Sunday River Black Bear Porter

Brewed by Sunday River Brewpub and Restaurant
Style: Porter
Bethel, Maine USA

Last HWOH under the Sunday River name. These guys make very solid beers overall, so this one was no exception. Great dark brown almost black body with a nice deep beige head. Aroma is toffee, chocolate, caramel, citrusy orange hops, nutty and light roast. Light hop presence in the flavor but is dominated by dark chocolate malts and hints of nuts, roast, and more sugary toffee. Smooth mouthfeel with a porter-like finish in the end.

Any first impressions?
-A veil of foam floats atop a murky dark brown.
-Earthy, citrusy hops and muddy roastiness intrigue the nostrils.
-Wooden hops take quite a bit of space in the flavor spectrum, as roastiness has to set back in the second violin position.
-The comfy carbonation fits the light and quenching mouthfeel.

What if you dig deeper?
-Some burnt fruitiness is found hugging the malts.
-This lacks the maltiness of the best porters, and thus feels more like a brown IPA, but it’s good, so who cares?
-I don’t think the flavors coalesce completely, but this still remains a flavorful pint.
-A more recent pint offered lots of roastiness and caramel in a very slim mouthfeel, ending in roasted and wooden hop bitterness. From 3.4 to 3.0.

On tap at the brewpub on two separate occasions.

opaque blackish red hue with a tanish head. aroma a mix of chocolate and toffee, some smokey notes. Intally sweet with some roasted notes mianly chocolate. Really smoth and balanced.

12 oz bottle from the Malt of The Earth monthly beer club. Thanks to pman for the beer. Unlike the 420 IPA, I really liked this beer. Pours black with a dark beige head that is plentiful and thick. Has a strong chocolate roasted aroma. Flavors are smokey and chocolatey. The finish is a bit milky and tart. has a very pleasant palate. Not too roasted, but just right. The big chocolate flavors and great head retention make this a worthwhile porter.

12 oz bottle from the Malt of The Earth monthly beer club. Drank from the bottle so cannot comment on appearance. Smell was sweet caramel malt. Taste is sweet and smooth, but a bit flat, watery and thin. Very little body. Weak finish, no bang. No aftertaste to speak of. Not a bad beer, but not very inspiring.

12-oz. bottle from beastiefan2k. Pours dark molasses with a thin frothy tan head, lasting, and spotty lacing. Aroma is dark roasted caramel and nut malt (cookie) with faint chocolate, yeast (leather) and woodsy notes. Medium acidity, moderate drying bitter hop flavor, toasty and nutty, caramel and chocolate malt. Medium to dark bodied, dry and spicy, fizzy palate.

12 oz bottle fridged for an hour. Pour is a thin black color with a minimal head that turns into a minimal lacing. Aroma is present - roastiness muffled with hops. Taste is similarly hoppy with some aspect of roastiness. I dont lke hopped porters but I have had worse. A bit to watery and thin for me. Mouthfeel is oily as well.

Bottle from porterhouse and served in a pils glass: pous a deep brown with a lasting frothy tan head and good lace. The aroma has notes of walnut, roasted and burnt malt, coffee, some chocolate, grassy hops, and a note of lactic pungent ester. The taste is a mild combination of hop bitterness and roasty malt background. Additionally some of a coffee and cream (i.e. lactic sourness) character finished by a nutty and dry quality. The feel is standard fare for the style, watery and fizzy. An okay brew and worth trying once. Too hoppy with not enough malt backbone for my liking.