Puget Sound Porter - Harmon Restaurant & Brewery

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

2.66/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 1.75

Appearance: Rich, deep brown. Forms a rocky tan head that clings to the glass in sheets. Drops to a small, chunky cap with a sizable collar that persists. Nice smooth pour.

Smell: When pouring the beer in to the glass a sharp oxidized aroma came back at me. Here's hoping it was a fluke. Hints of cocoa and chocolate malts. Underlying old coffee with bit of grassy finish. Big push of sherry-like oxidation. Almost medicinal at times. Lactic and vaguely fruity. Almost like a chocolatey wine. Brownie batter and tart cherry. Mild roasted character.

Taste: Under the rampant oxidation are layers of cocoa, milk chocolate, and chocolate malts. A nice roasted malt profile with underlying hints of coffee bean. Some grassy, almost herbal hop notes as well. Building malty sweetness. It's all there, but as it warms the sherry and tart cherry flavors dominate. Almost vinous with a decidedly bitter finish. Raw and earthy. Some deeper chocolate notes round it all out.

Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation is pushed up to just shy of high thanks to the poor QC. Body runs right down the middle but thins out as the beer warms.

Overall: Clean up the water.

I don't know who is responsible for QC for these guys, but this is the second beer that never got warmer than cold and failed to not oxidize and fail. It has the potential to be a decent porter, but if they keep churning out bottles like this, I won't be seeking them out in future trades.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 18:26:18 | More by Goblinmunkey7

RJLarse

Washington

4.2/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I bought a bomber of Puget Sound Porter in a bottle shop. Poured in to a pint glass.

Pours an opaque black color with a bubble tan head.

Smell is a very strong coffee aroma.

Taste is a dark roasted coffee flavor. There is a coffee flavor upfront, followed by a mild sweetness and a dry bitter charcoal aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly cloying.

Overall a nice dark roasty flavor porter.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 00:55:26 | More by RJLarse

FullPour

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

clean, thick, and dark in appearance. creamy head. mild nose - hints of roasted chocolate. full in the front of the mouth with rich character, but slim on the finish. overall good porter, easy drinking and not overbearing, but a touch lean to be exceptional.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 04:35:35 | More by FullPour

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Review from 8/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a dark, near black red brown amber. Very light tan head and no lacing. Delicious chocolate and chocolate up front with a malty middle and nice smooth finish with light hops. I like this and consider it well done. Not an thick imperial porter, and agree with other reviewers that this is a somewhat understated, but nicely made and enjoyable porter.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 17:21:23 | More by LiquidAmber

harrymel

Washington

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

At flyIng goat

A: dark coffee brown. Bordered cherry hued. Rare lace.
S: dry nutty and coffee grounds over a nice creamed oatmeal.
T: taste follows nose and is quite nice. Well done, clean.
M: velvet. Smooth and silken.
O: good job. This is a really nice porter.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2011 03:38:43 | More by harrymel

NWer

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured a pint glass at the Harmon Tap Room in Tacoma.
Appearance is dark. Nice head. Good lace.
Nose and taste up front is chocolate. Very smooth.
This is a very delicious porter - not my favorite style but would be if they were all this good.
Liked it so much I got a growler to go.
Additional comment: Harmon doesn't go "big" with their beers. I give them points for doing an exceptional job of meeting their objective.

Serving type: on-tap

10-18-2011 02:20:40 | More by NWer

Genghis22

California

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a very dark brown/ black color. Root beer highlights when held up to a lamp. The head is creamy and mocha colored, but dissipated quickly.

S - Very oat and roasty smelling. Like coffee and oatmeal. Faint hints of cocoa and tobacco.

T - Very mild at first, but the flavors build as the sip moves across your tongue and down your throat. Creamy and biscuity at first, then a wave of roasted coffee hits you but it is not very bitter, still some sweet creamy tastes there. There is a slight suggestion from the hops, but there is no bitterness to speak of on the tongue. Cocoa, leather and tobacco round things out, again without much bitterness. Very malty and mild, with a nice finish.

M - Thick, creamy, chewy, almost has the feel of being on nitro. The carbonation is present but does not tickle the mouth for very long.

O - A very mild porter. With so many "big" and "extreme" beers, it is refreshing to have a nice, mild, well executed beer. This is not a porter that will blow your socks off, nor is it one that I would go out of my way to get again, but it is solid. Next time I am in the Seattle area and I see it, I'll probably order one. It is a good beer, not phenominal, but good.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 06:25:00 | More by Genghis22

jdense

Oregon

3.6/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Harmon R & B downtown Tacoma WA 3.16.11 $4 pint into chilled shaker glass.

