Summit Great Northern Porter

Brewed by Summit Brewing Company
Style: Porter
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Draft at Old Chicago in Ames, IA. Opaque dark brown color with orange highlights and a thin than head. Smelled initially of minimal malty chocolate, but was more aromatic as the beer warmed. Nice roasty/chocolate malt flavor accented by roasted nut and occasional cocoa powder notes. Slightly sweet on the tongue with a pleasant chocolatey aftertaste rising into the nose.

Pours brown/black with a fairly big head. Turned rocky as it slowly dissipates, leaving fair lacing. Aroma of deep roasted malts and chocolate malts.Medium body, with a texture I’d describe as halfway between creamy and watery. Pretty good taste, though.

12oz bottle. Poured a dark brown color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of burnt malts, lightly smokey, and some chocolate. Thinner tastes of chocolate, roasted malts, and some light citric / hoppiness. Thinner body.

Whoo wee! tasty porter from Summit! I had drank this in the past, but failed to rate it. Had it on tap last night at Alarys in saint paul. Black as night and oh so tasty. Very drinkable though, not to thick. Not sure what it is, maybe cause i dont drink a ton of porters, and i like summit in general, but this was nothing but tasty times!

Deep brown body, and a rather small, tan head. Minimal lacing. Aroma is very pleasant -- both malts and hops are present, and it does smell a lot like chocolate. Flavors are roated nuts and chocolate, with an instant coffee/mild citrus finish. Carbonation is a bit more lively than other porters I’ve had. It’s a little more watery, too, but the potency of the flavors made up for some of that. Not a bad porter, but you can easily find better ones than this.

Living in WI, I’ve developed an interest in exploring the offerings of this brewery, whch offers a number of fine products. In my opinion, this is not their best work. Appearance is a dark, but not opaque, brown. Smell is purely chocolate, and delightful without being overpowering. Taste is slightly weak, relative to its aroma. It has the dark malt/coffee/chocolate notes one expects from a porter, but it s too faint for my taste. Mouthfeel is watery, particularly for this style. This beer feels thin in my mouth from start to finish, again particularly for a porter. This beer is very drinkable for a porter (perhaps too much so!). All in all, this beer is decent, but there are many better porters.

12oz bottle. 20th anniversary on the neck, don’t know if that means anything or not. Anyway...Deep dark brown, but filtered. Clinging light tan head. Cocoa and toffee in the nose. Sweet porter with a nice coffee and bitter chocolate flavor. More so medium bodied. But sweeter than the porters of recent post. Smooth malts throughout, but with a touch of bitter finish. Is it the coffee malts, or a subtle hop character? I’m leaning more toward a dry bitter, sticky hop finish. This is smooth and easy. Nice brew without the bitter side.

12 oz bottle, via joebrew. Pours a clear dark brown colored body under a small foamy light brown head that faded to a thin film. Aroma is mostly chocolaty with some light roast, a little nuttiness, slight graininess, and a touch of coffee. Flavor is balanced between the chocolate malt and roast, with a moderate hoppy bitterness on the finish. Still a little of the nutty flavor there that doesn’t really jive with me for a Porter. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with a slightly creamy texture and moderate fizzy carbonation. This was pretty good, on the hoppier side for Porters, but still solid.