Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter

So it's time to wrap the Porter series. This week we are going to take a look at Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter. Samuel Smith's Old Brewery has revived this old style with a little twist of their own. The water they use, which by percentage is the largest ingredient, is drawn from a well that was originally tapped in 1758. So the Taddy Porter has a taste unlike any other porter on the market, and here's what the brewers would like you to know about this brew.

Taddy Porter is a very dark, full bodied ale with a rich, creamy head and an intense, dry, tangy character. It won the Platinum Medal and World Champion Porter awards at the World Beer Championships and was declared "one of the world's five best beers" by Michael Jackson (I am not sure if it's "the" Michael Jackson or not). It is suggested to be served at about 55 Degrees.

As for my thoughts...I fully agree with the full bodied declaration by the brewery. It is dark and malty, with just a hint of roasted character. It pour out with a nice thick head that hangs out for a while and goes down smoothly. The after taste is sweet and long lasting but not incredibly intense, so it won't bother you at all. And as with other porters, the hop profile is very subtle.

As with other darker, heavily malted beers, pair this with meat such as beef or spicy sausage for a nice balance of flavors. I had it along with some spicy Italian sausage and cabbage soup. It was a wonderful pairing.

I love the classic old world idea of this brew. The use of well water from 1700's well, and what seems to be a solid, standard porter recipe, transports my mind to a London Pub near a dock. So the official Everything Brewed rating for this Porter, will be a full 5 out of 5 pints. I fully recommend you pick some up from your favorite craft beer retailer soon.

Thanks for checking out this week’s Brew Review. Thoughts, comments, and questions are, of course, welcome. And remember to enjoy your beer, but responsibly please. Also, don’t forget to check out their website for more information on this and other brews by Samuel Smith's Old Brewery.

PS Check out the Mats Around the World section and help make it interesting.

Cheers,
Jason

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Arcadia Ales Shipwreck Porter

If you are a craft beer enthusiast like I am, you have no doubt noticed a rise in the number of barrel aged brews available on the market today. If you also happen to appreciate a fine whiskey….well that’s another blog post for another day.

This week, I decided to explore what wood could do for our series selection, Porter. So from Arcadia Ales of Battle Creek, Michigan, a microbrewery specializing in British style ales since 1996, we get Barrel Aged Shipwreck Porter. Now normally at this point I would tell you what they want you to know about this brew. However, there is not a lot of information available on their website. I know that it is 12% ABV and 50 IBU’s and $5.89 for a 12 oz. bottle (check local listings).

Now I know that of all that vital information, the price sticks out the most. But at 12% ABV, this is not intended to be a “drinking” beer, but more of a “sippin’” beer. So don’t multiply that by 6 and think you’ve blown your drinking money for the whole weekend. One was plenty for me and I am a professional, well almost.

Once I broke through the wax dipped cap and poured this beer into the glass, I noticed, as I have with other barrel aged beers of this strength, that there was very little head that formed. It is a thick, black ale which allows little light to come through. That’s how it looks, but what about the taste??

At 50 IBU’s you may expect a strong hop bite at the beginning. But keep in mind that’s a measure of hop content more than hop taste. 50 may be the middle, but it is way over balanced by the amount of malt in the brew so don’t worry if you are hop shy. Like other beers from this series, Shipwreck Porter is very malty with a hint of the alcohol but not to the point of flavor loss. If you use lacing as a measure of beer quality, you will go low on this one, but that really doesn’t factor into the flavor at all.

So if you aren’t scared to try an extreme beer, both in alcohol strength and flavor, don’t hesitate to give this brew a whirl.

The official Everything Brewed Rating on this brew was hard to establish. I miss many classic Porter notes on this because of the intensity of the flavor. But it is a fantastic brew over all because of the intensity of the flavor. All things considered, I give this a 3 out of 5 pints.

Thanks for checking out this week’s Brew Review. Thoughts, comments, and questions are, of course, welcome. And remember to enjoy your beer, but responsibly please. Also, don’t forget to check out www.arcadiaales.com for more information on this and other brews by – you guessed it – Arcadia Ales.

PS Check out the Mats Around the World section and help make it interesting.

Cheers,
Jason

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Great Divide Brewing Co. - Saint Bridget's Porter

Continuing the Porter Series, I selected a Robust Porter this time. A robust porter, sometimes referred to as American Porter, will have a more roasted flavor than the standard (brown or English) porter – at times, it may even have a mild “burnt” taste like that of a stout. And as with other porters, you will find very little hops flavor, aroma, or bitterness.

So this week, The Great Divide Brewing Company out of Denver, Colorado, winner of 17 Great American Beer Festival medals and 5 World Beer Cup awards, gives us Saint Bridget’s Porter, a roasted and elegant robust porter. Here’s what they want you to know about their brew:

“Saint Bridget’s Porter is an elegant, smooth porter that brims with coffee and chocolate characteristics of dark barley malts. Saint Bridget was a patron Saint of Ireland, known for the epic miracle of transforming her bathwater into beer for thirsty clerics.”

                Silver Medal – Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival, 2007

                Gold Medal – World Beer Cup, 1996

Now for my thoughts….. this beer pours nicely into the glass without too much foam. A nice head did develop, but quickly cleared making way for the sweet, dark nectar contained within said glass. There was little lacing left on the side of the glass. For some, looking at beer this dark in color would make you expect to have a harsh intro of flavor. You will, however, find that your initial impression of this ale is quite different. It starts nestled nicely between roasted and burnt.

In the middle, I found more coffee than chocolate notes, which suited me just fine. It was a smooth, very mildly hopped, slightly sweet brew that was just as easy to sip on its own as it was to drink paired with ravioli topped with spicy Italian sausage and sun dried tomato Alfredo sauce. Other food pairing ideas from the bottle label include rosemary chicken, seared scallops, grilled beef and hearty stews. Saint Bridget’s is only slightly carbonated with a fairly thin mouth feel that leaves a short lasting after taste. I detected no bathwater notes at all, but I am not going to dock any points for that.

All that combined with the $1.85 / 12 oz bottle (check local craft beer supplier listings) give me no choice but to make the official Everything Brewed Rating for this particular selection 4 out of 5 Pints. So run out and try some right after you finish reading this Brew Review won’t you?

Thanks for checking out this week’s Brew Review. Thoughts, comments, and questions are, of course, welcome. And remember to enjoy your beer, but responsibly please. Also, don’t forget to check out www.greatdivide.com for more information on this and other brews by Great Divide Brewing Company.

PS Check out the Mats Around the World section and help make it interesting. 

Cheers,
Jason

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