Nightmare Porter
Hambleton Ales

Nightmare PorterNightmare Porter
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From:
Hambleton Ales
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Porter
Ranked #28
ABV:
5%
Score:
88
Ranked #14,672
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 8.42%
Reviews:
76
Ratings:
82
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 06, 2022
Added:
Jun 03, 2002
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  1
Massively Flavoured Four Malt Porter. Maris Otter Pale Malted Barley, Crystal Malted Barley, Pale Chocolate Malted Barley, Northdown Hops, Fuggles Hops, Yorkshire Water.
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Ratings by RoyalT:
Photo of RoyalT
Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

3.89/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance – I swear this beer was damn near purple. That’s right, a deep, dark, almost black purple. The head was rather flat.

Smell – Very rich in the nose. There’s some deep, luscious cocoa here along with Welch’s grape juice and a touch of alcohol.

Taste – Grape juice, raspberries, and cocoa powder is what I’m getting here, and believe it or not it is pretty damn good. There’s also a mild tart note that sets things off. This is really good.

Mouthfeel – Typical of English drink, this one is medium-bodied and very smooth. If you’re expecting something like a Stone Porter you’ll be greatly disappointed. This is much thinner but also much smoother.

Drinkability – This went down really well and will go down as my first session Porter.

Comments – My reference to grape juice may sound nuts, but chocolate cocoa and grape juice actually have pretty similar tastes, especially when the grape juiced is mixed with something tart. Don’t take my word for it. Mix two ounces of vodka with a half a shot of black raspberry liquor (very grape-like), a dash of sour mix, and fill with Sprite or 7-Up. It will taste amazingly like cocoa.
Feb 03, 2004
More User Ratings:
Photo of flyingpig
Reviewed by flyingpig from Scotland

3.56/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500ml bottle from Co-Op, York (£1.99):
Dark brown to mahogany with a few bubbles through the body & a thin, bubbly lacing for a head that's light tan & patchy on the surface. Dark chocolate malts & roasted notes, plenty of sweetness with subtle caramel & molasses too; it smells better than it looks thankfully. More malts & chocolate with the taste, it's sweet & the body is lively with good carbonation but it's maybe a touch thin. There's some toffee & caramel coming through with a few darker fruits in the background, then a bitter & malty finish; surprisingly good given how bad it poured.
Jul 06, 2022
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.71/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
'I'll have half a Nightmare please guvner!'. What an unusual name for a beer...

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Super deep garnet red, clear, pours with a partial 1mm pale tan cap. ps @+10mins, holds well.
S- Roasty-toasty indeed, and a hint of some dark cocoa.
T- Follows the smell directly + some very light hints of char/smoke + dark cocoa is clear to ID. All in it's quite pungent tasting.
F- If this were rich it could almost be styled a Chocolate Porter. However it's not rich at all, it feels quite light versus it's taste^. One could have a side discussion re: the merits of pungent+ beers with lower ABVs and whether they come over as thin feeling.
O- It's very nice, very polished, nothing sticks out or seems out of place. Sessionable for those into big tasting trad porters. I'll be interested to see if chocolate malts or similar have been used in this...
Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the lables to see what I missed! ==> 'Massively flavoured four malt porter'. 'Smell: Roasted coffee, Taste: Chocolate, Liquorice'. Ingredients include 'Pale chocolate malted barley'.
500ml bottle BB: 08/2022 £2.15 Bought from TremblingMadness, York/UK as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.
Jun 02, 2021
Photo of Spike
Reviewed by Spike from England

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
500ml bottle.
L: Mahogany colour with a thin, off-white head and sheets of lacing.
S: Full & rich. Dark chocolate & sweet coffee.
T: Follows the nose plus caramel. Moderate bitterness.
F: Light body, extra smooth, dry finish.
O: Lovely chocolatey porter with a light & clean mouthfeel. Perfect balance between malted barley and hops.
Aug 29, 2020
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

4.06/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Bottled and by the looks of it part of Morrison’s supermarket bid to rival Tesco’s new craft ramp up
Pours a jet black body with good tan head
Aroma is treacle tart
Flavour is a rich dark chocolate pudding
May 06, 2019
Photo of Libeertarian
Reviewed by Libeertarian from Montana

4.17/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
From notes taken 07/24/17:

Served, as suggested, somewhere approaching room temperature, out of the refrigerator for an hour or so. First time I’ve brought out my nonic pint glass in a while.

Dark reddish brown, but lighter and more clear than many a porter, at least in direct light. Head of tan, a shade somewhere between cream and beach sand, whipped, fluffy foam with good retention. Smells of dark fruit and brown sugar! Want to say something else, but it’s not quite toffee or molasses or any kind of other sweet I am familiar with. Some sort of nut might be a good descriptor. Could just be the booze combined with whatever else, even though this isn’t a particularly boozy beer. Palate is about as complex but much more balanced. It is still sweet, but much less so, this time closer to toffee for sure, but also butterscotch, and then that nuttiness again. The big difference here, though, is the addition of a toast and almost roast flavor, and some earthen and wooden suggestions that should be hops more than malts, finishing with second hand pipe smoke and the mildest peppercorn. Medium-bodied, creamy-smooth, loaded with soft to tingly fine suds.
Jun 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by lillitnn92 from Virginia