Actually I came in looking for the Vanilla Porter as recommended by 99 Bottles owner but had to settle for this. Ugh. Dark brown almost black opaque body, one-quarter finger tan head head, quick dissipation with no lacing. Big chocolate hit in nose, minimal roast presence, some floral hops on back end. Taste mirrors the nose, really chocolaty. Mouthfeel on the full side of medium, no effervescence, filling, close to meal replacement. I can see how this would be good re Vanilla beans added. If you like chocolate porters this is certainly worth a try.

Serving type: on-tap

03-18-2011 18:04:41 | More by jdense

philbertk

Washington

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Harmon Brewing Company--PUGET SOUND PORTER--Brewed With 8 Different Malts. A SMOOTH Well Balanced Dark Beer--2011 22 oz. Bottle. 5.40% ABV. 40 IBU's. (4.0 / 5.0) Brown Porter. Dense mild lace thick dark tan head. Sediment hint. Pours medium tich with dark ruby brown color. Opaque dark black color. Rich floral chocolate hop based roasted mild coffee front. Medium textured mildly silky creamy smooth roasted burnt not bitter doughy chocolate rich tasty Porter body. Crisp zesty mild hop spice refreshing light lingering cocoa end. Very tasty nice fresh smooth Brown Porter. Sampled 3/7/2011. Purchased for $4.50 at PCC--Greenlake, Seattle on 3/6/2011.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2011 06:19:28 | More by philbertk

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.63/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a dark brown with good carbonation and a dirty white head. Nose is coffee, roasted malt, cocoa. Taste follows the nose pretty closely with roasted malt hitting first, coffe and then cocoa. Nice roasted feel, booze is barely noticable here. Very drinkable but not a very smooth drinking porter. Tasty but not a go to prter for me from the bottle but on draft I love it.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2010 02:54:08 | More by barleywinefiend

DanOLeary

Washington

4.13/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Aroma: Fairly rich and smooth aroma of sweet chocolate up front with a yeast phenolic hint in the background. Not strong phenolic, but just enough to notice. Low to no hop aroma and thankfully no vegital smell either, which I seem to pick up from a lot of commercially brewed porters. This beer focuses in on the chocolate no doubt.

Appearance: Pours an ink black with maybe just a hint of ruby highlights along the side of the glass. With a moderately aggressive pour there is an off-white to light nut brown head that forms. The head fades fairly quickly however to but a ring at the outside of the glass. Some light lacing.

Flavor: First to hit the tongue is a quick touch of sweet chocolate, this holds for a moment before giving way to roasted malt and light hop bitterness. The roasted bitterness holds through the middle, but the beer finishes clean with a hint of bitterness to the end. There is a lingering hop presence after the mouth clears.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light body with light carbonation. The roasted presence gives somewhat of a grainy texture to the overall beer, but there is still a bit of wateriness on the tongue. Finish is drying with an earthy hop bitterness on the tongue and back of the throat.

Overall: Despite my descriptors of chocolate and roast, don't feel that this is a huge porter. It's a very nice example of a Brown Porter with excellent chocolate aroma and a clean roast flavor. This is a nicely drinking Porter that would pair well with a Halibut fillet dinner. The yeast phenolic, while lightly present in the nose, does not transfer to the flavor. I wouldn't mind seeing a touch more body, but just a bit too much would throw this beer off balance.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2010 04:30:44 | More by DanOLeary

Flightoficarus

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

From a 22 oz bomber poured into a goblet

A - pours dark brown, with a light, off-white foam, and leaves a fairly thin lacing around the glass. Pretty porter-like.

S - A nice nose of coffee, cake, and bittersweet chocolate will entice your curiosity. Starting to look promising.

T - Mmm...very smooth, and flavorful for a session beer. Lots of smooth coffee, roasted malts, and a bit of chocolate brownie. The hopping on this one is done just right, and makes for one drinkable dark brew.

M - Medium/Medium light bodied. Seems about right, though I think it could use just a hair more body in this area.

D - This is one of the most drinkable Porters I've come across. Absolutely perfect for sessioning!

Overall - A very solid, and local (to me) Porter I'll be happy to drink again. I'll have to try this one on tap soon.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2010 08:36:09 | More by Flightoficarus

flagmantho

Washington

3.08/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from 22 oz bomber into a pint glass.

Appearance: quite solid black with a 1-finger foamy tan head which has nice retention.

Smell: lots of coffee and chocolate, plus a creamy character which almost makes this thing smell like a frappuccino. Quite appealing!

