Sierra Nevada Porter

[steveh]

12 oz bottle, dated back in early May '04. 5.6% ABV.

Black color with ruby highlights. Firm, tan colored head.

Roasted malt nose, coffee and some mild fruity diacetyl. Some slight, earthy DMS apparent.

Roasted malt hit in first drink. Coffee and sweetish malt flavors linger back. Some licorice notes with warming, even some slight sourness - but not at all offensive.

Medium body with a smooth, slick mouth-feel.

Rich, robust, chewy brew. Big flavors and character grab your attention. Fret, if this is your favorite Porter I don't know what you don't like about Brown Ales - this could be the original Double-Brown Ale (whenever some micro decides it's time for such a fabricated beer). Without the double alcohol, of course. Roastiness heavily dominant in this beer.

S.

[Bruno_78]

Originally posted by steveh
this could be the original Double-Brown Ale (whenever some micro decides it's time for such a fabricated beer).


Can I use that idea?

[steveh]

Originally posted by Bruno_78
Can I use that idea?

Of course.

For kick-back.

S.

[Bruno_78]

What does double really mean? Is it double the alcohol? or double the flavor?

[Stodbrew]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bruno_78
What does double really mean? Is it double the alcohol? or double the flavor? [/QUOTE



Double the pleasure! :D

[Seymour]

Rich, robust, chewy brew. Big flavors and character grab your attention. Fret, if this is your favorite Porter I don't know what you don't like about Brown Ales - this could be the original Double-Brown Ale (whenever some micro decides it's time for such a fabricated beer). Without the double alcohol, of course. Roastiness heavily dominant in this beer.



Hmm. You think porters taste similar to brown ales? I will defer to your more refined palate, but I'm kinda with Fret on the brown ale thing. I'm just not thrilled with 'em. Best one I've tasted so far is Real Ale's Brewhouse Brown. To me, SN's Porter doesn't taste anything at all like a brown ale. BTW, I think SN's Porter is a little bit of heaven.

[MeridianFC]

Brown ale seems to be a pretty wide category. There's a lot of taste space between Newcastle Brown - Sam Smith Nut Brown - Typical American Brown.

I can't stand Newkie Brown (the Brown Bud sez I) but I've like many of the more roasty American Browns I've had. It seems like this style is often a de facto pre-porter.

[fretlessman71]

Maybe there's just enough of everything else to offset the roast in SNP, and the browns just kind of have this "roast and not much else" vibe. Then again, maybe I need to have my taste buds taken in for a checkup! ;)

[chazwicke]

Go to the UK and drink some brown milds. You'll change your opinion.

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Maybe there's just enough of everything else to offset the roast in SNP, and the browns just kind of have this "roast and not much else" vibe.

Fret - read the last sentence in my review...

Seymour, I should have been more definitive as Meridian was - most American Micro-brewed brown ales I've tasted have been very roasty (right down to a brew-pub offering I sampled last night).

To their credit, I am not using this as a criticism of Brown Ales, I've come to expect it as a profile of the sttyle. Moose Drool uses it subtly and balances with sweet malts, Goose Island Hex Nut revels in roasted malts. To be sure, in comparison with Porters, Browns do tend to be sweeter.

I have a Flagg Porter in my fridge, maybe I'll take some notes for a comparative review.

S.

[BluesHarp]

I prefer my roastiness be reserved for porters, and especially stouts. I prefer brown ales to be a little more on the sweet side... Moose Drool, for example.

My new favorite is Tyranena's Rocky's Revenge, a bourbon cask brown. I'm a sucker for bourbon cask beers and this is a good one; the bourbon is apparent, but does not overpower the sweet, subtly roasty base ale. Nicely balanced...

[chazwicke]

Indian Brown is fairly decent too. from our feiends at DFH.

[grizzlymike]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Indian Brown is fairly decent too. from our feiends at DFH.

it's also a great example of how wide the range of style characteristics is for a "brown ale"

dogfish indian brown is great but also very different from new castle, sammy smiths, etc

[Seymour]

I have to say, the Indian Brown is quite nice, about on a par with Brewhouse Brown (Real Ale). Steveh, I would be interested to read your thoughts on Flagg Porter. As a comparison.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by steveh
- this could be the original Double-Brown Ale (whenever some micro decides it's time for such a fabricated beer). Without the double alcohol, of course.

Coastal Extreme Brewing will be releasing Newport Storm "Alyssa" as part of their Cyclone Series of beers. It will be a brown ale recipe that clocks in at 7.9% abv. Should be ready for the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston on January 29th.

Cheers!

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Seymour
I have to say, the Indian Brown is quite nice, about on a par with Brewhouse Brown (Real Ale). Steveh, I would be interested to read your thoughts on Flagg Porter. As a comparison.

I'd be interested in Steveh's impression of the Flagg as well. It has an interesting heritage / provenance.

[fretlessman71]

Thought I'd revive this after steveh directed me to it re a conversation we've been having this morning. I have a few brown ales in the fridge right now that I'm saving for after the tasting to see what happens. I think there's a Left Hand Deep Cover Brown and an Abita TurboDog. I'll be curious to see what I think of them after the marathon! :D

[chazwicke]

I think you will welcome all other styles after the marathon.

[P-Train]

I had a Sierra Nevada Porter last night for the first time.

You know, I didn't really care for it.

I couldn't hit the nail on the head but SOMETHING just didn't do it for me. (And I'm a BIG fan of porters).

Just didn't like the taste...

I dunno.

I may try another one at some other time to figure out why I didn't like it. (For science purposes of course).

[fretlessman71]

Still have the bottle? What were the 4 numbers on the lower left corner of the front label?

[P-Train]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Still have the bottle? What were the 4 numbers on the lower left corner of the front label?

4349

What the heck is that?

[chazwicke]

Was it too roasty? What was it that you did not like? It has been quite a while since I last had one.

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by P-Train
4349

What the heck is that? 4349 = 2004, and the 349th day of the year. So it was bottled on Dec. 14th last year, so it's not an old beer. Porters aren't for everyone... chaz doesn't care for them much. Each to his own. :)

[chazwicke]

I do like them (They are beer after all) and I usually prefer them to stouts. But neither are my first choice. There are some exceptions like Guinness.