Saugatuck "Peanut Butter" Porter

This is the latest in my line of beers from Saugatuck, and they are so far trending pretty well. They haven't had anything truly bad, and they're averaging around great. I have had some peanut butter porters and stouts before (even some peanut butter and jelly stouts and brown ales) and I seem to recall liking the bunch. I always hope that a beer I'm about to try is good, and I guess that's not going to change here. I really want to have a good beer.

I can ever so slightly pick out the fact that this beer is brown. It is, effectively, black. Anyone who wasn't a person who stares at beer all the time wouldn't try to quibble about whether or not this was a brownish kind of black. It's just black. The head dissipates relatively quickly to just a few thin bubbles on top of the beer and a thick ring around the sides. The aroma is delicious sweet malt and creamy peanut butter. I am reminded that often the downfall of these beers is that they tend to get to watery in the center, and I sincerely hope this tastes just as thick and rich as it smells.

First sip is pretty darn solid, but I wonder if one of these beers put in a barrel to age might do a little better. The carbonation seems to add a light sizzle that takes away from the deep and solid center of the beer. The peanut butter is there, and there is a smokiness coming from the malt that complements the sweetness that is also coming from the malt. Basically, the malt is doing a lot of lifting here. It's fine by me, as it's not a coffee malt and it is doing pretty well.

Tip-in is light carbonation tingle with peanut husks and sweet malt leaning into a thin smokiness. The middle is nice and thick; a rich malt brings earth to rise up and meet the smokiness while the peanuts surf on top of the whole thing with a bit of vanilla added for extra pleasure. The finish is a slight dryness that never fully engulfs the mouth while the smokiness descends onto the peanut butter to allow for a somewhat bitter trail off.

Bottom Line: There's a lot to like in this one.

4.0/5