Sea Dog Riverdriver Hazelnut Porter

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

12oz bottle from Willow Bend Liquors (Tampa, FL). Pours a dark brown to black color with a one finger tan head that settles slowly and provides minimal lacing on the glass. Aroma is sweet and malty with an artificial and strong hazelnut aroma along with other notes of chocolate, spice, coffee and some hints of honey and caramel. Flavor is malty and spicy with strong notes of bitter nuts and some smoky burnt coffee and chocolate flavors. Medium body with a quick uninteresting finish. Not good. Maybe I should not have drank this beer after a Deschutes Black Butte Porter. . . ..

Dark brown, some red hints and a light tan two finger head some spotty lacing left on the glass. Enormous hazelnut aroma, some burnt malt. Taste is almost sour the hazelnut is so intense, bitter and offensive nuttiness.

Pours an opaque dark brown with a big rocky tan head that leaves ropey lacing. Nose is phenomenal: a burst of chocolate and hazelnut. It’s like opening a box of chocolates and taking a whiff. Flavor is full and rich with notes of coffee, chocolate, and hazelnut. The hazelnut is interesting, but could be dialed back a notch, it’s just a tad too out front. Otherwise the balance of flavors is wonderful. Coffee and hazelnut finish.

These guys must really dig the flavored beers. The only stuff I’ve ever had from them has been flavored presumabally artifically. The head on this thing is entirley too large, I usually dig a luxurious head but this thing is like a saision head on a porter... pretty weird. The good news is that you get some decent lace.. The beer smells mildly of roasted malt and very strongly of hazelnut. Flavor is the same but with some delicious hop presence (surprise!) Overall this smells a heck of a lot sweeter than it tastes. I’d love to try it minus the hazelnut, but the hazelnut is delicous.... just not my thing.

<b>Bottle 355ml.</b>
Clear medium to dark brown color with a average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, coffee dusty, nutty - hazelnuts, vanilla notes. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is watery to oily, carbonation is soft. [260908]

[Bottle] shared by KAF. Pours a clear dark brown with a huge tan head. Aroma is popcorn balls, hazelnut, and bittersweet chocolate. Flavor is very dry, with popcorn and bittersweet chocolate malt.

[330 ml bottle] Dark color and a faint roasted aroma. Flavor is of malt, with hints of vanilla and nuts.

12 fl oz bottle, courtesy of joergen. Pours dark brown to black with an almost fully gone head. Solid butterish and nutty aroma with a mild roasted note. Sweet malty and slight butterish flavoured with a light vanilla note. Clearly towards nougart. Light bitterness into the finish.