I have often said that a good porter is a thing of beauty. Bad porters overwhelm their taste with the brown malt (like most brown ales do). Good porters can echo the creaminess of a stout and finish with the unique bitterness of the brown malts.
"This stuff is made by guys" proudly reads the label. I'm not sure if I could tell the difference between a beer brewed by a guy and one brewed by a gal. Taking them at their word, I would say that these particular guys know a bit about beer. I've never had a beer from the Flat 21 Bierwerks before, but I'm impressed with this example., It's got a bit of a kick of brown ale bitterness at the end, but not so much that it spoils the taste.
It's got a good head on it - not too thick, but enough that you have the mouth-feel of the carbonation. The bubbles are more dense than you would expect with carbonation, but they are not nearly as dense as a good nitrogen head. It's the weekend, so I went for another. On the few nights that I decide to have a second, I go out of my way to drink the second one more slowly; it gives me the chance to see if the taste is altered by allowing the beer to warm. Well, I say it's to see if it changes, but it always changes; I guess it's more to see if the change is better, worse, or just different.
In this case, I had the same problem that I have with Guinness. The beer is best enjoyed with long draughts, and I'm all about enjoying the beer. It is an act of purest willpower to prevent myself from downing the whole bottle in one go. I was once told by my brother that an Irishman drinks a pint of Guinness in an average of four draughts while an American does it in nine. It was this bit of wisdom that led me to understand how dramatically the taste can be altered for the better.
I gave it a bit of time while I wrote the last two paragraphs, and I would say it tastes better while cold. That said, it doesn't taste half bad when it's just cool.
4.5/5
Flat 12 Bierwerks' Pogue's Run Porter
Saturday, February 09, 2013