Today's beer adventure: Phillips Brewing Longboat Chocolate Porter (Victoria, BC). 650ml bottle. 5.2% ABV. Served in a stemmed porter glass. Purchased at Willow Park Wine and Spirits in Regina, SK.Style: 12B - Robust Porter
Aroma: Roasted malts. Bread. Rich dark chocolate. Some liquorice. Some dark fruit character. Small amount of diacetyl (artificial butterscotch/toffee). Some DMS (corn character) is present. No hop aromas. Agitiation brings forward a bit of a metallic aroma. 5/12
Appearance: Very dark brown with ruby highlights. Good clarity. Small amount of light tan head. Good retention. 3/3
Flavour: Bitter coffee roastiness, Some DMS character is present and shouldn't be. Only a small amount of chocolate on the tongue - was expecting more. No hop presence. A bit too artificially sweet on the back end. 9/20
Mouthfeel: Medium light to medium mouthfeel. Medium-high carbonation. Sweet, slightly astringent finish. No slickness from the diacetyl. Very little roastiness, which would have given a higher score. 3/5
Overall Impression: The DMS and diacetyl are an issue and take away from a the beer. Tastes of artificial flavourings. Perhaps the use of adjuncts is too high? 5/10
DDogg rating is 5 out of 10 dogs (25/50 BJCP scale). Again, I tried to use the BJCP style guide for this. The beer isn't really that good...it tastes fake. To be fair, I see that the label indicated Chocolate flavoured Porter..so I guess the artificial flavourings are to be expected. I don't have to like them though. Might have been better cold. I tasted it at about 10c-12c approximately.
Also there is a strong possibility I might be talking out of my ass.
Brewer's Website: http://phillipsbeer.com/Beers/longboat-chocolate-porter
What other people think: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/phillips-longboat-double-chocolate-porter/42093/
This is one of the best dark beers I've tried since moving here, I'm going to do a review myself soon, maybe check it out again maybe you got a bad batch.
ReplyDeleteCertainly possible re: the bad batch..proper treatment of beer around here is a challenge. Maybe we need to get more dark beers into you to have more to compare to! :) Welcome to Canada! Cheers mate.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that alot, especially imported stuff, tastes like its been sitting on a dusty pallet in a warm cellar for a few months. Phillips are a great brewery from what I've seen, also got my hands on a can of their India Session Ales, can't wait to try that.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy! If you are able, slip south to Montana, where there is a thriving craft beer industry. Most vendors have a very acceptable selection. Big Sky and Bayern are MT breweries of note, and of course many other US craft brewers are represented often as well.
ReplyDeleteCheers!