Sea Dog Riverdriver Hazelnut Porter

Brewed by Sea Dog Brewing (Shipyard Brewing Co.)
Style: Porter
Topsham, Maine USA

(Bottle) Pours dark, dark red. Almost white, fast decreasing head. Smells chocolate with some roasted tones. Some smokey tobacco and pine-bark. Pepper and nuts. Gingerbread. Tastes crisp bread. Maybe some cheap milk chocolate. Pepper and nuts. No aftertaste.

[Bottle from RBESG] Roasty, spicey, dose of smoke. Slightly sweet on the palate, watery, not great.

From a 12 oz. twist cap brown bottle with an unnotched freshness date. Poured a ruby hued brown with a foamy off-white head that settled into a thin lacing. Aromas of roasted barley and hazelnuts, floral, a light vanilla and cocoa powder. Medium carbonation and a softly crisp, slick and smooth light-medium bodied mouthfeel. Pleasant, but average porter taste, roasted barley malts, a powdery chocolate that has a little bark to it, citrus hops that are quite soft in their bitterness, more malty crisp, the hazelnuts have a bit of an artificial taste, and a dry citrus and malty finish, decent affordable drinkability. Purchased at Trader’s Joe, a cheaply price and drinkable porter.

A bit spicy and hoppy for my taste for a porter. But decent. Goes to thine head.

Very strange smell, at first almost disgusting but then the smell of hazelnut. Taste like hazelnut, slightly watery.

Bottled. Dark ruby red colour, small white head. Aroma of smoke and roasted malts. Flavour is very weird, sweetish plummy, candy sugary, nutty and caramellish. Only weak roastiness noteable. Watery brew.

Only the 2nd hazelnut porter I’ve had. The 1st, from Bethlehem Brew Works, is one of may favorite, if not my favorite, porters of all time. Matta sent this, and he seems to be clairvoyant, sending me an Impy Nut Brown, nut brown being a favorite style, and now this. Outstanding! The pour is burnt umber with gigantic tan head. Aroma of roasty malt, rich choclate syrup, espresso, ovaltine, hazelnut, almond. I have to pat myself on the back and state that I noticed the hazelnut aroma dna flavor prior to reading the label description. The flavor was rich, roasty malty, with chocolate syrup, coffee, big hazelnut. Medium palate, that drops off a bit in heft toward the finish, but this one excited me and thrilled me. Please beer mail me if you have more.

In the bottle from HyVee CB. Pours very dark sepia brown to black with a tan overflowing head. Strong aromas of hazelnut and roasted malt. Flavor is a sweet vanilla, licorice and dominant hazelnut. Finish is far too sweet and the beer lacks a bit of body as well as some balancing hops.