McGuire's Porter - McGuire's Irish Pub

TheLongBeachBum

California

2.3/5  rDev -34.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Presentation: A 1 Pint draft serving, sampled during a recent trip to McGuire’s Irish Bar in Pensacola, FL. I cannot remember what the strength listing was but I know that it is not above 5.0% ABV on the BrewPub Beer Menu. The Last of the Four beers I sampled during a recent visit to McGuire’s Irish Pub.

Appearance: Served in a large straight sided and vertically dimpled Handled Mug. The appearance was immediately a let down, a darkish but very watery looking brown color, and quite opaque, easy to see through. So much so, at first I thought the light was playing tricks and I had got the Irish Red Ale again. Minimal vanilla colored head and almost no carbonation. Looked like a “thin” Newcastle Brown Ale that was past its prime to be brutal.

Nose: Nothing at first. I sat and sniffed this for a while, and eventually got some caramel mixed with some toffee and malts, but I almost snorted the beer to get it. “My Dog has no nose”, “Oh yeah, how does he smell?”, “Like McGuire’s Porter”. I think I must have burnt my Septum on the previous Glass of Belgium Strong Ale!!

Taste: Wishy-washy, it had nothing to offer. If felt thin and like a very watery English Mild. Light malts and some diluted caramel tastes. Very disappointing.

Mouthfeel: Way too thin, not much carbonation to aid the feel at all, flat at times and completely lifeless. Lightweight.

Drinkability: I actually left the last two fifths of this beer, the Taxi arrived to take me back to the Hotel, usually I would slam a beer down and leave an empty glass, but in this case the Taxi was a god-send, and a good excuse to leave this one on the Table. Way too thin and tasteless.

Overall: I’m no expert, and I don’t brew, but I do know that this was nothing like a Porter; it was more like a Brown Ale to me, and a bloody thin one at that. A real let down after the 3 previous McGuire beers which were all above average. I expected much better, especially after the very good Stout that I had tried earlier. If you want to try this beer whilst here, my advice would be to drink it first!!!!

Not impressed at all.

Serving type: on-tap

01-08-2004 07:03:09 | More by TheLongBeachBum

Bierguy5

Ohio

3.6/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Chestnut in color, with some ruby edges. Not much head was poured at all. A few patches of lace clung to the sides of the glass eventually. Lightly roasty and chocolate aroma. Maybe a bit of floral hops thrown in as well. Good roasty malty flavor, although not very robust. A bit of floral and perhaps citrusy hops help to balance. A bit thin. A good porter, but not outstanding. I will say that is was very drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

03-22-2007 19:30:16 | More by Bierguy5

chinchill

South Carolina

3.55/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served at McGuire's Pub in Pensacola.
ABV: 5.3%

A fine looking porter: nearly opaque, clear mahogany with a light tan head. Standard porter aroma with hint of chocolate, but also with hint of bourbon. Very good taste, initially, but too much burnt flavor in finish.

M - low carbonation; smooth; good body.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2011 13:48:51 | More by chinchill

charlzm

California

3.35/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Consumed 03/27/08.

Dark brown with a creamy tan head.

Malty roasted coffee aroma.

Flavor is the same. Clean with no discernable hop character. Flavor just sort of evaporates at the end. Body a little thin, no noticeable carbonation.

Not bad, but certainly not outstanding in any way. 5.3% ABV.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2008 01:30:03 | More by charlzm

PorterLambic

Florida

3.98/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Arrives nearly black with a creamy, dark tan head. Retention is great, good lace, too.
Smell is a bit weak but well balanced. Toasted malts, coffee and a hint of dark chocolate.
Taste is roasted malt, coffee, smoke, baking chocolate, vanilla and a whiff of something else, maybe rum or sugarcane. Very good balance.
Mostly full body, light effervescence, pretty smooth as well. Slightly drying. Very similar to their stout - which I had previously - though there are differences. Both are quite good.

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2012 00:48:43 | More by PorterLambic

maxpower

Missouri

4/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark hazy brown color, can't see through the glass, small tan head. Aroma of roasted-burnt coffee and chocolate. huge coffee flavor, creamy full mouthfeel, this is a great porter. I like it as much as thier Irish Stout.

Serving type: on-tap

11-29-2002 15:11:10 | More by maxpower

beveritt

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From notes.

Appearance: Very little head. The beer itself is dark brown, but you can see through it. Some lacing.

Smell: Hints of chocolate.

Taste: Chocolate and toffee with mild bitterness from roasted barley.

Mouthfeel: Average carbonation level. Body is decent.

Drinkability: Nothing special, but a very drinkable beer.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2008 03:50:21 | More by beveritt

jettjon

Florida

3.85/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Highs: Finish
Lows: None

I always enjoy trips to McGuire’s in Pensacola and feel fortunate to be able to stop by at lunch basically whenever I want. The atmosphere and food are great, but the quality of beer varies. The porter, however, is one of their stronger offerings in my opinion. The menu lists ABV at 5.3%

Pours almost completely opaque brown, though poured from tap at bar, head impossible to judge. Good lacing remains. Nose is of malt with light sorghum and hops, inviting. Taste is sorghum/molasses malt, well balanced with hops. Mouth is bubbly, smooth, and a bit creamy, quite pleasing. Finishes nicely bitter leading to a very satisfying coffee that lingers on the palate for awhile.

Overall: A good porter, a solid representation of the style. A good companion for the meat dishes. Recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

04-13-2006 00:29:20 | More by jettjon

jokelahoma

Missouri

3.18/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had at the Destin location

Poured a very light brown, much lighter than one expects from a porter. The head was virtually non-existent, and what little there was got up and ran away immediately. It is crystal clear, however.

The nose is surprising in its lightness. There's little to detect here at all. One thing that does come through, unfortunately, is a bit of buttery diacetyl. Not sure that bodes well.

And it doesn't. First sip is fairly full of butter flavor. There's little of the black malt flavor one might expect, and no chocolate flavor either. Even the bitterness is subdued to the point where it's hard to detect. It's not exactly a butter bomb, but it's a lot more buttery than you'd want in almost any beer, let alone a porter. Maybe this was just a bad batch, but the beer in my particular glass just didn't work well.

The mouthfeel is a tad thinnish, but that's okay for a porter. A bit more body would be nice, but it's passable.

This isn't bad. It just isn't really good, either. Far and away my least favorite of the beers I tried while there. Based on the decent quality of the other brews, I'd be willing to bet something has gone wrong with this one. It's too lacking in much anything except diacetyl. if you're going to try it, I'd ask for a sample first. Or stick to other styles, which the brewer does well.

Serving type: on-tap

05-03-2008 03:35:14 | More by jokelahoma