Old Growler - Nethergate Brewery Co. Ltd.

aaronh

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer pours a medium brown with amber highlights. The cream colored, thin head fades to a ring around the glass sides. Toasted biscuity malt aromas are doppled with sweetness. On the tongue, an assertive roasted flavor is accompanied by a touch of smoke. Decent bitterness is in the finish. The mouthfeel is ample, but not specifically noteworthy. The drinkability is good. I enjoyed this english porter that uses a very old recipe. I especially liked the unique malt tastes this beer presents. This beer seems more enjoyable in my memory than my notes indicate, so this one may be deserving of another review while at home. Overall, a very enjoyable beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2003 15:42:45 | More by aaronh

TXHops

Texas

4.53/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

-Malts: Maris Otter pale malt, wheat flour, and crystal, black
-Hops: Challenger

Nethergate’s Old Growler Porter was one of my recent new finds on my trip to Austin. Very exciting to find a new-to-me-English beer… Old Growler pours a brownish-black color, with cola-looking highlights. The 2 fingers of foam settled into ¼ inch of very lacey head. A pungent aroma of bready, sweet, chocolaty, fruity malts races out of my Nonick pint, treating my nose to quite the sensation. It almost smells like chocolate-flavored waffles. The flavor follows the lead established by the esters—bready, sweet, fruity maltiness mingles with a lovely, earthy dryness to construct a tantalizing, slightly bitter porter. The nose is more powerful than the flavor, creating a sense of this beer being way bigger than it is. A single sniff suggests an OG of more than 1.065. This boasting by the aroma carries through somewhat into the flavor and is only belied only a little by a slight thinness in the body and a touch of sourness in the tail.

I’m happy to report that I think I learned something while drinking this beer. As I was sniffing away at the rich aromatics produced by this beer, I realized that it smelled almost identical to Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, which was one of the best smelling beers I’ve ever come across. The most obvious shared trait between the two is the use of wheat in the grist, which appears to mix with the pale malts and darker malts to create an intoxicating, cookie/waffle smell. It’s addictive really…

The beer continued on to feature the sweet, doughy maltiness and a bit of yummy but vague fruitiness, which added a nice shot of complexity to an already intriguing beer. My only complaints were with the ever-so-slight thinness in the body (which can’t really be helped in a standard-gravity brew) and the suggestion of sourness at the end of a swallow. Really, this beer only suffers from a case o the aroma writing a check that the flavor can’t possibly cash without having twice the alcohol. As a result, this is a phenomenal beer and one worth searching out by lovers of Brooklyn BCS and “dark beer” fans everywhere…

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2003 20:36:54 | More by TXHops

WilliamPhilaPa

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark mahogany color. The head is dense, fluffy, tan colored, holds well. Lower carbonation. On the nose the aroma of rum, caramel, raisins, and molasses. Mouthfeel is smooth. On the palate the flavors consisted of dark chocolate, molasses, rum, brown sugar, caramel, coffee flavors. All of the flavors become more pronounced as the brew warms up. Overall a rich and filling porter…

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2003 10:30:46 | More by WilliamPhilaPa

canadianbarman

Alberta (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

**Please remember that I am a rookie reviewer who is only trying to learn the art of beer appreciation**
--Upon pouring I noticed that the head did not last and ws minimul to begin with. It poured an almost 'cola like' colour, with a hint of purple when looking through into the light.
--It has a very earthy smell. The first thing that came to my mind was coffee.
--Not a bad taste. I found it to be very sweet, then almost changing into almost bitter. I guess kind of an earthy taste.
--I have been a lager fan for years and have just started to dabble into porters and stouts. I have had better tasting porters than this one. There are other porters I would drink before this one again.
**Thanks for reading

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2003 11:48:15 | More by canadianbarman

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

16.9 z bottle, from a 1750 recipe, so they say. Frothy tan head, aromatics are mild: cocoa, nuts. Color, a dark brown. Some hoppiness, good malt, very smooth and easy-drinking. It's just missing something in the character department. There's very little of the flavor I enjoy most in a good porter, that deep, dark, but smooth blend of coffee and chocolate. This version's on the mild side.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2002 16:31:15 | More by feloniousmonk

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.28/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Sharp, slightly tannic Porter that pours a deep dark ruby-brown with minimal head. You definitely need to let this one warm awhile until it settles down a little. Glad I tried it but I won't go out of my way to get it again.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2002 09:15:22 | More by Dogbrick

ADR

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Clearish darker brown to coffee color...head is small and just a skim after 30 seconds. Deep and slightly rum/raisin aromas. Low carbonation adds to medium-bodied mouthfeel, slightly coating. Impressive bittering in the brew, flavors of brown sugar but also of some coffee and grape. Taste grows deeper the farther it gets in the mouth and finishes as java with a touch of a phenolic impression. It does tastes like an old recipe and reminds me of the days of blending roasty, smoky stout-like beers of low carbonation into a Porter. Interesting...

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2002 09:25:22 | More by ADR