J.T. Whitneys Black Diamond Porter

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 7

This is one of the several beers I sampled when visiting the J.T. Whitneys in Middleton, WI on my "Boozin Across Wisconsin Tour 2008". It came as part of an 8 piece sampler set that I purchased.

First off I love the name of the Black Diamond Porter. It reminds me of skiing and in the middle of a hot summer, the thought of skiing really is a nice thought for me.

The beer is brought out and has a great looking appearance to it. It's midnight black in color and has a decent dirty looking head to it. As you drink it down, it leaves behind some fairly nice lacing on the glass walls. The aroma is lackluster though. At first I thought it was just too cool to pick up on an aroma, so I let it sit for a while....like 30 minutes. That did nothing to help the situation. I was so disappointed.

Aside from the aroma, or lack there of, the beer actually drinks pretty well. The taste of coffee and chocolate goodness are full force in the flavor of the beer. The kicker is that there is actually a smokiness to it that I really liked. It's not overwhelming or anything, its just a nice addition to the already well done flavor. The description of beer from the brewery mentions a citrus mixed in there as well, but my tongue couldn't pick up on it. It very well might have been masked by the smokiness. Super smooth is how it drinks and this is typical of the style.

Bottom line, this was one of my favorite beers produced by this brewery. It wasn't the best and I recommend they tweek the recipe just a bit to get more of a nose on that beer, but the bottom line is that it drinks well and for most people, that is the only thing that matters. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

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

Pours a dark brownish black colour with a small tan head. Nutty aroma with light roasted malts, caramel and black pepper. Taste is smooth, flavors of toffee, smoke and milk chocolate. Finishes slightly metallicy.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Pitch-black body and a medium tan head. A strong, inviting roasted sweet coffee nose. Mouthfeel is full and round. Flavors of well-balanced roasted malt and hop backbone. Robust, but less assertive than the nose had indicated. A nice chocolate-coffee finish. This last batch had just a slight diacetyl presence; I'd never noticed it before. Overall, one of my favorite of the JTW brews. UPDATE 8/28/07: just tapped a half-barrel of this in the barn and it's terrific -- no off-flavors at all, very smooth and full-flavored.