Scotch Irish Black Irish Plain Porter

Courtesy of matt7215. Very nice chocolate and coffee aroma. Some lightly toasted/roasted malts and cocoa. Beautiful aroma. The body is dark brown to black and holds a lasting, thumb thick, mocha head. Much more roast bitter than the aroma indicates, still nice. Expected a dash more chocolate notes, but it’s not exactly absent. Maybe becomes ever so slightly and metallic toward the far finish, but it’s not terribly distracting. Overall pretty tasty.

Dark brown in colour, thin beige coloured head, light patchy lacing. The aroma is roasty, light coffee, some chocolate, cookies and an underlying sourness. The flavour is a bit light, some very light roast, some chocolate, sourness near the end. Thin mouthfeel, light body, medium carbonation. Finishes thin, astringent, acidic.

Many samples over 4 months and initially I quite enjoyed this. The low score is because this didn’t hold up at all. The final few bottles where drain pours because they were so sour. A shame really.

341ml bottle from the LCBO in Peterborough, Ontario.
Opened on January 5, 2008.
No date.

From my backlog. Nearly opaque pour with a decent head and lacing. Very hard water used to the point that I thought it was mineral. Slightly sour and an odd malt bitterness. Very odd. Strange sweetness that gave me the impression of fermented dates with a bit of salt. A beer that should be beaten with an ugly stick.

Pours black with a brief tan head and a very nice graham-cracker aroma with notes of prunes and dates - wow! Tastes ash-like, light roastiness, slightly bland. Thin body with low carb. I’m a bit nonplussed with this "plain" porter after the build-up of the lovely aroma. Still, many thanks to Robinvboyer for the trade!

Bouteille 341ml, courtoisie de Hogtownharry. De couleur noire et opaque. Nez de malt rôti (notes brûlées), de chocolat noir, moyen de café avec des notes de houblon herbeux, de fruits (cerises noires) et de réglisse noire. Mince-moyenne en bouche avec un pétillement moyen et une texture aqueuse et aux notes crémeuses. Léger goût fruité (traces de cerises noires et de cassis) avec de petites notes de chocolat au lait (notes lactiques) ainsi que des petites traces de réglisse noire lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute rapidement un goût moyennement amer de malt rôti (plutôt brûlé) accompagné d’un léger goût de chocolat noir ainsi que de faibles notes de pain grillé puis progressivement se rajoute un moyen goût de café noir jusqu’en finale, où l’on retrouve également de petites notes de houblon herbeux asséchant ainsi que des traces métalliques. Post-goût moyen aux notes sèches, moyen-léger amer de rôti/ brûlé, léger de chocolat noir et de café et avec des notes de houblon herbeux.

In short: A thin and bland porter. I think this may have been a weak bottle and I’ll need to retry it.
How: Bottle, 12oz, from tupalev, thanks Jeff.
The look: Black body with a very small tan head
In long: Nose is roasted, light fruity notes and hint of rubber. Body is way too thin (even for a 4.5% porter) with basic roasted/burnt malt flavour. Sensation of ashes in water. Light fruity notes of dates and figs. Not sure where other reviewers got their chocolate flavour from but certainly not from a bottle like mine. No hops presence at all. A disappointment after drinking their excellent Imperial Stout. At least there are honest with the name, it is indeed a very plain Porter. Bland Porter would have been an even better name but the marketing department didn’t think it was a good idea.

12 Red Stripe looking bottle shared with toncatcher. Excellent aromas. I could have sat there and smelled it all day. Maybe I should have. The flavors were not quite as nice. The excellent chocolate mocha aromas turned into plain dust and water. Flavor just didn’t keep up.

341mL bottle, courtesy of radiomgb. Thanks, Jeff! Pours a very dark, cola-brown color; khaki head with fine-bubbled lacing. Pleasant amounts of nougat, leather, and licorice in the aroma; somewhat light; some cocoa as well. A bit watery and metallic at the front of the tongue; medium mouthfeel, at best; a fair amount of cocoa and nougat; a roasted character appears at mid-palate, but a bit too light-bodied and harsh at the front. Medium finish, showing dry chocolate and leather.