Scotch Irish Black Irish Plain Porter

Brewed by Heritage Brewing Limited
Style: Porter
Carleton Place, Canada

The big surprise - and a nice one at that - is that it lacked the sweetness of almost every other porter I have ever sampled. More like a light bodied stout, with a bit of nuttiness and a light maltiness. Light aftertaste, a very pleasant porter indeed.

341 mL stubby. Deep, dark mahogany brown; almost black. Small brown head that fades to a film within minutes. Aroma is roast, bittersweet chocolate, burnt toast. Flavour is not as full (or as sweet) as expected from the aroma, but is solid nonetheless: cocoa, coffee grounds, walnuts, and some roasted malt bitterness. Body is actually a little thin. Nice winter session beer. Would love to try this on tap.

341 ml stubby from LCBO. $2.00 a bottle. Brilliant stuff. I can only imagine how it is on tap. Lots going on taste wise. Molasses, caramel, black licorice, walnuts. SUPER dark, with a light brown head. Not as heavy bodied as it appears. Perhaps the perfect beer for the upcoming cold. Stock up now, it will only be on the shelves at select LCBO’s for their autumn beer promotion.

341ml stubby from the LCBO. Pours a really nice black-tinged brown, with virtually no head. The aromas are of coffee (strongly), roasted malts, chocolate, and something sweet, like vanilla. They blend together really well. This one is darker than a lot of stouts I’ve seen. Wow, for a "plain" porter, this seems pretty complex. Nice sweet roasted malts mixed with some mocha and very dark chocolate, rounded off with some nice bitterness. The mouthfeel is oily, medium carbonation, but still a touch thin, staying true to the style. A very tasty brew, with nothing unique to it, nor does it claim to be, but rather just incredibly well-made. A solid beer all around in all aspects. I’m pretty happy I could finally get something like this at the LCBO! EDIT: Due to Heritage suckness this one seems to have taken a nose dive. A far cry from what it used to be, though still drinkable enough so I’m only lowering my rating a bit.

Bottle from the LCBO. I tried this back to back with a Burton Porter, and the Scotch Irish knocked spots off it! Dark body and nice tan head. Vanilla and coffee aroma, with the flavour also showing chocolate and caramel in addition to this. Lovely! Only issue is that the palate is a tad on the watery side.

341ml stubby - pours black with shades of brown showing up only at the edges of the glass when held to a light. Nice mocha head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, anise, and dark fruit. Could be a little more robust, perhaps, but not much of a fault. Hops comes through in the flavour, from the middle to the finish - fruitier flavours up front, ending on a chocolate/roasty/nutty note that lingers well into the aftertaste. Good bitterness. Body is a touch thin...otherwise this is excellent. Very easy drinking porter that isn’t shy on complex flavour. Nice!

341 ml stubby - pours black as crude - I seriously held this directly in front of a lightbulb and could not see through. Beautiful tight cinnamon head. Lovely aromas of vanilla, chocolate, currants, and espresso. Flavour full of cocoa, some black licorice, and and a surprising hop bitterness. Body slightly on the thin side, but at 4.5%, that’s expected. A long smooth finish with little blips of bitterness and a clean nuttiness to cap it all off. A masterful brew, and my favourite session porter.

341mL bottle: Frothy brown head on an opaque black body and great lace. Aroma is smokey and chocolatey. Flavor of bitter dark chocolate, roasted malts and coffee. The dry, nutty finish is excellent. Mouthfeel is slightly watery, but OK still. Would love this on tap with seafood.