Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Porter
Tadcaster, England

Pours adark brown almost black color with a tan head.The aroma is a very sweet malt and a hint of chocolate.The flavor is a nice roasted malt, dark chocolate, a little butterscotch and a little hop bite.The body is fairly full.The finish is sweet and a little bitter.Overall another fine brew from Tadcaster, England.

12 fl oz bottle. A very simple beer, but also very well done. Nutty roasted grains, creamy malt, and some subtle English floral hops on the aroma. A nice milky dark cream head, a fairly thick looking body for 5% abv, and a bright brown color. Again, the flavor profile is fairly basic, but each aspect blends into the whole product quite well. Very nice roasted, nutty dark grains, some creamy, light sugared malt, and good light herbal hop presence in the background. A well balanced feel to this beer as well with just enough creamy smoothness and full flavored bite. This one really shows that you don’t have to be the biggest and most complex to still be a great beer.

550 mL bottle from an English pint. Pours a dark dark brown color with a 4 finger tan head. Leaves substantial lacing. This beer has a very malty/barley aroma. Very sweet in the nose. Maybe a little roasty chocolate in the nose. Taste starts with a dark fruit and apple note, but is dominated by a bitter chocolate at the end. Very low carbonation in the mouthfeel. There is a hop bite at the end, but it is very subtle. This is basically the gold standard for porters.

Bottle. A - Deep mahogany with ruby edges. Large creamy beige head. Good retention and little lacing left. S - Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and a hint of tobacco. T - Roasted malt and chocolate and coffee make up most of the taste. More chocolate than coffee. Also with these is some caramel, butterscotch, and burnt sugar/molasses. Slightly sweet and slightly bitter porter. M - Medium body with low carbonation. Very smooth and creamy despite being somewhat thin. Would like it to be a bit fuller. D - Really good smooth and easy to drink. Lovely flavors that are well balanced. Lots of good porter flavors. Notes: Very nice porter with balanced and nice flavors. Not too bitter and not too sweet. Smooth and nice body, but I would like it to be a bit fuller.

[Bottle] Pours a dark brown color with a small brown head. Sweet aroma of toffee and roasted grain. Roasted malt taste includes a healthy amount of brown sugar, molasses and dark chocolate. Dry and somewhat grainy astringent finish. Mouthfeel was about as expected. It was pretty decent, but I have definitely had better.

550 ml bottle. Pours dark brown in colour, hint of ruby red. Nice big tan head. Aroma and taste are primarily roasted malt, with a hint of chocolate. Good porter!

I think a lot of people are being fooled by the fancy, artful label on this bottle. It reeks of tradition, conjuring images of Old England and its masterful brewers. But I gotta tell ya, this is one of the clearly overrated beers around. It pours a dark brown 0,35 out of the bottle, ending with a short-lived beige head. Smell is nice and promising: tar, burnt toast, toffee. But where’s the taste? Hints of licorice and dark malts, but hints? In a porter? A beer of this stature shouldn’t need subtlety to work on its side. It should at least be up in your face with something. The Taddy Porter has surprisingly little to offer in that department, and while I’ve always considered it a bit bland I’ve now sat down and had a proper, review-style tasting - and it really ain’t too impressive. To describe the palate as watery would be unjust, but it’s definitely more in that direction than the "full body" they’re bragging about in the commercial description. Hints of smoke and caramel in the aftertaste, which disappears before I got impressed on any level. I’d be too much of a crowd pleaser if I gave this anything above a mediocre rating.

Opaque dark brown color with a tan creamy head. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, and a touch of hops. Flavor of roasted malts, chocolate and a bit of hops on the back end. Lacing clings to the side of the glass. Creamy mouth feel. Very nice beer!