Great Dane Black Earth Porter

Brewed by Great Dane Pub & Brewery
Style: Porter
Madison, Wisconsin USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Wow. Had this at the Doty St. location with my meal. Simply incredible. Nearly opaque, this porter was a deep, portentous black in color, a hue that belied the plethora of rich coffee and chocolate notes inside. Felt a little thin, but that was easily forgivable given the intense flavor. Incredible.

UPDATED: AUG 26, 2011 On tap at downtown location. Strong aroma of chocolate and coffee. Super thick body, milky, great roasted flavor. Surprisingly excellent. By far the best beer in an otherwise unremarkable lineup.

Pours black with a tall tan head, leaving a moderate lace. Rich aromas of smoke and chocolate. On the flavor, the smoke and chocolate are joined by a delicious cereal component of wort and oatmeal, with fruit and hops to round out the flavor profile. Very thick, smooth body. Delicious and satiating.

On tap at the brewpub on 6/22/07: Pours an opaque black with a thin ring of wispy tan head. Sweet earthy dark caramel and roasted malt aroma. Body starts with a nice full and sweet dark caramel maltiness with good roasted and chocolate malty balance toward an enjoyable, lingering dark chocolate caramel finish. A very nice and fairly complex porter.

Looks Darker Then Sin. Very Thin. Tastes like Cold Espresso. Not bad by any means.

Hand-pulled at the Madison brewery. Starbucks black pour with a thin head. Excellent roasted flavor with coffee and a nice hop presence. finishes slightly bitter but not overdone. This is a great American porter. The best brewpub I’ve been to.

This hand-pullled monster creates a dense tan head on a black, earthy (well named, eh?)brew. Very assertive. Nice dark chocolate with burnt flavors that borders on a west coast stout in flavor. Nice use of hops and alcohol to reign in the huge body. This is not an English porter. The hop usage make it American all the way.

Dark black, opaque. Shifty amoeba, tan head. Aroma contains some bitterness, dark chocolate and rich milk chocolate, and some cocoa powder. Flavor is a rich mocha cappuccino. Nice full-bodied rendition. Creamy, smooth. Like Dove dark chocolate, an impressive chocolate decadence is achieved with this one. French roasted coffee aftertaste. Right on target.

Imperial pint at the downtown GD brewery. Somehow, after over a decade of visiting the Dane, I finally got a full glass (rather than a sampler) of their porter. It’s delicious and an above average abv kicker. There’s no abv listed above, but I suspect it’s ~6.5%-7%. It sits right in that middle ground where you can tell you’re getting your money’s worth, but it’s still not a baby-sips drinking pace situation. In other words, Black Earth is very drinkable. It’s pitch black, lightly carbonated, thin brown foam layer. Malted liquor smell and taste. Oats, coffee and chocolate - the usual subjects of porters - show up in a nicely delivered, very traditional package. Two things are unexpected here: (1) the aforementioned abv presence and (2) a lighter than average body. The carbonation is very subdued, which lends to the malty feel. I look forward to having this one in the wintertime.

Black with a thin tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, coffee and smoke. Thick, rich and flavorful taste of roasted malts, coffee with a mild bitter finish and a bit of sweetness to it as well. One of the better efforts of the brewpub.