Metallic auburn hued porter finds early licorice dawdle fading to ashy malt smokiness and dismal leathery tobacco spell. Charred hop bittering obscures thin cocoa-vanilla creaminess, dried fruit quip, and black tea acridity informing shaky finish.

Distinguished prune-hued fruity porter links ripe tangerine-peach-melon tang to flaked chocolate dryness, coalescing for loud raisin-nut finish. Spicy hop bottom and herbal fringe swell upon third passing, seducing expressive fruitcake nuance. A tough find, though.

Precarious raisin-breaded brown-bodied porter pits cheap cognac sweetness against dry mocha, stewed prune, and chocolate liqueur illusions. Maple-sapped anise stickiness gets cloy, but hazelnut tease adds nice touch to earthen grain bottom and dried fruit finish. A bit light for its class.

Creamy Baltic-styled dry-bodied ebony porter offers deep burnt coffee bitterness to milky vanilla-chocolate richness, accruing black licorice snip to woody bottom. Dissipated chicory-espresso finish picks up chestnut-roasted barley toasting overwhelming luscious butterscotch snippet beneath surface.

Strong dark Polish porter aids sweet barleywine lead-in with favorable oncoming brown chocolate creaminess and thick maple syrup richness for truly original full-bodied peculiarity.

Creamy burgundy-hued chocolate-roasted porter blitzed by sweet sticky caramel fizz and hazelnut coarsening. Though lacking robustness, distinct barleywine subtleties and bitter hop tranquility outline prune-to-chocolate finish, nearly making up for overall watery softness.

Strong prune entry receives dry barleywine assurance as sugarplum, fig, and raisin embellish molasses-honeyed caramel malting. But lack of mocha richness and an indigent finish lighten unassuming 6.8% alcohol flow of apprehensive turbidly copper-hazed porter.

Bitter Chinook hops activate smoked nuttiness and prune souring of unconventional pitch-black porter. Oak-dried cherry pucker reinforces raspberry puree midst until tar-like acridity overwhelms parched cocoa chalkiness and baker’s chocolate wither to clean watered ice coffee finish.

Obtuse smoked porter furnishes dryly oiled hop roast for burnt hickory-cedar singe, earthen peat smudge, soy bean drift, and black tea nuance. Sweet brown chocolate resonates beneath commencing bitterness as dried prune-fig souring and overripe black cherry tartness sneak in through bottom.

Preferable mahogany-hued Baltic porter benefits from creamy lactic frontage contrasting leathery port-bourbon elegance. Soft hop-charred toasted oats vault brown-sugared coffee, espresso, and caramel latte nuances. Vanilla, molasses, and burnt caramel sweeten tertiary raisin-prune-plum illusions and latent anise-sarsaparilla tease. Aged two years, ’09 version gained wood-smoked hop roast and chocolate-cocoa intensity over thicker molasses sapping.

Roasted barley-mocha persistence and dry rye affluence inundate tongue as impending burgundy sweetness deepens truly splendid porter. Nutty raisin-prune follow-up enhances mellow port wine luster of perfect dessert beer.

Head brewer Giles Dennis celebrates 2004 Brewer of the Year award with superior mahogany dry-bodied Baltic-styled porter deceptively labeled an ‘ale.’ Mocha-chocolate waft enhances burnt caramel core, candied Scotch sweetness, vanilla-marshmallow resonation, and honeyed maple-molasses dab. Secondary smoked cedar, charred wood chip, cashew, and tar illusions softened by chewy chocolate cake finish. Yummy sherry-rum thicket fills deep bruised cherry-dried apricot recess.