Anchor Porter

bottle 335ml from Alko EXP Dec 08 murky black tiny beige head scent:roasted malts dry hops Taste: hops kicked first tickling then rich roasted malts pleasant coffee chocolate as well. I have tasted this many years ago last time. One of my favorites

Large head. Taste of alcohol and burnt coffee. Pretty good. I like Olg Fog horn better though.

I had my first two Anchor Brewing beers while in Texas on a sort for Borders, and they were the classic Steam Beer and Liberty Ale. But up until yesterday, I had yet to partake of their Porter. Thankfully that travesty of my life is now over and I can consider myself an enlightened Anchor Porter fool.
My Anchor Porter poured a thick blackish brown with very little room left for light. Holding it up to a lamp, only faint hints of amber can be seen along the bottom of the glass. a minimum two finger head of soft cappuccino tinged foam tops off my glass, lingering for at least a couple minutes, leaving masses trails of brussels lace as her soft depths slowly retreated into my brew. Her nose is brimming with creamy milk chocolate notes, hints of licorice, dark malts, and vanilla. A quaff later and my tastebuds are reveling in a pleasantly light body with mild weight. It’s certainly not as light as a lager, but not nearly as heavy as some porters I have enjoyed. She is smooth, balanced, and more than happy to show off her lush body resplendent in chocolate and café latte notes, vanilla nips, and a lingering bit of bitterness in the finish do to either the richly roasted malts, hops, or both. The tinge of lemon zest I was trying to pin down in the nose is the hop backbone that keeps Anchor Porter from being overly sweet and giving her a nice crisp dry finish. Each quaff leaves a trail of brussels lace all the way to the last which was a bitter-sweet moment.
At certain times I was almost reminded of a milk stout do to Anchor Porter’s lush creamy milk chocolate latte palate. But overall, she shined as a porter through and through.

Bottled. This darks brown beer has a strong brown sugar aroma with flavours of burnt toffee and chocolate. The bitter finish is extremely long. Indeed, this beer is almost too flavourful; it could benefit from being somewhat more subtle.

dark dark brown with a medium puffy tan head
roasted coffee, dark chocolate, deep malts
coffee with a chocolate tone bursting more into a creamy chocolate
clean body, great palate