Sea Dog Riverdriver Hazelnut Porter

Brewed by Sea Dog Brewing (Shipyard Brewing Co.)
Style: Porter
Topsham, Maine USA

(Bottle at Delirium Café, Göteborg) Clear dark red-brown color, big nice tan head that dies too fast. Muddy chocolate nutty scent, also solvents. Spritzy sweet green apples and roasted malt taste. Spritzy high co2 mouthfeel. Medium bitterness. A bit sickening nutty sweet aftertaste.

Bottle. I did not see any reference to hazelnut on the label before sampling it. Has a very distinct hazelnut aroma which I couldn’t put my finger on initially, calling it peanut butter chocolate. Very dark, reddish brown body that is mostly clear with bubbles. Large, light tan head. Excellent lace and decent head retention. Very hazelnutty flavor. Too dry and a little overly carbonated for a porter.

Not as much hazelnut comes through as the rogue hazelnut brown, but still a nice subtle addition that makes this porter unique. I got a lot of mineral flavor out of this beer, slightly metallic at times, which distracted from the sweet roasty flavors. Chocolate flavors blend well with the hazelnuts, with a good roastiness and milky flavor. Pours dark brown with a tan head that falls fast. Nice beer but the mineral flavors were a little distracting.

real good porter. nice nutty flavor to it. hazelnuts are ever so slight. very good beer

Black, offwhite head. Chocolate and cocoa aroma with some milky notes. Bitter cocoa flavor at first, more malts then showing, milky and with some chocolate. Some bitterness in the finish.

We were disappointed with this offering after getting some pretty decent beers from Sea Dog. Where they excel in fruit beers, dark beers are apparently not their forte. This porter pours a black color with a large, creamy light-brown head. Virtually no lacing behind a mostly diminishing head. Aroma is harsh with roasted and burnt malt notes with a hint of hazelnut. Initial taste is lightly sweet and takes a turn to bitter at the finish with an average duration. Medium on the mouth, it has a creamy texture and soft carbonation. Reviewed on September 17th, 2006.

12 oz bottle, via SoLan. Pours a clear very dark brown body under a one finger fizzy beige head that faded to a patchy film. Aroma is a mix of hazelnut extract, chocolate malt, light roast, and some vanilla. Flavor is dominated by the very "extract" tasting hazelnut. Some coffee, roast, and toasted malt rounds out the finish. Mouthfeel is thinnish and somewhat silky in texture with a little cloying sweetness emerging on the finish. Moderate fizzy forced carbonation. Another cheaply flavored Porter. Hazelnut beers really seem to be a hit or miss with me. I quite like Rogue’s offering but this wasn’t up to that same quality.

Dark brown pour with red highlights. The head is creamy, rocky, dense and steadfast, looks great. The nose is quite foreboding, aromas of hazelnuts, roasted malts, nuts, chocolate in moderation and vanilla coffee. Problematic though, as the hops present mute the already subtle aromas making them very difficult to identify. Flavor is much more pleasing, more of the same notes abound in a distinct pattern of unleashing components. Additions include macadamia nuts and sweet sugars. Finishes somewhat abrupt. Palate is creamy smooth and delicate. A pretty tasty effort from a brewery I usually find laughable.