brew dog blog

A few weeks ago I was given two bottles of JW Dundee’s Porter by my boss, who had gotten them from somebody somewhere. They are from the High Falls Brewing Co. of Rochester, New York and to my knowledge have no distribution here downstate. I had drank one of them the day after I brought it home and was pleasantly surprised by its drinkability and general likability despite its mild nature and questionable provenance. A few nights ago, I found the remaining bottle to be the only beer in my fridge that wasn’t intended to be there for some time, so I cracked one open skeptical of my own initial enjoyment of the beer as well as the idea of drinking a porter in the late spring. I was again blown away by this tiny little beer that could. A bit bready, with a nice mild sweetness and incredible smoothness I was ready to rethink my general dislike of porters in favor of stouts (and specifically imperial stouts.)

So I did what any rational man would do. I bought every available domestic craft porter that I could. Last night I opened up a bottle of Smuttynose’s Robust Porter. It pours the color of a brownie and smells quite roasty and nutty. The sip is full of nutty malts and a light sweetness tempered by some very mild hops. The body is fairly robust but not at all two heavy for drinking on a 75 degree night in Brooklyn. This ones a total keeper and would be a huge smash at a barbecue.

The next beer I opened was from the venerable Anchor Brewing, one of America’s oldest craft breweries (if not the oldest.) Anchor’s Porter was a massive disappointment after Smuttynose’s offering. Thin bodied with a muddy caramel flavor that was the polar opposite of the Robust Porter’s inspiring harmony and cohesiveness. It wasn’t horrible but the simultaneous sweet flavors as well as the thin body will keep me from returning to this one. Stay away.