Tasting Notes: Keystone Brewery: Dark Porter

Keystone Brewery: Dark Porter (England: Porter: 4.5% ABV)

Visual: Dark brown black with a thin sheen of beige bubbles.

Nose: Dusty, grain, old style windmills (Wheat chaff, flour and grindstones). Barbecue sauce at the back. Honey, aniseed, slightly milky.

Body: Dry wheat body, wood shavings. Understated light bitterness and lots of crushed grain. Citrus orange with chocolate at the back. Treacle.

Finish: Fresh, charred touch ligers then a breath freshener sparkle. Light chocolate.

Conclusion: A very wheat like porter that almost completely avoids the usual coffee and chocolate stereotype, only a touch of it lingers around the edges.

Much more light and refreshing due to this fact, and the range of flavours is heavily dependant on the size of gulp you take. Light wheat in small sips and the small chocolate touches in large mouthfuls.

It doesn’t quite work but it is an interesting try. There’s a great beer in this style somewhere, but its going to take a different beer to reach it.