Southern Tier Porter

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Lakewood, New York USA

On tap at Just a Taste in Ithaca, NY. Dark as night and khaki head. Hazlenut and some walnut hints. Extremely crisp and oddly refreshing for a porter. Very smooth, not overpowering.

I am growing ever fonder of this brewer. In this case I am rating the porter - a beer style I am not overly fond of. I have had this one a couple of times. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer pours a dark black color with a medium sized dark brown head. The aroma is moderate roasty malts, strong chocolate and floral hops. The mouthfeel is moderately thick. The flavor is strong with chocolate, coffee and roasty malts. There is a bitter hop finish that lingers. As I said, I am not a huge porter fan but these guys have made one that I like rather well.

This is the third Southern Tier beer I have had and I have not been disappointed with any of them. The porter poured dark brown with an inviting off-white head. Roasted malts dominated the aroma. The flavor was also filled with the roasted malts, but also revealed hints of chocolate and coffee with some burnt sugar. Seemed to be more bitter hop presence than other porters I have had, but not enough to detract from chocolate, coffee notes. I did detect a metallic aftertaste that I hope was just an anomaly. Pleasant medium body.

draught. deep dark brown body, nearing black with a small off-white head. aroma has milk chocolate and roasty malt providing an overall pleasant bouquet. body has bitter coffee roast and some chocolate. a mediocre porter but still very drinkable.

Pours a brownish black body with no head. Aroma is roast and chocolate, with hints of coffee. Flavor was roasty and chocolatey, but felt off balance and stale, like their tripel. After the aroma this beer went downhill fast. Maybe this should age longer in the bottle?

Bottle: Courtesy of Shadey. Aroma of coffee, caramel, roasted grain, and nuts. Pours a dark brown with some orange hilights and a big tan head with decent retention. Flavor is rather light up front, maybe a hint of chocolate. Finish is black coffee, burnt grain, pine hops, and nuts.

appearance of a typical porter w/ medium brown head...aroma is of bitter chocolate, with a touch of roasted coffee (some sour notes present)...flavor is heavy in roasted notes as well, with an emphasis on chocolate; a burnt and bitter touch the coffee as well

Bottle. Oh...what’s not to like. Coffee, chocolate, cream, and of course, that dark beer flavor we love. it’s a little different from most dark beers in that it needs to be a little colder to enjoy its flavors - otherwise the bitterness is just a little too overpowering. If you can be so precise, go for about 50 degrees. My favorite part about this beer has to be how it never weighs on you - it dosn’t fill you up, nor does it make you crave a lemon to suck on if you drink too much.