Samuel Adams Holiday Porter

I've had this guy sitting in my fridge for way too long, but I didn't want to drink it without giving it a proper review. I don't know why, there really isn't anything special with it that I've heard, just that it was a solid brew from Sam Adams. I'll always hold Sam Adams near and dear to my heart because after years of downing piss water from the other major brewers, Boston Lager was the first beer I had that made me realize beer can have other tastes besides raccoon urine and bat feces. Granted, my palate has expanded greatly since then, but I always give kudos to the first macrobrewer to experiment with their beers.

Appearance: Pours with a dark brown color, you can barely make out the shadows on the other side of the glass when looking into the light, but for all intents and purposes, it's thick enough that you can't see through it. A ton of frothy light cream colored head that isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Smell: Chocolate and roasted nuts, with a little bit of sweet caramel, a very enjoyable scent to say the least.

Taste: Less chocolate, more roasted nuts and sweetness, none of which is too overpowering, and a little bit of resin hop flavors that also provide a bitterness on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body, crisp, clean, a little dry on the aftertaste, well carbonated, no real heavy alcohol bite.

Drinkability: "This robust brew was the London porters' drink of choice after their long work days and it will keep you warm on any wintry day." The back label says it all, this is an easy drinking porter that will warm the soul on a cold winter day. There are some very good flavors here, and none that are too overpowering or strong that will make you avoid having another one. 5.8% abv also won't stop you from having a couple more, hell you could even use it as a winter session beer. The only thing that may be a negative is that each sip is the same as the previous one, which could bore some of you enthusiasts looking for something more from their beer. Overall, I do give it a solid 8/10, and will continue to look for this for the rest of the season.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Sam Adams glass

Sierra Nevada Porter

Sierra Nevada is one of the original and classic microbreweries in the USA, so it is safe to say that whatever they make is going to be damn good. After Mike's review of Sierra's Kellerweis and Alex's acknowledgment of the ~20 different Sierra Nevada ales (I did not know over half of them!) on tap at Blind Tiger, NYC about a month ago, I decided on trying a new Sierra Nevada myself. Luckily for me, I did not have to buy this beer one but simply "borrow" it from my father's beer sanctuary.
Appearance: Two fingers of head as a result from a careful pour that appeared watery. However, as it sits in the glass awaiting its fate, it seems quite [midnight/unpermeable]-ish. The head dissipates to a fragile layer after 4 minutes of chillin'.

Smell: Very refreshing that gives you the "ahhhhh!" factor. Caramel and chocolate malts stand out like a stout, but not as bold. Not recognizing the Goldings & Willamette hops used in this creation, but the aroma is pleasantly warming as if you were waking up to a fresh roast of coffee or even a good night desert brownie.

Taste: Goes down smooth and tastes like fancy dark chocolate with extra cacao. Well balanced with a sweet caramel malt finish.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation bite is almost too tingling. Chocolate after bite melts in your mouth and you can actually sense mild hop bitterness on your tongue after awhile (this beer has 40 IBUs Sierra Nevada Porter.

Drinkability: This American Porter beat my expectations and hit the spot as fall is kicking in with 50-60 degree weather already. I am a IPA (make that DOUBLE IPA) drinker year round, but this hit the spot to take a break from the hop slaughter on my body. Coming in at just 5.6% abv, I would have another with no question. Excellent creation! 9/10.

Stone Smoked Porter

This will be the last of the night for us.


Appearance: A typical porter that's dark black, thick, and lacy head. Again, our bottle must have had the shakes because we got abnormal amounts of head (I think it was Jimmy's crazy snow driving on the way home from the Beverage Barn, but I digress).

Smell: This is bizarre; we both smell apple. I don't know if this is on purpose with some weird combination, but geez, no distinguishing characteristics between hops and malts (WHAT A CATCH BY MARK CLAYTON!). We want to smell smokey or coffee malts, but we don't know if that's just the power of suggestion.

Taste: Dry sweet malts, kind of bland, no hops. Pretty simple taste.

Mouthfeel: Lighter than the appearance would suggest, lightly carbonated, licorice aftertaste, but as much as we want to have a smokey aftertaste, its just not there.

Drinkability: Easy to go down, especially compared to a stout or other porters we've had. The alcohol content doesn't make you put down the beer at 5.9%, but there really isn't much else to explore after the first one. We averaged out a 6.5/10, its a good beer but compared to other porters it doesn't hold its own.

Victory Baltic Thunder

This bottle wasn't as cool as the Sam Adams one, but I decided to pick it up from the Beverage Barn because it was one of those Victory beers I heard of in passing but didn't really know a lot about. So I figured I would try it out for myself.

Appearance: Pours as a thick brown lacquer with very little light passing through. Almost no carbonation and no head to speak of, as if I just opened up some used Mobil 1. Similar color to the Sam, but you can definitely tell the difference between a bock and porter.

Smell: Roasted, oakey malts with a tiny hint of spice or flowers. No bitterness or hops to speak of.

Taste: Deep roasted malts, but not overpowering, with some hops in there. I was expecting a little more. I'm kind of suspecting that its too cold and I may need to wait for it to warm up a bit before the beer's character really comes through.

Mouthfeel: Thick, almost chewy, and flat, pretty standard for a porter. Leaves a little something for you on the way down.

Drinkability: Porters don't lend themselves to being drunk in massive quantities and this is no exception. While the malts are good I was kind of hoping for a little something more. Seemed kind of generic and didn't really bring something special to the table. At a modest 8.5% abv its not the strongest beer out there but you can't drink too much of it. I'll give it a 6.5/10, which may be a little harsh, but its just not doing it for me. Try it, you might find something in it I missed.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Sam Adams pint glass