Nov 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by innominat from Ireland

Aug 02, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by atrocity from Virginia

May 23, 2014
Photo of charlatan
Reviewed by charlatan from Scotland

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Half pint at Wetherspoons in Greenock. A peaty coloured beer with a big offwhite head. A slightly woody, smoky roasted malt nose with a hint of plum and dried fruit. It did indeed taste fruity (plums and figs) and smoky. This is the taste of getting drunk in a bothy with a roaring fire on the go: highly recommended, although perhaps not what you would want every day. It has a relatively smooth feel and is damn good beer.
May 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by coldmeat23 from Oklahoma

Oct 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by Tibi81 from Pennsylvania

Jan 25, 2013
Photo of Thorpe429
Reviewed by Thorpe429 from Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On cask at Pizzeria Paradiso in Old Town. Served in a willi becher. Pours near-black with a good tan head and a bit of lacing on the way down. The nose carries a touch of earth, chocolate, and roast, with just a touch of very light ashy smoke in the background. Flavor has a nice chocolate and roast component with a faint touch of fruit in the background. Body is light-medium with normal cask carbonation. Quite smooth and tasty. I would certainly have this again.
Dec 15, 2012
Photo of spearson28
Reviewed by spearson28 from England

3.95/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A -Dark black with a hint of red, lovely thick creamy off white head.

S - Big notes of roasted coffee beans and chocolate

T - Initial smokiness leading to sweet caramel with a mild gentle hoppyness to finish with a hint of nuttiness

M - Gentle carbonation with the smallest amount of gas bubbles. Leaves a sticky lingering mouthfeel with a small amount of drying

O - Overall a very good take on a stout. More depth of aromas and flavour than standard stouts with a lovely finish on the palate. Serving type: bottle,
Nov 26, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by closisinthehouse from Florida

May 18, 2012
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Tawny auburn with a puffy cratered tan head. Big whiff of chocolate with coffee and soil underneath.
Earth, espresso bean, some roasty char, then woody hops. Baker's chocolate end with a chalky linger. The light side of medium, smooth, some chew.

Very much a "medium" stout - robust flavours, but in modration. Chocolate and roasted barley rank over any fruit, so closer to a Dry Irish that way. Nice to find an English stout that knows how to use the roast.
May 10, 2012
Photo of BlackHaddock
Reviewed by BlackHaddock from England

4.35/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Hand pulled pint as a nightcap in my local Spoons 10th Feb 2012.

What the hell is an extra stout porter? Well this one was dark creamy and tastey!

Aroma of dark chocolate and ground coffee beans.

The taste was a rich blend of the smells with a mini bitterness and dry finish.

I really enjoyed it (after an evening of golden bitters it did the trick and I went home happy).
Apr 08, 2012
Photo of MeisterBurger
Reviewed by MeisterBurger from Canada (ON)

3.58/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The label on my bottle is different than what's pictured here. It says: "Nick Stafford's Hambleton Ales: Nightmare." and calls itself a Premium Yorkshire Stout. I can only assume I'm in the right place and some sort of a rebranding went on at the brewery, that Nick Stafford is an egoist, and that people in Yorkshire have nowt a clue what a stout is.

Pours a dark reddish brown topped by a sticky, off-white head and nice, sticky lacing. Top marks here.

Aroma is earthy, like a freshly dug grave, and slightly roasty, like a single coffee bean that was ground on the other side of the room earlier the same day, with a waft of halitosis from a far-off aged Alsatian.

The taste is coffee, baker's chocolate and caramel with a mix of tartness and bitterness that is interesting to say the least. A little nuttiness, a black licorice bitterness lingers in the aftertaste (in a good way). More like an extra brown ale - porter sort of hybrid than anything deserving to be called stout, but whatever you want to call it it's a little different and I like it, and I tend not to like a lot of English beer, so that's saying something.

Mouthfeel is medium, well carbonated. It works.

There's something off about the aroma for me, but overall I kind of dig this beer.
Jan 09, 2011
Photo of Georgiabeer
Reviewed by Georgiabeer from Georgia

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Gravity pour at the Brick Store Pub. Poured a very dark reddish brown, approaching black, with a typically rocky cask head- off-white in this case. Smells light, malty, and roasty, with an intriguing nuttiness lurking as well. Tastes of slightly sour grain up-front, then some light roastiness, and some earthy bitterness on the end. Light notes of chocolate fudge throughout. I had this beer freshly tapped, but from a couple of other reviews it seems that this is one best to have fresh before the sour graininess takes over. Light and soft in the mouth, and with just the right amount of carbonation for a cask beer for me. Nice.
Aug 28, 2010
Photo of PartyBear
Reviewed by PartyBear from England

3.97/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours with a thick black body and slightly foamy tan head. Lots of coffee and chocolate in aroma with an underlying sweetness, and a touch a liquorish . It tastes very similar to how it smells, strong espresso, bitter dark chocolate, oak, and a thick creamy feel. Brilliant stout, one of the most flavoursome I have had at 5%. I will certainly be seeking out the rest of the Hambleton Ales stable.
Nov 28, 2009
Nightmare Porter from Hambleton Ales
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 82 ratings