Tuatara London Porter

Brewed by Tuatara Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Reikorangi, Waikanae, New Zealand

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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Not bad. Served slightly cold and poured with a nice, tan, foamy, fine head that settled down after a bit and a little lace. Color is a perhaps clear, but very dark brown mahoganey. Aroma is quite mild - malt, dark fruit, cocoa, roast. Flavor’s much like nose, but much more pronounced and all the main parts well balance: it’s fairly sweet, but good carbonic tang, plus some nice dark malt bittterness. Body is good; ditto carbonation. Finish is like flavor, on the short side in length;very drinkable.

Well rounded, very drinkable and balanced porter. Quite nice with lamb shanks and really different and fresh with calamari.

Bottle. Pours a dark ruby with a small tan head. Aroma is sweet honey and roasted malts. Chocolate and roasted malts in the taste. Soild

Toffee caramel honey nose, taste toasty malt caramel raisins, light chocolate, moderate grassy earthy english hoppiness. Quite light for a porter to my taste, not enough roastiness

Smooth like John Shaft. Hints of tobaccy, chocolate and something else nice that I couldn’t quite place. Subtler than a lot of porters on the market and more authentically porter-y for it. The sort of beer that you finish and feel like a toff.

Pours black with ruby/copper highlights. Nose shows a lot of sweet crystal, they weren’t joking about the "generous" amounts of specialty malt. Also nice nutty notes and soft roasted hints. Flavours present more dominant roasted malt but includes some harsh notes. Not enough sweet malt (which is wierd considering the aroma). Good carbonation, not too high!

Bottle, 10C - improved as it warmed. Dark brown with a large frothy beige head that settles, laces and returns with a swirl. Aroma of coffee, mild roasted malt and grass - smells pretty hoppy. Some prunes and rasins too. Quite carbonated mouthfeel. Taste has plain chocolate and coffee with bare hints of dark fruits and dark sugars. Mildly roasted bitter finish also has some ash. Solid but staid.

Bottle 330ml. Great beer. Aromas of chocolate, liquorice, and a phenolic touch. Taste is sweet, with finishing bitterness, and good length. Palate is silky, and medium bodied. Black, with a frothy white head.

UPDATED: APR 23, 2010 Aroma: Mild chocolate with hint of hay and green apples. Nothing about hops or yeast. Appearance: Clear dark amber. From the refrigerator it showed an off -white head that dissipated very quickly. After letting another bottle sit out for a few minutes, the head showed a longer duration and good lacing.. Taste: too cold it has a very slight sweetness, light bitterness and some sourness in the finish. Letting it increase slightly in temperature I found that it has a heavier caramel chocolate malt. Palate: medium body, slightly creamy texture, soft carbonation and short finish. Re-rated this after letting a bottle sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes. I think that normal refrigeration is probably stifling this beer’s potential such as it is. Originally I said "Not much here, it is not offensive but really not the sort of beer I’d order twice." It has a bit more to offer if not overly refrigerated.

330ml bottle. Extremely large crackling coffee coloured foam head that stays around. Burnt and roasted malt aroma with a hint of vegemite. Burnt dry flavour that curls all around the mouth. Nice to sip on a cool, night, a beer that has some substance.