Boags Honey Porter

Brewed by J. Boag & Son (San Miguel)
Style: Porter
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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I was so looking forward to trying this little number as I am fond of Boags beer. I was quite taken aback as I took my first mouthful. I can only describe the taste as rancid. In my opinion it is neither a porter nor is there any real hint of honey. Deeply disappointing.

UPDATED: OCT 18, 2010 Bottle - A darkish redish beer, almost black. Sweet. Roasted malts with some smokiness. The honey is evident but not overbearing.

375ml bottle. Clear reddish brown with a reasonable strongly held together head. Little to no aroma present. Sweetish malty up front. Alcohol warmth comes thru as the brew warms up. Is a bit limp and diluted thru the middle/ending. Some roast malt flavours, no overpowering honey nor any real bitterness. Just plain sweet toffee malts really - not that exciting.

Bottle in Tasmania. Deep red colour. Not overly powering of honey to the nose. Great balance between honey sweetness and bitter roasted flavours - though these two flavours dominate the beer. Medium body. Very well balanced beer - a pity it was a limited release and I got one of the last bottles!

Bottle -- Reddy brown (doesn’t look like a porter at all) with fairly active carbonation. Large off-white dense head (you could almost eat it with a knife and fork!) with tremendous retention and loads of lacing. Not a lot of aroma, although some fruit pehaps and malt. Smoooooth mouthfeel. The flavor is malty with a certain tang to it (the honey, I guess) up front, with a bit of a metallic edge later. This beer could be fabulous with a little more earthiness and oomph to it. As it is, it’s a little bland and doesn’t quite hit the spot. Although hats off to Boags for being a little different.

Not too bad, strong honey flavour and slightly creamy which make it pretty tasty. Its a bit too sweet though and the colour is a bit strange.

Dark purple brown with a small creamy head. Slight skunky aroma. Not a porter for mine, as others have mentioned, too thin, too light. Treacle honey presence. But good to see mainstream brewers trying something different, instead of repackaging standard lagers with trendier labeling (empire, st george, etc)

Quite a nice drop. Is easy on the honey and therefore about the only honey beer I’ve found half decent. Wldn’t bother again though.

This looks more like a brown ale than a porter, the body is too thin, and the colour is too light, average in every aspect, but not terrible, if this was all I had to drink, Id drink it, Id just complain alot.

Poured this one 7/10/05 , Good looking drop. The honey smell wasnt too inhibitting and it Left great lacing. Not too sure about being a porter though. The Honey - fruit - malt like flavour lingered on long after slipping down past the palate.

Credit where credits due, this wasn’t too bad a drop and as far as James Boag’s pathetic attempts to grab the attention of the weary Aussie beer drinker with poor advertising campaigns, this one failed to even rate a mention. Why?, it is easily the most drinkable of the Boag’s beers and for the ’Strongarm’ to rate higher is a disgrace and an embarrassment to us beer loving Aussies. Now I’ve had my whinge, on with the beer. Tasted from the bottle and poured into a stumpy tulip glass. Clear, deep russet-brown with a short, tight and lasting off-white head that left rings down the glass. Presentation was actually wonderful and yes, London’s original Entire Butt Porters were russet brown in colour, clear to hazy in clarity, and crowned by a short off-white to tan head, for those concerned!. Woody ’tree-bark’ aroma with a light burnt sugar and earthy hop note that seemed tinged only by a metallic edge that seems common amongst Boag’s beers. Quite unexpectedly smooth, dry and woody in the mouth, a little too thin in body but soft in carbonation as to heighten its overall mouth-feel. Honey flavour is there, but blends nicely with the dry, dark and earthy malts, and grassy, slightly out of place, hop flavours before finishing off long, dry and reasonably malty. Quite a surprise, personally, as I rate Boag’s beers as some of the lowest of the Macro’s, and many new beers that come onto the market are generally only there for the gimmick value, but this seemed quite distant. Not bad and I hope Boag’s continue to brew this and maybe eliminate some of the others. Quaffable!!!