Summit Great Northern Porter

Ebony black, clear with bubbles all around the bottom of the glass. Nice rocky, bubbly 2-finger tan head which fades quickly leaving a small amount of fine lace. Aromas are chocolate, toast, caramel, vanilla, coffee, butter , hops and molasses. Taste is complex and balanced thanks to the use of 3 malts and 3 hops. First hit is toasty malt, burnt toast, coffee, chocolate, caramel, and brown sugar. Slighty sweet but fairly bitter too. Not too much hop flavor, just the bittering in a nice finish. Mouthfeel is appropriate for a porter. This one is a bit more carbonated than most porters but not unpleasantly so. A refreshing malt brew that’s bitter enough for hop-heads.

This is an excellent brew, Summit’s best. I know my rating is quite a bit above the norm, and perhaps I am being skewed somewhat by A) the aforementioned fact that this is the top product in Summit’s line and B) I am comparing it to the Port Washington Old Port Porter I just rated, which was good, but without a solid bite. Great Northern provides that sharp, bitter bite, which balances and cuts the rich chocolate malt beautifully. This brew also scores very well in the intangible categories of Aroma (dark chocolate, strong coffee, heavy hops & cask wood) and Appearance (excellent lace). One of the best porters I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking.

A longtime favorite of mine, once a regular in my fridge, still is, from time to time... Appearance: fully opaque, dark brwon color, big, booming cocoa-tan head, leaving lovely lace, slowly simmering down. Aroma:bittersweet, espresso notes, hints of earth and spice, deep and still lively , just about perfect for the style. Taste: bitter hops, coffee tones, and chocolatey feel returns on the palate, a good bite that softly fades, but resides long enough in the mouthfeel, then softly rounds off, a bit dryly. The overall character never wanes, and this remains an earthy, gritty, dark and tasty porter. I've had many others in the years since this was once my one-and-only, and one that enjoyed in different ways, with other charms, but Summit's GNP remains true. An alternative to the smooth-and-creamy, chocolatey-style porter that are more easily favored by many, but this interpretation is one that I favor. Let the others cringe away from the dark, if they must, but I'll always cling it closely.

Pours a deep dark brown, settles into the glass while blackening as speaker foam - fabulous head about an inch high and is a interesting light brown hue close to the color of bread crust. Speaking of crust, the head itself is crusty and lumpy with divets at first then settled slowly to a thin foam, leaves super curtains of lace. Smell is roasty of chocolate and coffeeish sweet. Taste is openly roasty and slightly burnt malts, has a sweet chocolatey tone and a bit coffee-like in its dryness. Smooth throughout and speaks a bit of bitter chocolate and hops. Super dark and rich - packed with nice robust flavors. Full medium body, texture attaching unique, nicely sweet & bitter drying hints.

A near-perfect porter. Chocolatey for sure, smokey as well. The mouthfeel is just a bit too watery for my taste, though the bitterness is perfect.