Monday, November 7, 2011

Pumpkin Porter Tasting

I brewed this Pumpkin Porter in early October for a post-Halloween Halloween party that me and Michelle were having at our apartment. It turned out pretty good and everyone seemed to like it.

Served on tap at about 45 degrees in a nonic pint glass.

Appearance: Pours jet black with some reddish-brown highlights at the edges of the glass. Clarity is good, but you could hardly tell in such a dark beer. The puffy, two-fingered, mocha-colored head stays for a minute or two and leaves a scant ring with no lacing.

Aroma: Faint spice (mostly nutmeg, maybe some cinnamon), some roast character, and a bit of malt. No hop aroma. No esters or yeast character.

Flavor: Spices and mellow roast character. Slightly leans towards sweetness (could be the Golden Promise coming through?), but not in an unpleasant way. No diacetyl, esters, or yeast character. None of the flavors are sharp or assertive. No astringency. Very smooth, clean flavors.

Mouthfeel: Nice, medium body. Slightly over carbonated for my tastes. There is a bit of a carbonic bite, which for me is out of place in this kind of beer. The carbonation is a little distracting.

Overall: A solid, enjoyable beer. If the carbonation was lower I could easily drink this all night. Next time I would play up the roast and spice character slightly, add a bit more hop presence for complexity, and dial back on the carbonation for a creamier mouthfeel. I think this beer is about 80% of the way there, it just needs some fine-tuning.

1 comment:

  1. The carbonation is not distracting -- it's perfect! Everyone loved it!

    ReplyDelete