Summit Great Northern Porter

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

Bottle. Pour is brown, even a touch of reddness. Full porter taste, dark chocolate and roast coffee. Nice full hop taste at the end. Another nice Summit beer.

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, brown, mostly diminishing. Body is clear dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, coffee, chocolate), lightly hoppy (resin), with a note of chalk. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Fair, nothing special.

Bottled. Beer is dark, nearly opaque warm brown with an average-sized, frothy, beige, mostly diminishing head.<P> The aroma is malty with moderate notes of roasted grain, cocoa, light note of molasses, whole coffee beans; Hoppy with a light note of resin/pine; Yeasty with a moderate note of dough, light note of basement. Very roasty-forward, not a lot else. <P> The flavor is moderately-to-heavily bitter, lightly sweet with a lingering, lightly acidic, moderately bittersweet finish.<P> The body is light, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively/fizzy.

Bottle. Pours very dark red with a tan head. Nice lacing. Aroma is roasty malt, chocolate, and coffee. Flavor is very roasty at first, followed immediately with strong coffee and hop notes. Very solid porter.

Quite sweet chocolate aroma and flavor, with hops that balance nicely. As it warms, the hop character can become a bit harsh for the style, which messes with the finish. Like the other Summit brews, this one is above average, but not exceptional.

Bottle from Pat’s. Dark brownish blackish pour with minor ruby menical color notes. The aroma is roasty malty with a pronounced chocoff and molasses note, and some hoppiness that reminds me a little of Alpha Klaus. The flavor is fairly rich, with notes of roasted dark malt, dark chocolate, and molasses, plus an ending blast of hops and slight spice. This is a very nice porter.

Bottle during my Great Lakes region brew tour. Pours a dark red, nearly black, with a huge, dense dark tan head that forms an aesthetically pleasing terrain. The aroma is of very bright coffee, chocolate, and the hops are there indeed. They add a piny character. Now, no sooner do I pour this and evaluate the aroma than the fire alarm goes off in the Super 8 Hotel and cause the guests to evacuate. I, not thinking clearly, leave my beer inside. Yes, a stupid decision. The Pleasant Prarie Fire Department arrives on the scene and we spend a good twenty minutes in the parking lot while they fish out some smoking air filter or something. When I return to my room I find my room temperature Summit porter still sporting that fine tan head. Impressive. Swirling the beer reveals dense lacing. Some soy sauce is apparent in the flavor and the coffee taste is so complete that it made me question the use of beans in the brewing process. Slight piny hops nip at my taste buds. I enjoyed this porter thoroughly.

Nice lace, nice head, nice end to a not-so-nice-day. Vanilla, choclate, buttery flavor with smooth finish; flavor does not leave with warming. A great night cap.