Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Draught at the brewpub. EBC 61, IBU 18. Hops used: Cascade. Too carbonated for my taste, served far too cold. Dark ruby colour. Fruity (plums) aroma, like many English porters. Roast malty flavour, rather dry. Quite bitter finish, both from the roast malts and plenty of Cascade hops.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

On tap at the brewpub, which is situated in a listed building at the former Swedish (later Russian and Finnish) military island stronghold Sveaborg (since 1918 Suomenlinna) near Helsinki - now a UNESCO world heritage site. As I had this porter after the good Coyet Ale, my expectations were high (which normally, as in this case, leads to disappointment). Good to moderate head, pitch black. Coffee aroma with hints of fruit. Strangely sweet and fruity flavour. Some roast bitterness in the aftertaste.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought in Hvide Sande, Denmark. ABV is 6.5%. Nearly black colour (= very dark brown to ruby), large tan head. Roasty aroma, notes of coffee and chocolate, hints of leather and liquorice. Roasty flavour with coffee and chocolate, smoother and sweeter than expected. Some bitterness from the roastiness, but the hops are not plentiful. Not very complex, but it’s a nice and very drinkable porter. Does not quite live up to the high price, though.

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Lightly roasty aroma with notes of coffee and dark chocolate, hints of dried fruits. Flavour is fairly dry with a roast malts base, notes of coffee. Moderate carbonation. Nice.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at Vinens Verden, Odense, Denmark. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Greyish brown foamy head. Very nice roasty aroma, notes of chocolate, liquorice, leather and oak. Roasty flavour with notes of strong coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Long bitter aftertaste from the roastiness and hops. Not bad at all.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought at Vinens Verden, Odense, Denmark. Very dark brown with a reddish hue, decent light tan head. Moderate but very pleasant aroma of roasted barley and oatmeal, hints of dark chocolate and liquorice, seaweed, tar and woodwork. Roasty flavour with distinct elements of tar and peaty smoke, notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Can’t detect the honey, not very sweet. Mouthfeel is acceptable but could have been fuller. Moderate roasty aftertaste. All in all an enjoyable brew.

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

330 ml clear bottle. Berentsens surprise us again - they have made a slightly mellower version of a Baltic porter as their "klasse F" (Vinmonopolet) Yule/Christmas beer. Dark brown colour, nice and creamy tan head. Very nice roasty aroma with notes of oak, leather, dark bread and coffee. Flavour is moderately roasty and well rounded, elements of coffee, dark chocolate and oak. Tolerable hops. Could use a little more "bite", but this is definitely not a bad beer!

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

(Bottle, bought in Sweden, where this much weaker Carnegie version is sold in grocery stores. The ordinary 5.6% ABV Carnegie (Stark) Porter is sold in Systembolaget stores only). Remarkably different from the stronger version - slightly paler colour, weaker aroma, considerably thinner body, flavour seems sweeter, lacks bitterness. Of course it's drinkable - but the full strength version is the way to go!

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

(500 ml bottle). Pitch black (= very dark brown) colour, low head. Aroma of liquorice, coffee and roasted malts. Extremely dry (not even a hint of sweetness) roasted and well rounded flavour, good bitterness - perhaps slightly too tart and salty in the finish. Not easy drinking, but a good beer.

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

Cask conditioned (hand pump) at Ye Olde Dolphin Inne, Derby, at their Heavyweight Beer Festival February 2005 (but this one is possibly one of their regular beers). Dark ruby colour, low head. Fruity, chocolate sweet aroma and flavour, moderate roastiness. Very nice.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). The good people of Nøgne Ø have brewed as many as 4 different Yule/Christmas beers for the Yuletide of 2004. "God Jul" and "Julesnadder" are continued from last year with revised recipes, new ones are "Underlig Jul" and this one, their vanilla porter "Julenatt" (= Yule/Christmas Night). Black colour, thick tan head. Aroma of vanilla, roasted malts, hot chocolate and dark fruits. Flavour is rather sweet, dominant vanilla, roasted malts, coffee and plenty of chocolate. A roast and hop bitterness make the aftertaste tolerable. Nice for a change of pace, a decent "dessert beer" for those with a sweet tooth. But like I said in my rating of another vanilla beer: "there’s probably a reason most beers DON’T smell and taste strongly of vanilla". I’m not a big vanilla fan, but for those who don’t mind, this is probably as good as it gets.

