Wagner Valley Sugar House Maple Porter

Brewed by Wagner Valley Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Lodi, New York USA

Bottle. Pours dark brown with a red/tan head. Roasted aroma, with caramel, brown sugar and chestnut. Medium body. Flavor is roasted, lightly smoky, and has vanilla and brown sugar. I guess a hint of maple syrup, but I would never have noticed it if I wasn’t looking for it. Slight lingeriung bitterness.

12 oz bottle, via BA BeerTruth. Pours dark brown body with a rather large craggy foamy brown head that slowly faded. Looks like lots of carbonation going on here. The nose is roasty with a weird note that seems to walk the line between cola and artificial maple syrup. There’s also a leafy almost wintergreen undertone. The flavor is roasty with a good bit of chalky dryness below the maple sugar sweetness. To be honest, I’m having a hard time really locking in on specifics in the flavor because there’s just soooo much fizzy foaming carbonation the moment that it hits the tongue it just explodes, and it’s just very distracting. I’ve been swirling the hell out of my glass to try to coax some of the gas out of it. Overall, I really can’t say that this was good, but after a long ass time in my glass and lots of agitation it became much more drinkable than when I started the glass.

heard good things, but disappointed with this. First, a bit boozy in both the aroma and flavor. Didn’t smell all that great, and was kind of a one-trick pony. None of the chocolate, coffee, hop complexity seen in others examples in this style. Just kind of roasted, and then done. And where’ the maple syrup? Would not go to again.

I really liked this beer. Had a few samples at the brewery and this particular beer really stood out.

Bottle. Pours near black with dark brown edges and a three finger tan head. Metallic hops, earthy malts, and hints of chocolate and roasted malt on the nose. Flavor is is much better than the nose, beginning with some roasted malt and maple sweetness, caramel, brown sugar, chocolates, ending with a lightly hopped finish. Mouthfeel is medium and oily, leaving roasted malt, dark chocolate on the palate. Good balance, great session beer.

Bottle sampled on 9/17/07: Pours a nearly opaque black with dark mahogany edges and a thin-lacing tan head. Aroma of sweet dark caramel with a touch of maple and earthy hops. Starts with nice full caramely sweetness and some slightly doughy chocolate and chestnut flavor. A nicely-balanced and interesting porter.

Bottle shared from TomDecapolis. Pours a deep, dark brown with a average-sized tan head. Aroma is roasted malts, molasses, sprinkling of vanilla. Flavor was on the sweetness side, with some of the roasted goodnees coming through, some chocolate, a little vanilla. Not so much maple could I detect. Good overall.

12oz bottle shared courtesy of TomDecapolis. Poured a deep brown, almost black, color with an averaged sized tan head. Aromas of maple, roast, molasses, and some chocolate. Tastes of maple, brown sugar, chocolate, roast, and caramel. Sweeter. Lively body.