. Was harder to drink, but maybe that’s just due to how much I was drinking that night?

Actually, this should be listed as a smoked porter. Very roasty and chewy,quite nice, actually. Plenty of coffee and roast notes to keep you feeling good about yourself. excellent.