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

(500 ml bottle). The Nøgne Ø micro brewery is in a class of its own (at least by Norwegian standards), so this beer is by far the best Norwegian "klasse D" (= grocery store market) Christmas/Yule beer you can get (all others are Vienna lagers). Deep copper colour, moderate head. Malty, oaky and toffee aroma with hints of spices. Malty flavour balanced by a decent bitterness. Rerate Christmas 2004: Colour seems even darker this year, plenty of yeast floaties. Flavour is maybe a tad spicier, well balanced hops. Impressively tasty for a Yule beer with a meagre ABV of 4.5%

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

(500 ml bottle). Bottle condtioned. Pours with an excellent thick & tan head. Pitch black, even when held to the light. In a blind test I'd probably say this was a stout (not Guinness!), maybe even an imperial. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, cigar box, English pipe tobacco and dark bitter chocolate. Flavour is again roasted malts, coffee and dark chocolate. Not too sweet, excellent bitterness where you can sense the hops as well as the roasted malts.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Colour is black / very dark ruby. Aroma is roast malts on an initially unpleasant background of vomit, gets better as the beer warms up. Flavour is much better, again: roast malts and coffee. Bitterness seems just right. Easy drinking.

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

(Cask condtioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival, where it was served at room temperature with no carbonation. Dark ruby colour, OKish porter with just too little of everything.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Very dark colour, nearly black, reddish brown in the highlights. Decent tan head with good retention, leaves a nice lacing. The aroma has loads of malts, also chocolate, dark fruits, caramel, rye bread and coffee, hints of oak too. The flavour has much of the elements as the aroma, plenty of malts, chocolate and fruit, but also decent hops in the finish. A brilliant porter, and a true classic. Original rating: (Cask in England). A beer for... well, old growlers, like me. Definitely not for beginners! There's an "old man" feeling throughout, but also a fairly complex malty and fruity flavour with hints of spices and oak.

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml, bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. Batch No. 040510atpp. Pours with next to none head, beer is totally flat with no carbonation whatsoever. Very dark reddish brown colour. Nice aroma of roasted malts, coffee and leather. Flavour is lightly roasted malts and lemons. Acidic and thin mouthfeel. Unremarkable aftertaste. Drinkable, but disappointing.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Pitch black colour. Aroma of coffee and plums. Flavour is roasted malts, coffee and bitter dark chocolate. Very well balanced, just the right bitterness. Nearly a stout - in a blind test I’d probably say it was. "Addictive" indeed. This was "Beer of the Festival" for me - delightful!

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. (The brewery website says ABV is 4.5%, but the picture of the pumpclip in the website says ABV is 5.3%(!). Probably varies.) Reddish brown colour. Sweet and fruity aroma and flavour, sour finish. A typical English moderate ABV porter.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

(Cask conditioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA Beer festival, where it was served at room temperature with no carbonation whatsoever. Dark ruby colour, exquisite aroma, a bit thin mouthfeel, pleasant mild spicy flavour. Recommended! Would love to try it again, preferably slightly cooler at a Hebridean pub.

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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Moderate but pleasant roast aroma, notes of dark chocolate, dried fruits and tobacco. Moderate roast flavour, notes of coffee and dried fruits. Medium dry (or medium sweet, if you like).

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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Very dark brown to chestnut, nearly black. Lovely strong aroma of roast malts, dark chocolate and prunes. Notes of oak and cigars too. Flavour is roasty, smooth and mellow with chocolate notes. Roasty aftertaste. Very good.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Like the name says - black. LOVELY roasty aroma with strong notes of chocolate, hints of plums and prunes. Flavour is definitely dark chocolate with some coffee roastiness. Very good.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

650 ml bottle, UK import. ABV is 5.3%. Very dark opaque brown colour, nearly black. Pours with a large and thick tan head. Pleasant roasty aroma with strong coffee notes, also cigarbox, chocolate and leather. Flavour has strong coffee notes too, some tar and a slight smokiness. Roasty and hoppy bitterness in the long aftertaste. Maybe not the most complex beer in the world, but a very good one all the same!

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

At last - the elusive London Porter is mine! 500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Very dark reddish brown colour, large tan head. Aroma is first and foremost dark chocolate, but also rye bread, leather and oak. Flavour is again chocolate on a nice roasty background, decent hops linger in the aftertaste. Clearly a first class beer - I’m sure it’s even better cask conditioned