Port Brewing Hot Rocks Lager

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Dunkel
San Marcos, California USA

bottle. Hazy, thick very opaque dark brown color, thin light tan head that clears quickly to a thin layer. Thick, chewy, semi sweet malty nose- notes of caramel, toffee, toasted dark bread. Flavor shows loads of depth- mild, light floral hop bitterness and some faint hop flavors. Tons of malt- heavy on the bittersweet dark fruit, molasses, pumpernickel and dark bread, and some grainy yeast notes, and some faint hints of liquid smoke. Suprisingly full flavored with loads of depth. Palate is full and smooth, lightly carbonated, with a light finish. Overall a superb brew.

Pours dark brown with a nice off white head. Smells of spice, earthy, some dark fruity hint, peppery. Tastes lightly bitter and of roasted malt, caramel, more spiciness, molasses. There’s a light smokiness on the finish. Well balanced.

Bomber. Poured deep chocolatey-brown with a short, dense cap of beige head. The aroma picked up semi-sweet chocolates, coffee, and toffee accented by warm spices and a touch of overripe grapefruit.. excellent! The flavor had coffee and molasses at the core with cocoa coming later.. bitterness was moderate and cocoa/cola-ey.. finished with the warm spices from the nose and more molasses.. tasty. Medium-bodied and well-carbonated on the palate.. balance was solid, and it dried up nicely toward the finish. I really dug this one!

Pours deep mahogany into a lager stein. Tan head quickly recedes to skim surface. Sweet prune and and dark caramel aromas. Creamy, full and sweet. Dark pit fruit, fig and light smoke aromas. Lasting dark molasses finish.

On tap at Stone World Bistro. This was waay better than I expected. Supremely drinkable and tasty. Had a nice creamy mouthfeel. I’m really glad that Port is beginning to brew something different than the usual.

650 ml bottle from Beverages4less. Pours a slightly murky dark brown with a medium beige head that had fair retention. The aroma is moderate in strength and overtly sweet with malts, brown sugar, breads and a bit o’ dust. The flavor is rich with dark chocolate, brown sugar, cocoa, roasted malts and a bit o’ dirt. The finish is long with lingering caramelized rock candy. The mouthfeel is silky smooth with soft carbonation. Overall: A Very good lager, not gonna make anybody’s top ten list, but I predict that it might just make it to the top of the dark lager category.

DC Gathering, 22oz bottle courtesy of CaptainCougar. Deep brown color. Big, rich, roasty. Some sugary smokiness, maybe a touch of amber malt in there as well. Thick and sticky. Medium to full bodied. A quality beer all the way, full of flavor.

Bottle from South Bay Drugs and Liquor: Thought this was a very interesting method of beer making and was impressed with how well it turned out. First off, the aroma is a sweet and subtle balance of malt that relaxes the nose. The flavor is a delicious and perfectly balanced between sweet rich malt and harmonious hops thrown in. While I sip away at this dunkel I really can’t think of anything negative to say other than I wish it were able to grant me a better buzz.