Three Boys Porter

Brewed by Three Boys Brewery
Style: Porter
Christchurch, New Zealand

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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UPDATED: MAY 14, 2013 update: on tap, i could taste a bit more chocolate in there, but it’s still rather thin and the roasted malt isn’t all that pleasant. uprate a little bit, as this is an improvement. original: rather disappointed, that’s for sure. looks a wonderful jet black, but beyond that, the charred roastiness isn’t doing it for me as it doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of those gorgeous coffee or chocolate notes you’d expect (or much anything else) and the mouthfeel is woefully thin. it isn’t bad, it’s just not at all interesting or something i’d go back to. would expect more from three boys.

The worst thing is that I only brought the one. This is pretty good, it’s a little bit oooh a little bit ah, and has a fair bit going on. I can’t recall a better porter, but then I’m a beginner, and if this is the bar then there is a big treat somewhere ahead. Start here and follow the yellow brick road.... or the three boys...

Pours a nice dark brown with generous tan head. You can smell the maltiness on the nose. Disappointing on the palate as it is quite thin and lacks a velvety goodness.

Bottle at Lake Hauroko. Pours black with a beige head. Sweet with some dryness. Aromas of toasted malts and caramel. Quite hoppy with both floral and slightly earthy hops notes. Some band-aid aromas. Medium bodied with a smooth velvety mouthfeel. Medium to soft carbonation.

a but thin with chocolate notes, but nothing outstanding. Pretty forgettable and not one of their better efforts.

Aroma: roasty. Appearance: black with a red tinge when held up to the light, brown head that lingered until the end of the beer. Taste: medium sweetness, medium bitterness, hints of chocolate with a roasty finish. Palate: medium body, soft carbonation, long roasty finish. Overall: Superb beer that started out a touch fizzy but by the time i had finished the beer (over an hour) i was wishing i had bought a second bottle. will definitely have this beer again.

Russet to ruby notes in this black beer. Beige head. The aromas are a bit of an enigma. There’s peppery spiciness and charry toastiness as well. Either it’s just because it’s late winter, but I could swear that I smell daffodils. Quite cool and then spice and tang that settles across the tongue and becomes bitter (but not too bitter). A second assessment of flavour brings out white currants, gooseberry and other fruity notes. It’s the sort of berry fruit tang that you find in Dubbels. Odd, but tasty enough to go back for seconds.

500mL bottle. Pretty standard tasting porter, but had an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. Bottle might have been old/oxidised?

500 ml bottle Aroma: Alcohol and moderate yeasty bread. Chocolate and cafe au lait - creamy coffee malts. Appearance, Clear dark brown with red highlights, with big dark frothy head dissipating quickly to a thin film and trace of lacing. Taste: Slight bitterness, mellows to mild sweetness but is not pronounced, no real hint of sourness. Finishes quickly with a faint bitterness. Palate: Full bodied, creamy texture, soft carbonation and alcoholic malty finish. Overall: Hard to say what more would I want in a porter. Not sure what the spiciness is they are asserting on the label but they are New Zealanders and may have a different idea than say, the Carib or N’Orleans. It is a nice porter. Would love to see it on tap in Overland Park or Kansas City

Poured a large tan head that didn’t really want to hang around on a dark brown body. Dark chocolate on the nose, same in the taste along with some hints of smoke.