Anchor Porter Review

Brewery: Anchor Brewing Co. | Beer: Porter
Style: American Porter | ABV: 5.6% | IBUs: 40
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Dating back to 1972, Anchor Porter is one of the longest surving dark American beers on the shelf today. Like all of the old-school Anchor brews, this is a beer that helped define the American version of its style. Anchor call this the definitive American Porter, and I have to agree with them.

The ingredient bill calls for Two-Row Pale, Caramel, Black, and Chocolate malt varieties along with Northern Brewer hops (added at what the brewers describe as a high rate). Anchor pride themselves on having crafted a dark beer with that's surprisingly light on the palate and define the finished product as:

With deep black color, a thick, creamy head, rich chocolate, toffee and coffee flavors, and full-bodied smoothness, Anchor Porter is the epitome of a handcrafted dark beer.

It's definitely Porter weather outside, so let's dive in to a classic.

Appearance: A dark brown, essentially black body with laser beam ruby-red highlights. Up top, there’s about two fingers of creamy tan-tinged head that feature great retention and lacing.

Aroma: Sweet toasty malt accompanied by mild notes of chocolate, dark fruit, and creamy lactose.

Taste: A sturdy roasted malt backbone with notes of chocolate, coffee, mild spice, and dark fruit. Bitter coffee-ish notes and a good dash of lactic notes cut the malt nicely. Roasted malt and dark fruit in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: A smooth and creamy medium body with good carbonation. The finish dries just a little.

Drinkability: This is a smooth drinker and a brilliant session choice.

Verdict: Anchor Porter is tasty, highly drinkable, and a perfect example of the American Porter style. While it may not be absolutely bursting with flavor, it’s solid and expertly crafted, like every other Anchor beer.

Grade: A-

Sierra Nevada Porter Review

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Beer: Porter
Style: American Porter | ABV: 5.6% | IBUs: 32
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

While Sierra Nevada has been busy reinventing their once-staid package lineup, most of their core beers have made it through the process (RIP Wheat Beer). One of the "original" Sierra Nevada products is their Porter. The label may have changed from blue to brown since I wrote the tasting notes below last year, but this is still the classic beer we've seen on shelves for years.

It has a pretty simple recipe. The backbone is built from Two-Row Pale, Munich, Chocolate and Caramel malts. Golding hops are used for bittering and Willamette hops are used for finishing. According to Sierra Nevada, the result is:

Dark and rich, Sierra Nevada Porter is a delicious, medium-bodied ale with a creamy head. The Porter’s smooth flavor (malty with hints of caramel) comes from a blend of deep-roasted barley malts.

Sounds good to me. Let's pop the top and get a history lesson.

Appearance: A thick, rich mahogany body with ruby highlights and a solid finger of cream-colored head that leaves great lacing.

Aroma: All of the normal aromas for a Porter: roasted malt with lots of smoky, bittersweet chocolate and coffee notes.

Taste: Much the same profile as the nose; lots of roasty malt, rich chocolate, and coffee. But, now there's a subtle hoppiness in the end. Bitter, yet balanced. The aftertaste features dark chocolate and a decent dose of hoppiness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and smooth with good carbonation.

Drinkability: Very drinkable for the style, without ever being too thin.

Verdict: Sierra Nevada Porter is just a solid, drinkable beer. It's uncomplicated, but never simple. Highly drinkable, but never boring. I heard rumors last year that this beer might be taken out of my local market in order to make room for the new year-round Sierra Nevada beers. I'm glad can squeeze everyone in.

Grade: A-

Note: While the label shown above has been been redesigned, the accompanying tasting notes were taken when the beer was fresh in 2009.

Deschutes Black Butte Porter Review

Brewery: Deschutes Brewery | Beer: Black Butte Porter
Style: American Porter | ABV: 5.2% | IBUs: 30
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

I recently reviewed my first Deschutes beer, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, the Oregon brewery's most popular offering. What better choice for the next review than the beer the company defines as its flagship?

Named after an extinct volcano in nearby Sisters, Black Butte Porter dates back to the first days of Deschutes back in 1988. Deschutes doesn't provide much information on the ingredients, but Jonathon over at The Beerocrat called them up and got the details. The hops used are Cascade, Galena, and Tettnanger, while the malts used are Chocolate, Wheat, and mid-level Caramel. Nicely done, Jonathon.

Here's how Deschutes pitch Black Butte:

Black Butte is rich in flavor yet easy to drink, with a creamy, smooth mouth feel. The slight hop bitterness up front only enhances the distinctive chocolate and roasted finish to come.

Sounds good to me, let's dive into this volcano.

Appearance: A hazy, deep dark brown body with ruby highlights and a finger and a half of caramel-tinged head. It leaves a fantastic curtain of lacing that leaves the glass virtually opaque.

Aroma: Roasted malt, bitter chocolate, and dark coffee with hop notes around the edge. The classic Porter aromas, used to great effect here.