Taste: lots of coffee plus a tart/astringent character. Chocolate comes in at the end. Citrusey tartness is not what I'm looking for in a porter, but the other flavors are nice. I have had this beer in the past without this tartness, and I know it's a good beer. However, for the time being, I have to rate it based on this bottle.

Mouthfeel: medium-bodied with appropriate carb.

Drinkability: after the smell, I was really looking forward to having this beer again. But this tartness really doesn't work with either the style or my taste buds; as I said, I think I have a bad bottle. I will review this in future with a different batch. If they really can make it taste as good as it smells (which I seem to remember from lo those many moons ago), this would be one of my favorite beers.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2009 02:13:54 | More by flagmantho

froghop

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

pours a dark brown with a small khaki head, and some lacing.

smell is of strong coffee, cocoa, and roasted nuts.

taste is tart, sour malt, some cocoa, and some coffee, end is overpowering with the tartness, and a little dry.

overall not that bad, would like less tart/sour and more on the coffee.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2009 16:03:46 | More by froghop

Floydster

California

3.15/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

22 ounce bottle acquired as an extra in a trade with SuzyGreenberg, thanks for the opportunity Ben, drank tonight and split with my dad, poured into my Stone pint glass, color is a dark brown, one inch bubbly light tan tan head that lasted a few minutes, aroma consists of piney hoppiness, brown sugar, toasted malts, roasted barley, oats, and burned bread, taste was sweet malt and lots of milky cocoa up front, grainy through the middle, slightly dry with bine and roasted bitter malts in the finish, gets a little sweeter as it warms and the barley really comes through, thin body for a porter, moderate carbonation, slightly sweet and dry, taste did not linger, mouthfeel was definitely the downfall of this brew, drank ten or so ounces and that was enough, can be filling, not much alcohol in the taste at all, just heavy stuff in general with a light feel, when I drink a beer that makes me stuffed, I want it to be thick and full but this failed to do that, had not never heard of this one before, first beer from this brewery too, might be worth trying

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2009 04:13:42 | More by Floydster

ScreamForMe

Washington

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Having never heard of Harmon (so sue me), I saw a bottle of this at the local beer store and thought I'd give it a try.

Poured into the only clean beer glassware available (pint), the smell of coffee and a bit of chocolate is what I first noticed.

Very little head on the beer - 1/2 inch at most.

It reminds me of Black Butte's little cousin.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2009 05:38:18 | More by ScreamForMe

explosivebeer

Washington

2.93/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Sampled at the Harmon Brewery. This one was fairly think, clear, and black with a lot of slightly burnt coffee in the flavor, with a hint of toffee. It has a mild coffee aroma and a slightly bitter aftertaste. It was a little disappointing but not bad.

Serving type: on-tap

09-26-2008 03:29:29 | More by explosivebeer

KBomb

Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Dark, dark brown. Nice creamy head. A strong coffee aroma, some caramel, and a tiny bit of spice. Very smooth and balanced flavor, nothing particularly jumps out and dominates save for a little chocolatiness, but it does taste quite good. Not too thin, quite creamy.

I was impressed with the smoothness. I would say this Porter is a close second to Deschute's.

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2008 18:12:03 | More by KBomb

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -16%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22oz brown bottle at 45 degrees
A - With a gentle whoosh from the plain black cap a slow pour yields a small tightly bubbled whit head atop a cola-brown ale.

S - Strong coffee aromas are detected at approximately 3 feet away. Sweet scents of cooked vegetables are noticed as the snifter is brought closer to get a whiff. A toffee-ish cocoa-caramel aroma also seems to surface, but it is elusive.

M - Mild, medium roasted and medium bodied feel with gentle carbonation.

T - Toasted buttery caramel and grainy brown malts begin the taste experience. Bready flavors with herbal hops adding a dash of spice. A generally sweet porter, about one step away from a brown ale with gentle roasted malts adding a tinge of depth.

D - A pretty basic beer, about what you might expect from your average porter. I am a porter fan, but this ale is pretty ordinary. Worth a try, but I would not seek it out.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2007 03:00:46 | More by Slatetank

ccrida

Oregon

4.43/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A draught pint from the pub, the house Porter looks exactly like the Vanilla seasonal. Muddy, very dark garnet, with small off-white collar and wispy surface skim. I ordered with still about 1/3 left of the vanilla seasonal, so that I can properly compare. On the surface, they're remarkably similar, but a closer inspection reveals to very different beers.
Because I'm relaxing at the pub and just reviewed the Vanilla seasonal in some depth, I'll focus on the differences between the two here.

The smell is brighter, sweeter chocolate then the vanilla porter, and more attractive to me.

The taste is also sweeter chocolate, and has more depth of complexity then the vanilla version.

The mouthfeel is lighter and creamier, not thin, but less oily.

