Onslow (181), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
| 3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 5/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 2/5 | 13/20 | Oct 10, 2009 A dark pour from 12 oz bottle. Dark. Very dark. Listening closely I hear wheezy breathing and the sounds of machines… A deep voice whispers. “Onslow… Come to the DARK SIDE…” Criminy, all wanted was a beer that didn’t suck. I didn’t think I was putting myself at risk of becoming some macro-brew zombie, wandering the earth the eat the flesh of the pure, true, elect and golden micro brew swillers….
Ok - got that out of my system - pleasant dark brew. Aroma of toasted malt. Sweet and toasted malts (both) at the start of the swallow, slightly sweet, a reasonable smack of hoppy bitterness on the back of the end at the very end of the swallow, modulated by the somewhat sweet malts. Not bad. Not distinctive for a porter. The way I see it, though, is that I can pull into almost any backwater gas station C-Store and walk out with this or some other Michelob product. They may not be the best of the genre but at least you can walk out of the store with something that does not suck.
DYCSoccer17 (2201), Davis, California, USA
| 2.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 5/10 | 2/5 | 10/20 | Dec 18, 2009 12 ounce bottle from a mixed 12 pack. This has a nice, sweet, chocolately cocoa aroma. There is also a little metallic character, too. Pretty aromatic. Transparent mahogany body with a nice creamy off-yellow head. Starts a little roasted and burnt, with some mild chocolate flavors afterwards. Then it becomes a little watery towards the finish with some lingering herbal bitterness. Kind of thin and lacking, but there are much worse porters out there, like Labatt’s. Pawola22 (805), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| 2.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 3/5 | 6/10 | 2/5 | 10/20 | Dec 17, 2009 12oz bottle. Pours a very deep brown, almost black body with a finger-width, light brown colored head that dissipates quickly and leaves a moderate lacing. Aroma is thinner, but it has a decent chocolate roastiness. A very light caramel and coffee grounds too. Flavor is similar. It takes a second to develop, but its not terrible. Thinner, lightly sweetened malts with a more noticable roastiness. Some chocolate and growing caramel sweetness towards the end where this finishes with a light acidic bitterness. Fairly dry with a moderate aftertaste. Light bodied and overly carbonated. Overall, fairly thin all-around and somewhat watery. The light roastiness keeps this tolerable, but besides that, its nothing special. Not terrible, but macro influenced. marcus (1918), Sacramento, California, USA
| 2.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 3/10 | 4/5 | 5/10 | 3/5 | 11/20 | Dec 10, 2009 Pours dark brown with a large tan head and almost no aroma. The flavor is mild coffee and treacle with a dry finish. Drinkable, but not remarkable. brenn79 (218), Idaho, USA
| 3.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 4/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 | Dec 8, 2009 12 oz. bottle- Pours almost black with almost no head, aroma is almost nonexistent, maybe some malt. The flavor is malt, pretty much your average porter, not horrible or great, totally mediocre. FunkyBrewster (549), Chicago, Illinois, USA
| 2.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 2/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 10/20 | Dec 5, 2009 12 oz bottle. Pours a deep clear brown with a small light tan froth. Aroma is very chocolate and coffee oriented. Nice sharp roasted malt, pleasantly surprised with the nose. Flavor starts with a sharp black malt zing. Gets a decent chocolate note and coffee flavor before a lightly bitter and black coffee finish. Medium body and a tingling carbonation. Surprised that it was decent but still weak in character compared to the big boys, rustychiles (1071), Mesa, Arizona, USA
| 3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 5/10 | 3/5 | 5/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 | Dec 2, 2009 Pours a brown with a small light brown head. Aroma is roasted barley, water, grains and metal. Flavor is roast, barley, chocolate, water. Fairly safe porter but overall very drinkable. poisoneddwarf (225), Rathdrum, Idaho, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Nov 30, 2009 12 oz bottle. Aromas of chocolate, caramel; sweet. Pours deep, deep brown with reddish tints. Tastes like an English-style porter; toasted malt, sweet. Creamy mouthfeel. Maybe slightly watery, but not bad at all. These Michelob beers constantly surprise me. Most of the time, these specialty beers from AB are pretty much mediocre to terrible, but every now and then they make a pretty good beer. ksbeerkid (28), Emporia, Kansas, USA
| 3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 2/5 | 12/20 | Nov 30, 2009 I didn’t have much expectations for this one, but I actually kind of enjoyed it, a nice easy drinking roasty porter, for those looking for the porter aroma and taste and a beer you can drink a few of, this is a viable option
|