beer_name: Okocim Porter
text: Poured from a 500ml bottle into nonic pint glass. My bottle lists the ABV at 8.3%. A - Deep opaque brown, very close to black. A towering 4 fingered, light brown head rises and hangs around for a solid 3 minutes, unbelieveable for the 8.3%. Moderate to high lacing as well. S - At first there's a lot of anise backed by some squishy dark fruit; raisins stand out. An obvious woody and slightly smokey aroma emerges and leads into typical porter smells of rich chocolate, brown sugar, and some butteriness. T - This stuff keeps getting better. Early palate a moderate coffee flavor hits with a touch of chocolate. Anise follows, melded perfectly with figs, currants, and raisins. Sweetness begins fading somewhat with roasted malt and a very woody taste with a slightly smokey edge. Caramel and butter wrap things up offering one last burst of sweetness, before some bitterness from the roasted malt creeps in and meets up with some slight alcohol. Warming and pleasant. Long lingering aftertaste of fruit and wood. M - Medium to full bodied and somewhere around the low end of moderate in terms of carbonation. Solid and worthy, but this would be bordering on perfect if it were just a little bigger, smoother, and lower in carbonation. D - To be a dark robust beer with an 8.3% ABV, this is damn drinkable. One of my first "WOW" beers in awhile. I can't believe I've overlooked this for so long, and at the price, this is one of the best values out there. Highly recommended.