Piedmont Porter

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Presentation: This is one of six beers from an eighteen pack labeled Beer of America, Historical Collection. The 18 pack also came with a nice book titled, The History of Beer in America. It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. There appears to be no freshness date on the bottle. Appearance: The body has a medium brownish/red color with a very clear appearance and visible carbonation. This seems very odd to me for the style. On top is a thin white head that quickly fades out to just a wispy thin ring of bubbles that makes no lacing at all. Smell: Its aroma has hints of lightly roasted sweet malt and metallic/salty minerals with a touch of leafy hops. Taste/Palate: There is a big buttery grain flavor with some lighter hints of roasted malt. The malt up front has modest sweetness is lightly balanced by some mineral/leafy hop flavor and mild bitterness. Into the finish there are some citrus orange peel and salty metallic notes. The body is light to medium with a slick fizzy texture. Notes: There is nothing about this beer that reminds me of porter. The color seems to light, the flavor is to light and boring. There is no head retention at all and it has that same salty/metallic/diacetyl taste I found in all the others beers in this mixed pack. The best part of this 18 pack is the book that came with it.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 5

The packaging at Total Wine and More was the draw. Six ‘Beers of America’. Twelve bottles in a handsome wooden carrying case. I decided to try this one first. How can I pass up the porter first? This one pours deep ebony color. A small tannish frothy head with decent hang time. Settles into nice lacing. Some roasted malt rises from the glass. So far so good, because that’s were everything stops. The body is weak, almost watery. The taste is bland. No complexity at all. A real disappointment.

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

Pours a rich black with a nice tannish head and good lacing. Some carbonation. Aromas of roasted coffee beans, toffee malt and hops. Taste is malty toasted malts with a slight coffee-toffee undertone and a good bitter hops finish.

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

Pourd a dark brown with tan head and lacing. The nose was of malt with some bitterness and coffee, maybe a little nut detected. The taste was sweet with hints of bitterness. The nouth feel was thinner than with other porters which made for a smooth drink with a meal This would be a good fall beer. Quite enjoyable.

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

The aroma is sweet and malty with some chocolate malts coming through with maybe some slight coffee and java notes. The appearance is a nice, rich black but a nice reddish burgundy to amber-mahogany in color when held to the light with a nice head on top that discipates to light-tan lacing that coats the glass pretty well. The mouthfeel is light to medium-bodied and not bad with pretty good malty complexity with some decent balance with a palate that is a bit thin but not all that bad. The flavor is of chocolate and roasted malt with maybe some bitterness with an aftertaste that is lacking but has some roasty as well as maybe smokey overtones and is a bit dry with a finish that is smooth but not very robust and a bit watery with maybe some very faint hoppy bitter. Overall, this is an average porter and not bad but I need more of a challenge but nonetheless this is easily drinkable and unoffensive, decent stuff here.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

thin, kind of watery for a porter. chocolatey, brown sugar, toasted malt, light and thin.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

This brew pours with a dark brown body topped by a thin head with some lacing. The aroma is sweet and malty with an odd cookie (?) note. Not to good of an aroma. The flavor is weak with a little malty sweetness and a touch of bitterness in the finish. Thin for a porter, smooth going down with a little dryness in the finish.