Smuttynose Robust Porter

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

bottle--pours opaque black with a small tan head.. smells gorgeous.. chocolate malts all over the place, some roasted coffee beans in there as well. it is thick, and chocolaty with a burnt wood flavor coffee in there as well... the finish is exquisite, smooth with a fine coffee flavor this is a wonderful porter.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color porter with a nice foamy head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of rich roasted malt is quite powerful and interesting. Taste of rich bitter roasted malt is domination and enjoyable. Creamy texture with some medium carbonation and good full body provide even further enjoyment of this fine beer. I would have like a bit more chocolate malt to offset some of the bitterness but apart from that this is a fine beer.

[Bottle, February 2007] Deep brown, nearly black pour with dark brown head. Mouthfeel is slightly bitter and somewhat crisp. Chocolate, liqourice, slight raisin and oak in aroma. Flavor is a nice balance of chocolate, raisins, and roasted nuts. As it warms it becomes a very pleasant beer. Not too thick or thin tasting.

Bottle. Poured a black body with good size head. Aroma is of coffee, sweet milk chocolate, and hops. Fantastic since I love all three. Bitter flavor and chocolate undertones. Smooth and drinkable, finishes well. Enjoyable.

Pours a deep brown/black with a large head. The head turns rocky, and leaves good lacing as it slowly dissipates. Aroma of milky chocolate and deep roasted malts. Flavor has a little bitterness, especially at the end. Another excellent brew from smuttynose.

bottle poured. dark, rich color with crema head. aroma is chocolately. taste is good, coffee, chocolate. good hops. i like it.

Thanks to Luiss for this one. Pours a nice black color with a tan head. The aroma is lots of chocolate with what seems to be a bourbon presence--even though this is not barrel aged (perhaps I’m suffering from BAO? Barrel Aged Overload...). Medium palate with fairly high carbonation. The taste is a tangy bittersweet chocolate flavor. A little watery flavor, and it doesn’t quite match up to the aroma in the taste department.

I’ve always understood a porter to be defined somewhat as a lighter stout. I doubt this has any veracity to it, but it’s an impression that has kept me motivated to continue drinking beer without feeling like a total clod. Stupidity or a sense thereof is a great way to keep somebody out of a hobby or academic field. Even if my assumption is off, I like my porters expressive and bold, unafraid to put a little drama in their flavor. The Smuttynose Robust Porter, one of their few beers available at the 2006 GABF, is a nice example of how I like it done. A solid ebony body and a dark, oaken head (even in such a small glass) are good tip offs that it’s going to be something I like, showing no signs of weakness or cowardice. Chocolate forms the foundation of the aroma, only slightly bitter, followed by the more natural and more sweet scent of molasses. Those two aromas are accompanied by a Scottish peat smell that nuzzles up to the first two aromas with an impressive tolerance. The final element of the smell that I could pick out was a sort of generic meatiness, maybe belonging to pork or beef, but something truly grizzly in its carnivorous foundation. If there’s one way to be bold, it’s to put the smell of cooked animal in your beer. However, in the end, the Robust Porter is less robust than I expected, maintaining a level of flavor that sort of bumps around in intensity but never gets loud enough to really catch my attention (or my loving praise). It’s mostly coffee and alcohol, making up some imaginative bitter cocktail flavor, and then begins a strange presentation of peat and earthy vegetable flavors, including broccoli, Brussels’ sprouts, cauliflower and potato. I’m pretty open to steamed vegetables, but I know many people aren’t, so this could draw a lot of ire from devout meat eaters. Bold, yes, but maybe not as much as it could have been. It tries to be tough, but chickens out at the last minute and keeps up just enough bravado to hang with the boys as a tough, but not tough enough porter.