Overall, this is an excellent porter. Big, enjoyable taste, and moderate ABV at 5.4%, I could drink these all night...in fact I just might! =)

Serving type: on-tap

07-06-2007 03:57:41 | More by ccrida

czechsaaz

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Light roast aroma with malty sweetness underneath. Just a hint of citrus hops.

Dark brown with ruby highlights. Nice full 1/2 inch tan head that last for about the first 3rd of the pint.

Good malt flavor with solid but not overbearing hop bitering. A little bit of roast flavor but not as dry as a lot of examples of the style.

Medium bodied with good carbonation level. Lively and a little fizzy in the mouth.

Overall a good porter. I would prefer a little more roast but there's nothing really to complain about in this one.

Serving type: on-tap

06-04-2007 06:25:49 | More by czechsaaz

Hortus

Washington

3.55/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From tap into pint glass.

Appearance - This recipe has to have changed since eballard's review of "This beer comes a dark black color. So dark that you can hardly see any light pass through it at all." As of this writing the beer is a clear (see through) brown.

Smell - Big time coffee aroma! Really nice job getting that aroma out of the malts used.

Taste - Caramel malts possibly? Nice tasting beer.

Mouthfeel - not much to report. Average mouthfeel.

Drinkability - perfectly drinkable beer.

This is clearly a different recipe than has been reviewed by some others. I know that the brewer told me he changed the recipe for the Rajah IPA from 2006 to 2007. Did he change this recipe? Did the bartender pour me a brown instead of the porter? I don't think so. She asked me if I wanted the vanilla Porter or the regular and I said the regular so I'm sure she was paying attention. Bizarre.

Serving type: on-tap

02-09-2007 16:31:37 | More by Hortus

RedDiamond

Oregon

4.33/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Brewed with eight malts and roasted barley to a robust elegance, Puget Porter is a quintessential representation of the style. A light touch of sweetness supports roasted goodness with an accomplished balance and sets up the palate for a finish that lingers with a virile edge. My pint was laceless and somewhat flat, but the aroma showed character and sustain.

A signature of core porter flavor carries this one far. So far in fact, that it won a Gold Medal at the 1999 GABF.

Serving type: on-tap

08-20-2006 05:53:50 | More by RedDiamond

eballard

Washington

3.45/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer comes a dark black color. So dark that you can hardly see any light pass through it at all. It has a light off color foamy head. There is a rich sent with a hint of chocolate. A beer has a distinct roasted flavor with heavy chocolate after taste. A very tasty beer. It has a creamy feel with a slightly hard bite at the end. This was a great beer. I’d enjoy it all by it self or with some of the free shelled peanuts that the Harmon serves.

Serving type: on-tap

08-03-2006 16:32:43 | More by eballard

Knuckles

Washington

4.2/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I will admit a very strong bias towards the style of porter. I love it. Could be my blue-collar roots, could be it's because Blackhook was the first dark beer I truly loved, I don't know. What I do know is that I tend to judge most breweries on the quality of their porter. If they don't have one (or have a bad one), I don't tend to drink their beers at all (Deschutes would be a notable exception to this rule, as I drink the crap out of Cinder Cone, but do not care for Black Butte at all). Fear not, citizen, Harmon makes a spectacular porter (one of the top two in the Puget Sound, as far as I'm concerned).

Appearance: Murky, unfiltered, deep, dark, swamp water brown. Mild off-white head that disappears fairly quickly after I empty the bottle into my glass. Held up to the light, there are light brown hints around the edges. This is how I figure porters truly looked back in 18th and 19th century London.

Smell: Mmmm...malts. No hint of hops whatsoever. It almost has a caramelly smell, with a very faint hint of roasted malt bitterness in the end. Very, very nice.

Taste: Understand, the historical background of porter fascinates me. This beer has its roots in the unhopped British ale tradition, with wood-fired malts and local water. Starts off with a small bit of malty sweetness in the beginning (again, back to that caramel or brown sugar sensation), then just sits on the tongue with this marvelous Kahlua-esque presence of alcohol warmth and coffee bitterness. I love this beer.

Mouthfeel: Too thin, and a porter is just wrong. Too thick, and you cross over into stout territory. This occupies that vaunted viscosity middle ground that I love so very much in my session beers. Perfect, I say, perfect.

Drinkability: Hard '5' from me on this one. I can session the crap out of this beer, and have on many, many occasions. I was a little forlon the last time I popped into Harmon, as they were out of the porter, so I had to settle for the ESB (which I like very much as well). It's all for the best, really, as I'm sure I would have drank too damn much of it anyway.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2005 18:06:20 | More by Knuckles