Scratch Beer 2 - 2007
Pours a nice deep brown colour with a foamy, chunky beige head that looks a bit different than the norm for a porter but still nice nonetheless. Good amount of residue left on the glass from said head as well. The aroma is a mix of a touch of caramel sweetness, a bunch of roasted, almost toasted malt, some cocoa and a hint of coffee as well. There's also a fair amount of floral or even grassy hop aroma here. Interesting for a porter, but again, nice nonetheless. The flavour basically hits on the key aspects of the aroma: roasted and toasted malt becomes more noticeable than any caramel sweetness, cocoa and coffee flavours are intertwined at a fair clip, but the hops are boosted up a bit, adding a complexity that is not the norm for a porter but brings a nice new dimension to it. The floral notes mixed with more earthy rugged malt flavours was unexpected but worthwhile. Mouthfeel is a medium to full bodied brew with a bit more carbonation than most porters. This is a nice beer overall. I wasn't completely sold on the hoppy porter thing at first but subsequent tastes got me into it a bit more and now I can say I am definitely clamoring for some more.