Ybor Gold Gaspars Porter - Florida Beer Company

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

2.68/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Beer review from BA Mag Nov 2007.

This beer's namesake is the folklore pirate Jose Gaspar. We are pretty sure pirates consumed rum and not porters, but this is marketing right?

Skimpy on the head and the lace barely stays; dark brown in color with chestnut highlights. Light enough in appearance to be confused with a brown ale. Sugary aroma with some brown sugar and a ghost-like burnt smell. The carbonation is at a medium level with a good all-around crispness and a slick moderate body. Sugary sweet malty flavor takes the taste buds hostage for a good while, and as soon as the sweetness lays off there is a watery burnt flavor with a subdued spicy hop bitterness. A little astringent husks come through. Hint of dried plum and brown sugar in the semisweet finish.

Not very balanced; aim for balance because it goes a long way. A very weak stab for a porter here as the overly sweet character takes this beer down. Don't be afraid of roasted malts and hops! We'll have to say to pass on this one, especially if you don't like overly sweet beers.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2010 01:23:11 | More by BeerAdvocate

srhoadsy

Florida

3.73/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Served slightly chilled into a pint glass.

Pours a deep, rich brown with quarter inch dark tan head that quickly recedes leaving light surface layer and moderate lacing.

Nice aromas of roasted malts, coffee and chocolate.

Tastes follows through the aromas with just a hint ash.

Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation and sweet, slightly creamy finish and pleasant aftertaste.

Pleasantly surprised by this beer. Have had some of their other offerings that were not so great. This one is very nice and will definitely get again. Only recommendation would be just a touch more body.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 04:53:04 | More by srhoadsy

dlello2

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +9.6%

05-07-2013 21:41:52 | More by dlello2

kylehay2004

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

05-05-2013 18:55:06 | More by kylehay2004

cyrushire

Florida

3/5  rDev -12.3%

04-25-2013 06:48:30 | More by cyrushire

shand

Florida

3.64/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

New formulation that lacks the Ybor Gold sub-brand. Gaspar's Porter pours out a ruddy brown color with a small mocha head. A sweet roast and milk chocolate rule the nose, it's a little sweeter than I tend to like. The taste brings a more well-rounded flavor - the aftertaste isn't nearly as cloying as I expected from the nose, a nice bitterness comes in instead. The mouthfeel is pretty good, it's got a nice enough mouthfeel and carbonation level, but neither are spot-on, and the drinkability is good. Overall, a solid porter from Florida Beer Company.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 23:17:32 | More by shand

twizzbeatz

Florida

3/5  rDev -12.3%

02-18-2013 04:55:36 | More by twizzbeatz

djrn2

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

11-22-2012 21:52:32 | More by djrn2

macrosmatic

Florida

3/5  rDev -12.3%

04-10-2012 06:09:51 | More by macrosmatic

nickfl

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

01-15-2012 20:16:55 | More by nickfl

animal69

Louisiana

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

01-02-2012 21:23:25 | More by animal69

sim0n17

Germany

3/5  rDev -12.3%

12-04-2011 10:50:08 | More by sim0n17

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.23/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

Pour is a dark borwn, bordering on black. Some light off white foam settles to the top. Nutty smell - almost as if this is a brown ale. Small flavor - like a light porter. Little carbonation. Some choco flavor in there.

Light body makes it an easy drinker - but a far cry from the top porters out there.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2011 00:00:14 | More by KTCamm

mdfb79

New York

3.1/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass.

a - Poured a dark brown with about an inch of light brown head that had no retention. No carbonation evident.

s - Smells of sticky sweet dark fruits, chocolate, coffee, and some roasted malts.

t - Actually tastes a bit sour. Also some roasted malts and maybe sour fruits. Hints of chocolate.

m - Medium body and light carbonation.

d - Wasn't a big fan of this porter. The smell was pretty good but wasn't digging the sour taste it had to it. Wouldn't look to have again.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2010 00:56:13 | More by mdfb79

Portertime

Florida

3.9/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Another one from the Ybor variety pack. Even though it is an English porter I still love my dark beers. Enjoyed this chilled in my Warsteiner mug. Poured a dark cocoa brown with a little tan head. Smelled like your typical porter with coffee and bittersweet baker's chocolate. Taste was a tad light but same strong, foward black roasted coffee and dark chocolate. Smooth on the way down with a hint of astringecy.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2008 16:01:43 | More by Portertime

HardcoreKeith

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I bought the 15-bottle Ybor Gold variety pack and saved the best for last.

Poured into a pint glass. Very minimal head, hardly any lacing. Opaque black. Even tilted it's pretty dark brown. Delicious odor of roasted coffee. The taste is somewhat dry and light in body. This is is kind of how Floridian porters are, though (and it seems no one in Florida makes a stout), and it's still really good. It's light on bitterness, but there's just a touch there for balance. This is a really enjoyable thirst-quenching porter. Gaspar's Porter is the best offering from Ybor Gold / Florida Beer Company.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2008 19:06:31 | More by HardcoreKeith

AgingWarrior

Florida

3.03/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I purchased a 15 pack of Ybor Gold products, the porter was one of 5 varieties in the pack.

