Good City Porter

December 7, 2019

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I was out picking up a 6 pack of something for the Friday, and I was shocked at how hard it is now days to find just a regular beer. I don’t want raspberry this or coconut that. Just a beer please.

It took a while, but I found this Goodcity Brewing’s Detail Porter.

goodcity

For something that’s named Detail,, there arn’t many details about it. Its a 5.4% porter style in a can. That’s all of the info there is. Ok, lets drink this.

Cracking open the can I was a bit surprised at almost no action. In fact, I was a bit worried, but when actually pouring the beer into my glass it was quite lively. Not exactly a cascade but definite carbonation bubbling and forming a light tan head on the very dark brown body.

The Dark roast aroma is not heavy, but in good amounts. I would say more of the black malts than roasted barley. Then right behind comes light chocolate. But not a sweet chocolate, more like a grainy brownie chocolate. If you search hard enough you can just pick out the faintest of faint hop,, but its nearly hidden.

Going in for the first taste. Much different than the aromas. Much more up front roast here. Then chocolate is much further behind it, but there is an instant coffee crystals thing now. And it fits nicely. More hops in the flavor as well, but not of the citrusy or piney varieties. More like Goldings or such. Nothing in the way of a yeast though, so would assume an American strain. Good stuff here.

The body is lighter, but still in the medium range. With the standard carbonation, the bittering is noticeable, but minimal… but perfect level this beer.

If I was going to make a porter right now, this is pretty close to what I would be looking for. Simple. But having just enough of everything, and not having to need a gimmick to be good.

I’m going to go grab another of this Detail Porter. 3.75/5

Revisit- Grey Lady Porter

December 4, 2019

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Our second Titletown beer this week is Grey Lady Porter.

This is a beer that we have previously reviewed back in 2017, but this time they have it on nitro. Not sure why, but we will go along with the fad because I really liked this beer.

Pours with a very light tan but thick nitro style head. But of course that nitro head covers up almost anything related to aroma.. but a slight grainy effect is coming thru, but not much else.

Not sure I would call this black. But it’s close. Sitting on the bar it’s very dark, but lifting it you get a nice mahogany brown. And that head is still there.

And.. wait a second… Was this keg in a different cooler? Cause it’s noticably warmer than what other beers here are normally served at. I sure hope that is the case because it really makes this particular beer stand up.

The light handed chocolates and roasts is what makes this beer. They are both subtle and the highlight at the same time.
It is a sweeter porter.. but not brown ale sweet, but it’s very close. As it gets even warmer I think I’m getting some yeast esters. A British type apple just in the background.

I don’t get much for hops in taste or nose, but the bittering is just enough for the sweetness.

The body is fairly light.. but that nitro does fluff it up a bit. While the carbonation is quite low, that would be expected with both the style and the use of nitro.. but it fits well here.

Even now as I’m near the bottom and it’s warmed, I still cannot get much aroma of anything.

This is a great beer, and one of those rare cases where the nitro didn’t destroy it. But it didnt help it either. I would certainly would prefer it on regular Co2 to get all that it offers tbough. I would like to see the Co2 and nitro side by side.

3.5/5

Parish at Large

December 2, 2019

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We are at Titletown Brewing for a few new offerings this week.

First one is the Parish at Large Imperial Stout. Titletown usually does big beers very well so am looking forward to it.

Because this is in the +11% range it is served in a smaller goblet style glass. Very black. No highlights peeling thru. Thick head that for as high of alcohol as it is, stays for quite a while.

The pour seems a bit colder than normal, but there is a bit of grainy, chocolate there with quite a bit of sweetness. But not like that underattenuated thing that you sometimes get with bigger beers. Not much for roast though and just the most subtle hops aroma..everything is quite restrained for an Imperial Stout. I was expecting a decent punch of.. something.

Tastewise there is a while lot going on at once. Chocolate, with a moderate black roast level. And something alot of today’s stouts don’t have… Hop TASTE. But like the aromas,, everything is balanced, but on the low side. But certainly enough to cover up that 11% which you start to feel about half way thru.

The body of this beer is what I’d call a medium. Lighter than what you would think of in an imp stout but creamy and smooth so it evens out. The bittering doesn’t stand out, but does keep everything in check here.

This is a very hard beer to get a hold on. Being called a imperial, but every aspect of it is kinda middle of the road, except the alcohol. But mix it all together and hide that boozyness, and you have a very nice, frighteningly easy drinking stout.

4/5

Mobcraft Vanilla Wafer Porter

November 27, 2019

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I’m at Glass Nickel Pizza today and I see they are putting up a new beer on tap.

Mobcraft Vanilla Wafer Porter. Sounds “interesting” so let’s give it a shot.

It is a nitro pour that seems to be a bit more active than the tender anticipated, but we finally got one poured and it looks pretty good.

Trying to get a good nose on it, but that damn nitro really covers most of it up. But there is still a good amount of chocolate and a sweetness here,, but like a cookie kinda sweet, not sugar. Not much for roast though.

This is a terrible pic of it,, but the beer is just on the line of dark brown and black. Nice highlights and that head laces all the way down.

When we get to tasting this, the first thing that gets you is the chocolate. Almost cake like,, but strangely,, no vanilla, unless you think Nilla Wafers taste like vanilla.

There is enough roast to call this a porter, but its really on the low side,, not sure where else this would fall so yea,, I’ll agree with porter.

There is no, or very little hop taste here, but the bitterness level really plays good with the sweet. The balance of this is quite admirable as this could have easily been overly sweet.

The 7% totally goes unnoticed with the huge body that I’m not convinced is due to the nitro. Feels like good old mash technique.

I gotta say that I like this beer quite a bit more than I expected. It’s light roast, chocolate, and pastry notes all come together well.

I gave this a 3/5,, but as it’s warming I could go higher now that the roast is peeking thru a little more.

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