Russian River Porter

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Porter
Santa Rosa, California USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Sampled at Russian River in Santa Rosa. Good porter! Pours a warm brown. Nice, sessionable. Sweet, but roasty.

Black, quarter-inch head. Good lacing. Roasted malt, chocolate. Medium bodied, a little too carbonated at first, but softens with time. Pretty dry, needs a little more sweetness to balance. Still pretty enjoyable.

Draught at the brewery. Let me put it this way: I liked it so much I bought a growler to drag back to Las Vegas with me...my gift for Mother’s Day...to myself. Very "coffee-esque" porter which what I loved about it.

Growler supplied by friends of Hangar 24, Mike and Janet, thanks guys. Rating #66. Poured a very dark brown with a small tan head. Chocolate roast aroma and a little sweetness also. Big roasty flavor right up front, more coffee than chocolate, seemed a lot different than the aroma with just a little sweetness in the finish, really nice though. (1215)

Deep brown pour with a thin, tan head. The nose is quite cocoaish and there is a bit of fairly pronounced chocolately character. Sweet but also fairly hoppy with lots of herbal/earthy hoppiness. It’s a pretty solid porter.

Sampled at City Beer on tap. Pours deep brown with a nice toffee and chocolate aroma. Palate is very nice. The malts are really good and drink smooth. Hopping is more than I expected and flow very well. Nice brew.

On draft at Russian River Brewing (Santa Rosa, CA): Pours out a transparent medium brown/garnet red, topped off with an off-white fluffy head. Nose of dark cocoa bits, pine hops, roasted bready malts, and lightly toasted grain. Moderate carbonation. Medium-bodied. Rich flavors of dark toffee, ripe fruit notes, and creamed coffee. Cream and light bitter notes share the stage for a smooth finish. Drinkability: A classic porter that’s extremely easy to drink. Pairing: Smoked ham, BBQ prime rib. Rebuy: Yes. #354 on 31032010, DG.

Tap, City Beer Store. Very good porter. This beer pours dark brown, black in the shade, with a nice tan head. The aroma is mostly chocolate, roast and coffee. It’s a nearly ideal balance for a standard porter. The flavor is balanced, not too sweet, not too dry. The hops are relatively light, allowing the malt to take center stage. It’s just an easy drinking, well-made beer, the kind of porter that every brewpub tries to make but rarely gets just right. This is a good beer and I’d love to have it again sometime.

On tap at Russian River 4th Street Porter at City Beer. Great roasty aroma with coffee and chocolate, mild molasses. Light bitter hop smell - neutral. Mainly just a warm roasty smell. Dark dark brown clear with a little black, thin off-white lacing head. Medium bodied with medium-high carbonation. Starts with coffee and chocolate, roasted barley and nice grain notes. Molasses and some brown sugar. Mild hop finish with nutty coffee and bittersweet chocolate. After is nutty and sweet with light tang.

A: The pour is a deep, dark brown color with a finger’s worth of tan foam. S: Great notes of coffee, roasted malt, and chocolate. There is a slight smokiness and even a touch of vanilla. T: The flavor is a bit more heavy on the coffee and roasted malt with less of a chocolate presence. The smokiness is there as well, but once again just provides a bit of complexity. There’s also a slight bitterness on the finish. M: The body is on the full side of medium with a moderate level of creamy carbonation. D: Quite a complex and delicious porter. I have been looking forward to trying this one for some time and it did not disappoint.