A Forgotten Style

A style that I have ignored a lot recently is the porter. The style of beer is great, but I think most people overlook it with the new craze on huge beers. People get very caught up in the huge imperial stouts that are barrel aged and the wild ales that are normally always limited in some way. I get caught up in those again, but in a recent trade, I received an extra and it was a porter. I was pretty excited to see a beer I hadn't had before and a style that I have kind of forgotten about. So this evening, I will be reviewing Mayflower Brewing Company's Porter.

I poured this one into my Sam Adam's Sensory glass.

It pours about 1/2 finger of khaki tan head, then fades to a ring around the edge of the glass. Leaves a very small amount of lace. Color is black, but when held up to the light it shows some ruby hued copper colors near the edge of the glass.

Aroma: The aroma begins very sweet. It has a milk chocolate and cocoa flavor up front along with a nice level of roasted malts. There are some light coffee flavors hidden in the back a bit with some grassy hops. This beer has a lot of malts up front, but is balanced out a bit by the hops.

Taste: The taste begins with a lot of malts, very roasted. The beer brings a lot of milk chocolate and coffee notes to the table and they complement the roasted malts nicely. There is also some sweet molasses. Again, the grassy hops are there, but nothing to big.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, and a tad bitter from the hops. This beer has a medium to full body with a medium amount of carbonation. This porter ends dry with malt flavors, typical for the style.

Overall, I really enjoyed this beer. It represents the style well and is drinkable. I am very glad I got to try this beer and I could easily drink another. Everything just seems to work well this beer. It is simple, but complex at the same time. Worth a try.

Sometimes a beer drinker forgets about the more standard styles, but it just makes them taste that much better once you crack one open. Glad I got this beer and remembered how much I enjoy some of the simpler beers out there.

Cheers and thanks for reading!
-Ben