Among classic top-fermenting porters, there are two sub-styles in the beer world. Brown porter is lighter bodied, less roasty, smoother and more drinkable. Robust porter is, as the name implies, bolder and more flavorful. Until recently, my favored robust porter was Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from the Great Lakes brewery in Cleveland, Ohio. A new example has arisen to challenge that beer for the mantle of most robust of porters, however. That is the Robust Porter from Smuttynose brewing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Robust Porter began life as Smuttynose Winter Porter, part of their Big Beer Series. The very attractive label on that bottle featured father time and the baby new year. The beer was deep black in color with a thick creamy head formation and a rich roasty nose. The delightful roasty palate had strong hints of licorice, chocolate, and espresso. A fantastic roasty bitterness emerged in the finish. Yes, I know I used the word "roasty" a lot, but this is one fine "roasty" brew!

This year Winter Porter became a regular beer in the Smuttynose line. It's a seasonal brew available from September to March, and I just happened to pick some up in Portsmouth yesterday. This is extremely fresh beer I'm drinking, and extremely delicious beer at that.

Smuttynose Robust Porter pours to an opaque black color with a creamy tan head and a wonderfully fresh hoppy Cascade nose. The palate is big and roasty, packed with strong notes of chocolate yet smooth like a rich chocolate pudding, then kicks into a very bitter, grassy-minty hop finish. This is a wonderful beer, a delight for the taste buds to be sure. I bought a six-pack of this brew, and now I wish I had bought more. Fortunately, this beer should soon be available here in Rhode Island. I have a feeling a good amount of it will be ending up in my beer refrigerator.

Update, August 21, 2009: Earlier this year Smuttynose beers started showing up here in Atlanta. That's a really good thing, because I missed them much, having little access to them since moving to Georgia from Rhode Island in 2001. Having lived most of my life as a New Englander, Smuttynose beers were a staple for me, and it's good to have them back. Among my favorites? Robust Porter, of course, and I'm happy to say it's as good as it ever was. Still wonderfully roasty with rich, dark chocolate pudding notes laced with delightfully minty-grassy hops. This one tastes identical to the stuff I drank in Rhode Island almost a decade ago, and that's quite a compliment, indeed.



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