Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Porter
Tadcaster, England

A characteristically polished, easy-drinking porter from Tadcaster. No rough edges here. Lovely looking teak colour with a thick, milkshake head. Soft aroma of Milo, wholemeal flour and Bourneville dark chocolate, plus some cherry fruitiness. Near-perfect weight in the body - medium and silky smooth. In the mouth, black cherry fruitiness, roasted malts, a nice English nuttiness and a dry finish. Strewth, this is a smooth drinker. This would make a fine companion for some desserts - chocolate pudding, perhaps, or sticky date. Overall, it’s a very impressive porter but a little too perfect for my taste. This is Catherine Oxenberg and I always preferred Rosanna Arquette. (550ml bottle from Leura Cellars. BB Jan 2010)

Roasted black malt with coffee aroma (hints of chocolate as well). Smooth and lightly creamy. Dry. Good thing that is not very robust as expected from porter. Fine amount of aftertaste bitterness. Very dark brown body. Medium carbonated.

Bottle: This is everything I imagine a porter being. You get the nice chocolate, caramel hoppy profile, not overwhelmed by bitterness but with a dry finish. Very drinkable! Pours dark with medium-sized head. This was served to me a little too cold, but the flavors really came out when it warmed up a bit. Highly recommended for a good representation of the style (good for enjoyment and comparison).

Had from a SS bottle into a pint mug at an Old Chicago. Not a bad entry, and better than some porters I’ve had - distinctly English.

Pours deep black, frothy tan head. Drinks dark/burnt roased malts and oaty, coffee and sweet, fairly sharp finish but quite thin/watery and lacking in any punch. A bit dissapointing.

Pours a very dark brown with a frothy light brown head. Aromas of dark roasted malts like barley, touch of hops, wood, touch a whiskey, and cane sugar. The flavor is of roasted malts like barley with a touch of caramel, nut, and a little hop. Somewhat dry, semi sweet, and bitter. A good tasting porter for anyone. No wonder its a classic.

A dark brown beer with a 1 finger head. Aroma was roasted malt. Taste was very smooth with milk chocolate & a very creamy mouthfeel. Very smooth porter.

Brackish brown with darker black hues and burnt amber tippling along the edges of my glass. A voluminous head of rocky proportions is dressed all in khaki with no place to go. He fades in lazy pockets with clumps of lace sticking stubbornly to the sides. Prune juice is the first impression I get from his nose, followed quickly by lemon zest. While first impressions are of utmost importance, what follows afterwards is nothing short of revolutionary. Freshly brewed coffee with a shot of espresso added for good measure. Her burnt caramelized crema flits by on the breeze while pumpernickel bread sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar is given a good toasting before being plated before me. A gentle presence of rich earth grounds his nose. I am ready to get dirty, and so I waste no time testing the grounds of this classic English porter. Clean and of medium weight, he only lightly coats my mouth while prune juice with a sprits of lemon are the first to step onto the stage. Pomegranate? Maybe I am just imaging things, but… Tastebuds awakened, his rich, dark palate steps onto the stage next as the prune juice and lemon exits stage left, lingering behind each quaff with a tart tingle. Licorice root and burnt sugars atop toasted pumpernickel bread. Coffee and espresso crema with caramelized sugars and caramel sweetness leaves a lingering dryness of ash and earth on top of my mouth. A very clean palate and easy to drink, the Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is a fine successor to his proud English heritage.

Samuel Smith will never win any awards for palate blazing inspiration, but what they do well and have done so for centuries is brew consistently good beers in classic English fashion. Pride I am sure has quite a bit to do with it. If you are looking for a good beer, Samuel Smiths will never let you down.