On tap at Beef Trust, sweet orange-zested cardamom spicing adds piquant Christmastime dimension to treacly black chocolate and roasted coffee overtones. Caramelized cola nuttiness counters minor phenolic astringency deep below creamy cardamom-seasoned mocha fudging.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, holiday-seasoned porter allows cinnamon-spiced vanilla sweetness to inundate Hershey’s chocolate-like syruping and subtle coffee-cocoa tones. Dry mocha finish gains chewy bourbon vanilla loveliness while cinnamon spicing fades.
On tap at Ambulance, marvelously unique vanilla bean-aged holiday porter spiked with roasted coffee and cinnamon truly warms the soul with its smoky chocolate malting and wintry nutmeg-ginger seasoning. Richly creamed mocha syruping increases decadence alongside muscavado-sugared cinnamon coffee caking for affluent dessert treat.
Chewy chocolate cinnamon caking abruptly enjoined by black-peppered ginger spicing above sharp hop char. Evenly spread black chocolate, black coffee and espresso illusions enrich the raw molasses-sapped backend.
Updated “Genghis” version scoffs at former malt extracting for more organic brown-sugared pecan roast, but nutty mocha richness suffers a tad. Bittersweet black chocolate, vanilla and molasses overtones nearly overwhelm pecan pie crusting. Tertiary peanut butter, rum cake, gingerbread, praline and molasses undertones receive watery soap-stoned bleaching.
Superb stylistic hybrid with opulent pecan pie entry and chewy cookie dough richness truly rules the roost. Brown-sugared caramel malting saturates oats-toasted hop char, ashen walnut bittering and dried-fruited raisin-plum-cherry conflux. Praline, hazelnut and almond reinforce peanut-buttered brown chocolate finish. A sensational dessert treat.
Uniquely impressive medium-bodied winter porter places cinnamon-spiced gingerbread theme above hop-roasted maple-sapped molasses malts. Oncoming brown chocolate sweetness deepens black cherry, almond, and pecan illusions seeping into burgundy-soaked cookie dough finish.
Dry Scotch malts play off powdery chocolate, mocha latte, and burnt caramel illusions as peat-smoked earthiness soaks impending black cherry skin acridity ’til roasted coffee finish haunts old St. Nick’s.
Sweet sticky Baltic porter may be better defined as a pruned barleywine. Its cognac nose affects exhaustive Kahlua, malt liqueur, and chocolate éclair peculiarities, but loses full-bodied luster by the less-than-creamy lactose finish. Fine as dessert, though too busy and overbearing with food. Also known as Pardubice Porter.
Thick blackened malts (amber, chocolate, pale, and crystal) combine with generous hop fusion and dirty grain bracket for unusual non-traditional porter appeal. Differs from competition since coffee-mocha exchange resides in backdrop instead of dominating, but paltry roasted finish needs better distinction.
Amiable ruby-maroon English porter humorously celebrates Saint Nick’s wide posterior with off-dry mocha frontage, roasted coffee sequel, and toasted barley bottom. Tobacco-dried plum wine and port illusions enter the fray beside grape tannin souring. Sedate watery finish sops mild malt creaminess.
Lactic chocolate chalking never restricts sugary Christmas spicing, debonair coffee-espresso nicety, mild fig-date souring and sharp nut sear of rocky tan-headed maroon-bodied porter. Frothy mocha-molasses broth deepens seasonal cinnamon-nutmeg clip, scanty coriander-currant dip and peanut-shelled hazelnut, butternut and pecan snips. By phenol vanilla finish, toasted Fuggle hop char embitters tobacco chew spew and ashen tar-like thicket.
