Smuttynose Robust Porter

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

looked like a nice porter...pitch black with a light mocha head and a bit of lacing. mild roasted aroma with bakers chocolate, coffee, and a touch of citrusy hops. flavor had notes of coffee and roasted malt followed by chocolate and subtle citrus. very thin mouthfeel for a porter with a bitter cheap espresso finish. not very robust at all!

12oz Bottle Best Before 8/08 I received this in a recent trade with israel, thanks again! Smuttynose Robust Porter pours the darkest of browns that border on black. When the body is directly backlit there are very faint garnet hues throughout. A soft pour produced a swirling two fingers worth of khaki colored head. As it fell to the thick cap it settled at it became creamy and left some really nice sheet lacing down the glass. This porter has a really great nose. It’s all at once roasty, nutty, and chocolaty. The roastiness leads the way and is accompanied by a nice mellow dark chocolaty goodness. Something along the lines of hazelnut comes through faintly here and there along with ghost like notes of maple syrup. The nuttiness seems to show up at different times. Each swirl of the glass brings a quick whiff of coffee grounds. The flavor falls just short of the stellar aroma but is very good none the less. The roastiness still has the spotlight and all the other aromas are there in the flavor although not quite as bright and vibrant. The coffee grounds and roastiness leaves a slightly bitter finish that makes this an all around solid porter. The nuttiness plays in the flavor too flashing here and there. Robust porter sports a medium body with enough carbonation to keep things moving quickly. The roasty bitterness keeps growing as I drink. The drinkability is enhanced by the lighter body and solid carbonation. This is a porter than can be easily enjoyed a few at a time. This is one of my favorite sessionable porters and I tend to pick up a sixer whenever I’m in an area that carries Smuttynose. Robust Porter is incredibly easy to drink and very flavorful. Serving type: bottle 7/11/08

Another old favorite from the college years. Been drinking a lot of Founders Porter recently and I think this is what it reminds me the most of. A really damn well made porter. Even after leaving a half glass of this out overnight, it still has the rich aromas of a tasty porter. Not quite on par with Founders, but still one of Smuttynose’s better beers.

12 oz bottle purchased at Bruisin Ales in Asheville. Poured a dark black, almost motor oil color, with a three finger brown foamy head, that gave way to tons of lacing. The aroma was roasted malt, bitter chocolate and stale coffee. The flavor was a solid, buttkicking, roasted malt base, with chocolate present, and a bitter coffee finish. The palate was above average, with soft carbonation, a medium/full body and a silky mouthfeel. This is a beer I want to drink again.

Easily one of my favorite porters, and my go-to beer when I want something with a strong roasted flavor, but without the fuller body of a stout. An excellent standby beer, well worth keeping a few in the fridge.

12oz bonus recently, too many recent trades to figure this one out. How I haven’t rated this I don’t know. Pours black with a light brown head. Nose is sweet, and malty with big notes of coffee and chocolate. Taste is a little thinner, but has a nice chocolate and coffee feeling. Nice roastyness. yum.

Bottle at Akkurat, Stockholm. Dark red brown colour with a big head. Medium bodied. Sweet roasted flavour and a hint of smoke. The finish is primary roasty.

Pours black with tan white head. Milk chocolate and coffee in the aroma, not a strong aroma. Chocolatey taste with coffee aftertaste. This followed the Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter and could not compare to that but was a good porter none the less