Taste: Much the same in flavor as in taste. An abundance of rich, roasty, and chocolaty malt. There's a splash of hop bitterness in the back for added complexity. The aftertaste is of roasted malt and bitter coffee.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and velvety with a smooth carbonation. It coasts the mouth well, allowing the flavors to linger a long time.

Drinkability: With a tasty flavor profile, a medium body, and the alcohol content clocking in at just over five percent, this is a very drinkable beer. If you love dark malt, you could drink this all night.

Verdict: Black Butte is smooth, chocolaty, and tasty as all hell. Well worth seeking out for fans of Porter, Deschutes have brewed up a solid example of the style here.

Grade: A-

Stone Smoked Porter Review

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. | Beer: Smoked Porter
Style: American Porter | ABV: 5.9% | IBUs: 53
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Ah, smoked beer (or Rauchbier in German), what a treat! Drying malt over an open flame goes back for millennia, though with kiln drying becoming the standard way to dry malt hundreds of years ago, smoked malt has become a bit of a specialty. Until recently, the only place still smoking malt on any sort of large scale was Bamberg, Germany, the last real stronghold of Rauchbiers.

As with many traditional styles nearly lost to the ages, smoked beers have enjoyed a bit of a resurgence in America with the craft beer renaissance. One of the best known examples of smoked American beer is Alaskan Smoked Porter, which has been in production since 1988 and on my "must try" for years. While that beer might not be on shelves here on Houston, Stone's Smoked Porter is.

In production since 1996, Stone's Smoked Porter was one of the company's first beers back in their first year of production. As for construction, it's hopped with Columbus and Mt. Hood varieties, though (as usual) Stone make no mention of the malt varieties used. Here's how they describe Smoked Porter:

This beer pours a gorgeous deep mahogany crowned by a creamy head. Dark, smooth, and complex, with rich chocolate and coffee flavors balanced by a subtle smokiness, this brew is equally delicious with meats or fine chocolates.

Unfortunately, I'm fresh out of meats and fine chocolates, so this baby is going to have to fly solo.

Appearance: A dark brown, very nearly black, body with only a handful of red highlights. Up top, a generous, tannish and creamy head that sticks around a good amount of time and leaves great lacing.

Aroma: Lot of smoke over chocolate and roasted malt. Simple, yet effective.

Taste: Much the same profile in the mouth: peaty smoke over a chocolaty, roasty, and somewhat bitter malt backbone. A subtle hop presence contributes to the bitterness, giving this beer great balance. I could definitely handle more smokiness, but what's here is great. The aftertaste is smokey and roasty.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with smooth carbonation and a dryish finish.

Drinkability: About what you'd expect from a nearly six percent Porter. No problems whatsoever polishing off the 22 oz. bomber.

Verdict: Without the smoke component this would still be a solid Porter, but with it in the mix this is a most satisfying brew. If you've never tried a smoked beer, this is a good place to start.

Grade: A-

Kona Pipeline Porter Review

Brewery: Kona Brewing Co. | Beer: Pipeline Porter
Style: American Porter | ABV: 5.4% | IBUs: 30
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Founded in 1994 by a father and son team Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa, Kona Brewing Company is the best selling craft brewer on the Hawaiian Islands. Part of the Craft Brewers Alliance, along with Redhook, Widmer, and Goose Island, Kona enjoys distribution assistance from Anheuser-Busch. This arrangement also allows for the majority the Kona beer available on the mainland to be brewed by fellow Craft Brewers Alliance members.

The first Kona beer that really caught my attention was Pipeline Porter, an American Porter brewed with freshly roasted Kona coffee. Pipeline is available from September through March and features an absolutely gorgeous label design. Here's how Kona describe the beer:

Pipeline Porter is smooth and dark with a distinctive roasty aroma and earthy complexity from its diverse blends of premium malted barley. A delicate blend of hops rounds out this palate-pleasing brew.

I'm a big fan of coffee-themed beers, so hopes are high. Let's dive in.

Appearance: A thick brown, nearly black, body that's remarkably similar to black coffee in direct light. A finger of caramel-tinged and bubbly head that dissipates quickly and leaves spotty lacing.

Aroma: Typical roasty Porter character with the usual chocolate and coffee notes, but with much more focus on coffee. It really smells like a little bit of fresh ground coffee has been mixed in.

Taste: It's pretty much the same story here. The coffee gets a little bit lost compared to in the aroma, but it's certainly still in higher proportion than your average Porter. The malt backbone could use a bit more muscle for my taste, but it's tasty enough. The aftertaste really keeps the coffee flavors going.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with lowish carbonation.

Drinkability: Goes back pretty quick, but it's just not exciting enough to order another.

Verdict: Pipeline is a very straightforward beer: a solid enough, but not amazing, American Porter with a nice coffee focus. If you like Porters and coffee, give it a try, just don't expect a mind-blower.

Grade: B