Coincidently, I decided
to crack open a bottle of porter as I was coming to the end of
cooking dinner. My family were getting themselves ready to eat and
set the table. It was then that my dad walked into the kitchen and
opened up a bottle of Stone 'Smoked Porter', a big bottle. Stone is a
brewer based in California, USA and they have an angry looking devil
as their symbol. You'd spot a label of theirs a mile off, their
branding is that distinctive.
For my dad's 60th
Birthday in January, I'd bought him a selection of 12 beers. A
variety of different beers from different brewers all over the world.
It took me an awful long time to chose them all as the shop (Real
Ale) has such a large selection. Another 'perk' of the job.
The smoked Porter was a
take on a classic and very traditional English style Porter. The
slight twist with this was was that some peat smoked malts had been
used. When I say slight, it was very delicate and barely noticeable.
Maybe that was the idea. It was a great Porter overall but the body
was a bit lighter than I would have thought and the smoke wasn't
prominent enough for me.
Maybe it tasted bland
as I tried my first sip after I'd finished a Porter off for myself.
The bottle I'd opened was 'Robust Porter' from Smuttynose. And my,
how robust it was. Instantly floating around the top spot of all the
Porters that I have ever tried.
Smuttynose have been
brewing since 1994 in New Hampshire, USA. They appear to have
perfected their recipes. I'm told their 'Finestkind IPA' is one of
the 'finest' in IPAs out there.
Robust Porter is so
universally liked as you could tell by the fact that it scored 99/100
on ratebeer.com. I f***ing love the stuff.
After dinner my dad
opened up a bottle of Odell's 'Cutthroat Porter'. A good all rounder,
toasty, chocolatey and full bodied. Once again Odell you've done, I'm
impressed. My dad enjoyed it to. Not to offend the guys at Odell or
Stone, but my dad never had a chance to try the Robust Porter. One
that will never leave my mind, ever.
I was enjoying this
impromptu Porter tasting session that my dad and myself had embarked
on. To be honest, he never made it known that he was having fun but I
think he was, I'm sure of it.
I had been saving this
one but it seemed the perfect bottle to finish off such a session.
'Stout Porter' by the lovely chaps at Anspach & Hobday. A couple
of fine gentlemen brewing great beers in Bermondsey, South London.
One of the many Breweries that make up the 'Bermondsey Mile', roughly
a mile along a road that is full of fantastic craft brewers.
When I first saw I, the
words 'stout' and 'porter' together made me think it was possibly a
combination of two very similar styles of beer. Maybe it was but at
8.2% I think having stout there was meant as the verb rather than the
noun, or style of beer.
It is a heavily built
and thick set Porter. Full bodied, rich, strong flavours and boozy.
Golly it was not one to knock back in one. I had it going for a
little while. A lonesome tear trickled down my left cheek as I
approached the end then out of the bottom of my eye gazing down my
nose I saw the last few drops slide out and down my throat.
I really hope I can
make in time to their 'take over' at The Three Johns in Islington on
Thursday 26th.
A tasting at the shop
followed an hour or so later by more booze from Anspach & Hobday
after an ordeal on public transport. I can't wait, I thoroughly enjoy
indulging on some delectable beers.
TRY THE ROBUST PORTER IF YOU LIKE PORTER
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