A. Good... it pours a very dark brown, almost black and has a thin reddish brown head with some lacing.

S. You know it's a porter at the first whiff. The smell is of toffee and chocolate malt.

T. Not bad, but a little thin tasting for a porter.

M. Nod bad, but again it feels to thin, the finish is okay, but unremarkable.

D. Average. I love porters and I'd drink this one again, but I wouldn't go out looking for it.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2008 12:46:37 | More by AgingWarrior

Drew966

Florida

3.18/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Ybor Gold Gaspar's Porter pours a dark brown with very little off white head. The aroma is malty, roasty, but a bit sour too. There is some nice roasty flavor, the mouthfeel is a bit thinner than I would like. There does seem to be some sourness lurking in this one. Not bad, definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2007 00:22:38 | More by Drew966

Procrastinator

Florida

2.7/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle from 15-pack box sampler. Upon opening, I noticed the label had dates of '03, '04 and '05 with no notches showing any born on or best by dating. Not reassuring. Poured into Nonic pint glass.

Appearance: poured dark chocolate brown with 1" pillowy off-white, almost creamy head. Tightly carbonated head subsides to leave lingering cap and decent lacing.

Smell: bitter chocolate and burnt malts predominate the nose. Mild sweetness of overripe fruits in the background.

Taste: metallic, bitter maltiness up front, unbalanced and lacking any sweetness. Old cardboard aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: overly carbonated, thin and mildly astringent.

Drinkability: this beer got a little better as it got warmer. Flavor and bitterness mellowed. I've had this beer on dozens of occasions and remember it being alot better. I've got to believe these lesser ratings have to do with it being outdated and maybe substandard storage by a distributor.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2007 21:43:43 | More by Procrastinator

jettjon

Florida

3.48/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From a 12 oz bottle from the Ybor multipack, "June" notched on the freshness date, though quite alarmingly, only "03, 04, and 05" were listed for years. I'm assuming "2007." Into the pint glass, pours a very dark, nearly black reddish brown with red tint only visible when held up to the light. No bubbles evident. One finger brown-tan head that quickly fades to a thin cap. Rather disappointing head. Nose is sweet with sugary sorghum and malt. Tastes of toasted malt up front, a bit of coffee and chocolate, mild bitterness toward back. Decent toasted malt finish. Semi-viscous mouth, smooth, slick, with moderate to light carbonation. A bit thin for a porter. Drinkability is pretty solid, though a bit underwhelming overall.

Overall: A kind of a porter-lite, with substandard appearance, taste, and mouthfeel. I wouldn’t bother.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2007 01:46:52 | More by jettjon

cjgator3

Florida

3.65/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep dark brown color that is almost black with a light tan head. Aroma is sweet and slightly nutty with notes of caramel, chocolate, molasses and coffee. Taste is sweet and malty upfront that finishes dry with a kind of nutty coffee flavor in the finish. This is actually a pretty good brew that I don't think I would buy again because there are so many better porters out there. However, I would not mind having again if given to me.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2006 07:11:07 | More by cjgator3

objectivemonkey

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Into a pint glass, pours a ruby brown with a pretty decent off-white head, a ring of lace after and staying there after the head diminished but none after, only cascading foam. Taste reminds me quite like a brown, like a slightly more potent brown, with bitter chocolate, and something like coffee mixed with brown sugar. I didn't notice the aroma right away, as in, it isn't that noticable, nice, but weak, sweetish chocolate and a caramel malt. Mouth is wierd, feels like a full medium body, but actually watery, and mild carbonation but still kind of springy. But for a porter, not liking it. All in all, a bit odd, fairly drinkable, but I'm glad it was a gift.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2006 03:29:23 | More by objectivemonkey

warchez

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Aroma: sweet caramal malts and estery yeast finish detectable. Mild to no hop nose.
Appearance: Surprisingly ruby red for a porter. I could read through it. Not black or opaque. The deep ruby is perhaps reminiscent of the style in the days of wood fired brown malt. The head is tan, retention is moderate.
Taste: ester sweetness is detectable, not overpowering or displeasurable. The sweet malt takes from stage, no roasted character though as I would expect for a porter. More of a complex brown ale flavor profile.
Mouthfeel: walks the street right down the middle the body is moderate and lends to a very smoith finish which carries that sweetness extremly well. Good match up of body to flavor delivery.

Overall this is very drinkable. However it drinks more like a Brown ale/belgian Duble fusion. Tasty brew to go with beef based soups.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2006 23:58:38 | More by warchez

Vancer

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Old Gaspar porter, but damn, just not a porter. I mean, nice start = clear and deep mahogonay brown, with a frothy tan head. Hell, this ol’ brew even tried to lace the glass on the way down.

Chocolate malts in the aroma. And in the quaff they sweetened quite nicely. This would make for a perfect English brown ale – not an porter.

Medium bodied, and again, very enjoyable brew – just missed the style they claimed.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2006 02:52:13 | More by Vancer

Xadoor

Texas

3.15/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured a very dark ruby red into the glass. Foamy, tan head which dissipated quickly, leaving just a thin line around the edge of the glass. Light coffee aromas, but got stronger as it warmed in the glass. Coffee and dark chocolate flavours. Slightly dry finish. A bit thin for a porter, but drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2006 22:23:33 | More by Xadoor