Fourpure, Oaked Porter Morning Star

Uh oh - I think I may be turning...I might be starting to appreciate those dreaded vanilla flavours in my beers....

This one started out like a root beer, then there was more vanilla which, to my surprise, I actually quite enjoyed (I was eating a reasonably salty peanut brownie at the time). The finish was roasty and bitter. Light body appropriate to the style with a non-jarring carbonation. Big thanks to James at Webroughtbeer for this gift! I understand this was made on Fourpure's pilot kit and that subsequent bottles had a proper label.

Okocim, Porter

Oops - no picture of the glass for this one. Another one brought back from Krakow by my folks. Not quite as 'full' and complete as the Zywiec but it's a style I can really get on with. Very roasty, well balanced and powerful. Both these porters are an absolute bugger to find in London. No luck so far.

Żywiec, Porter

Like the Kernel impy, but 500ml of it. Happy days. (This one brought back from the motherland by the folks. Dziękuję mumia!

De Molen, Tsarina Esra Reserva

Tar pour, very black. Smoked elements in the nose. Taste was sweet, much like a dark fortified wine perhaps. A very pronounced vinous character that bordered and the sharp/acidic. The bottle says barrel aged - surely in a red wine or port barrel? Very similar to Sam Smith's Taddy porter. No booze detectable, and bitterness subdued despite a high IBU. Apologies for the toilet gimmick, having a barren spell with ideas at the moment.... Purchased from the frankly amazing Bierkoning during a super quick job I had in Amsterdam last year.

Beavertown, Imperial Lord Smog Almighty

Much like the Heavy Water, I've been lucky enough to sample Beavertown's imperial porter in a couple of it's guises: the alpha series version (March 2013!) and the barrel aged version (2014). This might have been the only one that I didn't drink out of the fridge, but whereas the others had this coal/tar flavour going on, this one was, for me, a dunkel rauchbier and it wasn't really my bag.

Partizan, Stout Porter

A very pleasing drink. Not mind blowing, but all the better for it: to my mind, it was just nice to have a beer with nothing wrong/weird/different with/about it. It was exactly what I wanted. Appropriately light body for this porter, nose was consistent, taste was tar, some berries. Nice lick of booze on the finish.

Pressure Drop Brewery, Street Porter

After the London Fields Porter, this one one from Pressure Drop seemed a little bit watery and uninspiring by comparison. I suppose that at sub 5%, it's not going to be massively full bodied, but I remember wishing I'd drank this after the London Fields. School boy error really. Would probably get a pint of this on draft if the price was right though.

London Fields Brewery, Bootlegger Series: Chocolate Porter

Dark, smooth and tasty. Hoppy at the end. Coffee and bitter chocolate. Ever so slightly metallic in the aftertaste, but it's ok, because this was a great porter from London Fields and I went back and bought another. Watched Ender's Game whilst drinking this. Close enough to the novel so no huge problems with it, despite involving turgid sci-fi yes-man Robert Orci.

Beavertown, Smog Rocket

This porter from Beavertown was a revelation when my brother bought me a bottle for last Christmas (2012). I remember being sat at the in-law's table, slightly miserable due to Greene King IPA and fiending for an APA. I hadn't had any dark beers up to this point so I didn't really know what to expect. I was blown away - the smoke, the tar, the viscosity (for me, at the time), the pungency. Delicious! Subsequent bottles faded in impact as I discovered imperial stouts and the like, and the most recent bottle I had was flat as a pancake (sadface). Nonetheless, Smog Rocket holds a place in my heart, being as it was, my first taste of dark and smoggy traditional(ish) London recipe brews. I had their imperial smog a while back too. I didn't really get it then, but I have their new barrel aged version set aside, looking forward to giving it another go.

Partizan Brewery, 5 Grain Porter

I first tried this porter from Partizan at the Cask Pub and Kitchen in Pimlico. Thoroughly opaque and satisfyingly full bodied in taste for a relatively low abv. I had a blocked nose when trying this at home, but even that couldn't mask the thick coffee aromas that came out of the neck of the bottle - drinking it gave my teeth and gums a coating of slightly spiky, worn velvet. One of Partizan's best I think.

Red Willow, Smokeless

Bit of a disappointment this. After the promising BBQ nose, my Smokeless from Red Willow was utterly flat - no carbonation whatsoever. I wanted a bit of fizz to this porter and not getting it kind of dampened my enjoyment of this drink. Was it meant to be flat? If so, I guess I prefer my porters a bit fizzy. I'm not experienced with porters, having only really tried a Beavertown and the Kernel Cacao. I had the Teleporter from Summer Wines on keg at Westow House which had a slight carbonated edge to it. I guess if I drank this on cask the flatness wouldn't have thrown me so much, but coming like this from a bottle, I just got upset. I'll get another one to double check though as that BBQ essence was great.

Ps - I love the Red Willow branding - very distinctive and elegant.

The Kernel Brewery, Export Porter: Cacao

Whilst I've known of the Kernel Brewery for a little while already, I've only really drunk their pale ales. My brother bought me a Beavertown Smog Rocket for Christmas and the experience of drinking it was definitely akin to how I felt tasting that first Goose Island IPA I had over a year ago now. Anyway, I know next to nothing about Porters except that I'm keen to try more. This one from Kernel was great. I had their stout afterwards and had the smoky, chocolatey coffiness from the 2 drinks buzzing around my sinuses well after I'd gone to bed.