Franklins Maple Porter

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

I took my parents out to Franklin's Brewery for dinner tonight. When I go there, the Maple Porter caught my attention. Especially because I was planning on having a hearty meatloaf dinner.

The beer came out and had a very dark brown color to it. It was actually at the right temperature so I decided to take in a whiff of the aroma. Unfortunately I was looking for some hearty sweetness that smelled like maple sugar. All I got was a very feint malt smell that wasn't anything special. The beer had a light tan head on it that quickly dissolved.

The beer drank pretty well. It had a medium body on it, not too smooth. The flavor was more so that of coffee and chocolates, rather than the sweetness of maple. Sure there was a hint of that maple sweetness in there, but it was overwhelmed by the coffee flavoring.

Overall it wasn't a bad porter, it just wasn't so much of a maple flavored porter. If I were the brewmaster, I'd seriously consider upping the amount of maple sugar used in this brew.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Where is the sugary-sweet maple flavor this beer is supposed to have? Other than that, this is quite the pleasant little selection, lot's of smoked maltiness with chocolate and coffee. But what dwells in the murky depths of this beer, color is quite striking. Goes down well after a long day, and sits squarely in the stomach, warming the body. Enjoyable!