Narragansett Porter - The Barley Blog (TheBarleyBlog.com)
I’ll be honest here. I really wasn’t expecting much from this brew. Narragansett’s flagship Lager is better tasting than the big boys, but still isn’t much to write home about. Their Fest was certainly a step in the right direction, but again, not stellar.
This porter, however, is different.
It’s a much bigger beer in terms of its robustness when compared to the other product lines the company markets. The roast that comes out in this brew is not for the novice craft beer fan. It’s got a bit of a char that was unexpected and quite welcome on the cold evening I cracked open the can ’ not particularly a component I’d expect for a more mainstream brew.
Appearance
Pouring a near black, dark brown, the beer sites with a good sized, dark tan head that faded slowly to decent lacing on the glass.
Aroma
Slightly bitter, dark roast coffee mixes with light chocolates for the most part. As I said in the intro, the heavy toast does give it a bit of a smoky char. There’s not really much of a hop presence or an impact from the 7% ABV on the nose.
Taste
The roasty nature of the brew really comes out on the palate (especially as the beer warms). It’s a good deal more up-front than I would have expected based on the other products I’ve had from Narragansett. The roast is present from beginning to finish as it starts off with light chocolates and coffee before transitioning to a slightly dry finish with a subtle hop bitterness to balance. The medium bodied brew has a nice crispness to it, as well.
Overall
Again, this porter turned out to be quite a surprise. It was very much not at all what I was expecting from the company. The roasty nature of the beer really makes it that much more appealing during colder weather as the alcohol warms you up nicely. Needless to say, the two samples that I received did not last long.
Rating: 3.5/5