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

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.

and sometimes…

July 5, 2019

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Like you, I love to read beer reviews in order to figure out what to try next. And most times the reviews are sparkly praise. Most times… This will not be one of those.

Sadly, a lot of today’s craft beer is, well,, off the mark. Almost feels like we are in a zone of indecision or in a mode of exploration of new fads that just aren’t panning out. But the reviews of these beers are still just as sparkly. And I find that very disappointing. If crap is crap, call it crap.

For example, today I had a Bourbonic Plague from Cascade brewing. If you were looking up reviews for this beer you would be led to believe that this is one of the greatest beers ever created.

And that was basically the line I was given when I asked about it. Oh its phenomenal, you gotta have one… Ok so I did.

bourbonicplague

Whoa..bad pic

Bourbonic Plague- Sour Porter aged in Bourbon barrels with spices. At $15 a 9oz pour I was fully expecting to be amazed. I was not. What I got was a small snifter of raisin water. That is about the only description that fits this.. beer.

Smells like raisins, tastes like prunes. No spices, no Bourbony effects, barely enough sour to be called a sour.  Almost dead flat, murkey looking. Even the +10% wasn’t noticeable.

I half heatedly joked about the bartender coming back and tell me that they were kidding and giving me the real beer. But nope. This is it.

I started looking at some of the reviews for this and had a thought. Are people praising up this beer so they don’t get embarrassed by the fact they paid a lot of money for a very poor beer? There almost can be no other explanation.

As always,  what ever a review a beer needs have, it what I’m gonna give. Whether its good, bad, or mediocre, its gets what it deserves.

I feel dirty even giving this a 1/5

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