Sierra Nevada Porter - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

mayorwalda

New York

3.15/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Time for a nice porter.

Pouring Sierra Nevada's Porter I got a touch ahead of myself. The head on this beer grew quite a bit more than I expected it would for a typical dark brew. Eventually I got the whole bottle in my glass and I watched the head for a bit, it was at first thick but pretty quickly died off and left only scraps of lace tattered along the edge of my glass. Sadly, while the head was still sitting atop my beer, it really didn't do much to show off the beer’s bouquet, simply, this beer isn’t very fragrant.

Sniffing about there's all your typical aromas for a dark beer, surely the dark malts, some smokey, roasty aromas, and as described on the bottle some toffee aromas. If I'm to be honest, though, all I can really say I smelled was the dark malts, and hints, very slight hints of the toffee and coffee aromas.

So, after not having much luck with smelling this brew, I put my lips to the glass for my first sip. Well, I sipped, and after not knowing quite what to think I sipped again and again and now here I am. I've taken a good many sips and I can't say this brew has blown me away or really let me down in any way. In a sad way this brew is everything I expected and nothing more.

In lieu of not being blown away and not having much of anything to say about this beer I guess I’ll keep it simple:

Appearance: This beer is dark but less dense than most beers that use dark malts. Perhaps they used some lighter malts as well?

Smell: The aroma is roasty and formulaic, but also notably weak.

Taste: The taste of this brew is the taste of your typical porter, bittersweet and earthy.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel of this beer is almost average but seems to be a bit more carbonated than your typical porter. I feel like this allows for a somewhat—though admittedly not very—unique porter experience, and I’ll give Sierra Nevada points where I can.

Overall: Overall this brew is middle of the road. It’s nothing out of the ordinary and is pretty drinkable, but when it comes to craft beer I’m looking for something a little more interesting and for that reason I might advise folks to spend your hard earned cash on a more prominent porter or stout.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 06:10:31 | More by mayorwalda

FUwolfpacker

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

05-18-2013 12:58:40 | More by FUwolfpacker

megamass

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

05-18-2013 05:57:41 | More by megamass

KYGunner

Kentucky

3.79/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Deep ruby to an almost brown color this is really a beautiful beer but it's body was just average with not much head and no lacing.

Malty goodness and dry chocolate and coffee strike the nose quite pleasantly. Stout like qualities in the nose it's very nice yet weaker than most.

Smooth is a good way to described the taste and feel. Dry chocolate notes mixed with roasted coffee and an underlining of grainy malt.

Overall, this is typical of Sierra Nevada, good classically flavored examples that are well worth the time and money...but don't go beyond.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 00:20:39 | More by KYGunner

Xzfgiimtsath

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-17-2013 12:45:10 | More by Xzfgiimtsath

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-17-2013 05:01:21 | More by Slatetank

ZEB89

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

05-17-2013 01:30:30 | More by ZEB89

Gregg_Kawakami

Hawaii

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-16-2013 13:41:49 | More by Gregg_Kawakami

dc87

Washington

3.65/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

A - A slightly lighter colour than most porters I've had. Cola like - dark brown with dark red around the edges. Thick, mocha head which remains throghout

S - Roasted malts. A little coffee and dark chocolate. No hops.

T - Roasted malts up and caramel up front. Pleasant taste, but there is not quite as much flavour as I'd like. Very nice burnt, balanced aftertaste. The bitter hops just come through along with a sweet caramel. Moreish.

M - Pretty nice - medium thickness. Coats the mouth well. Nice twang from the carbonation

O - Didn't blow me away, but pleasant and very drinkable. Would make a solid session porter.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 04:36:35 | More by dc87

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

05-15-2013 18:30:49 | More by twenty5

MWilt

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

05-14-2013 21:23:26 | More by MWilt

shamrock071521

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

05-13-2013 20:21:29 | More by shamrock071521

Theniz

Indiana

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-12-2013 14:31:37 | More by Theniz

OldhouseRecs

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

05-11-2013 23:36:13 | More by OldhouseRecs

Lukezilla90

Tennessee

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-11-2013 17:08:00 | More by Lukezilla90

bconsidine

Maryland

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-10-2013 18:54:23 | More by bconsidine

pcsnyder

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

05-10-2013 12:03:33 | More by pcsnyder

rph97

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-10-2013 00:45:24 | More by rph97

JackMcAwesome

Florida

4.15/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle to a mug.

Look: A deep dark with a half finger head that quickly went away. A small ring of foam stayed behind to create some decent lacing.

Smell: Mmmmm, chocolate, with also a bit of burnt caramel. It was also persistent and didn't fall off until near the end, which is something I always look for in a brew.

Taste: Follows the nose closely. The cocoa/caramel balance out quite nicely. A very light bit of coffee is in there, near the back of the throat for me, maybe it's the black and carafa malts. Either way, pretty decent.

Feel: A light cream texture balanced well with the bite of carbonation.

Overall: A pretty good brew. I'm not too versed in the world of Porters just yet, but I like this one very well. It's light enough where I would open one up after a bit of yard work with no problem. Definitely good.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 21:32:33 | More by JackMcAwesome

cadaugherty

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -10.9%

05-09-2013 00:03:48 | More by cadaugherty

Mattyb79

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

05-08-2013 20:54:36 | More by Mattyb79

TheDoak

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -10.9%

05-06-2013 06:07:45 | More by TheDoak

BAsbill

California

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-05-2013 00:59:48 | More by BAsbill

Michael_Stribling

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +20.9%

05-03-2013 19:58:32 | More by Michael_Stribling

2beerdogs

California

4/5  rDev +1.8%

05-01-2013 04:33:58 | More by 2beerdogs