Elemental - Renaissance Brewing

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.76/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A - black with just a hint of light peaking through the edges, half finger of head dissipated to a few random islands
S - chocolate and roastiness, hints of cream, burnt sugars, and mild leafs
T - bitter bakers chocolate with burnt coffee and dark toffee maltiness, touch of creamy dairy, finishes slightly musty and earthy
M - medium body with a prominent cocoa chalkiness, yet still relatively rich and somewhat sweet, finishes with just a touch of bitterness
O - has an old timey label and a flavour to match which I enjoyed, its rich and bold while maintaining its relatively light porter character, worth seeking out

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 01:51:18 | More by joemcgrath27

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

500ml Bottle from the Ottawa LCBO for 5$

Appearance - Black/brown colour with a large size fizzy dark beige coloured head. It's too dark to make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for around 3-4 minutes.

Smell - Malts, coffee, chocolate

Taste & Mouth - There is a below average amount of carbonation and I can taste dark chocolate and malts. There is also some vanilla mixed with coffee and a light smokiness. It ends with a chocolatey aftertaste.

Overall – I've had 2 beers from this brewer and they have both been winners. The chocolate flavour tastes like a very high quality chocolate. Well worth the price and worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 23:32:33 | More by spinrsx

CookstLiquor

British Columbia (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500ml bottle. Pours a rich, deep chocolate brown. The nose is a hearty blend of dark malt notes: caramel, nuts, chocolate. The flavour is equally meaty and robust, with notes of smoke, dark grains, coffee and roasted nuts. The creamy mouthfeel complements the rich flavours. This is a like a meal, one of the most flavourful porters we've had.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 20:05:51 | More by CookstLiquor

StJamesGate

New York

3.91/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Black that goes purple-garnet in light with absurd piles of pocked burnt umber foam.
Oily coffee, treacle, charcoal on the nose - sweet.
Big coffee grounds hit with licorice, dried blackberries, and char and branchy and evergreen hops to end.
Malted milk ball finish and lingering roasty bitterness.
Medium, fizzy, dry.

Sweet malts and OTT roastiness battle it out. A medium-at-most body lightened by the ridiculous carb is the only thing that makes this a porter. It's got layers, but best beer in NZ?

Above average porter with too much fuss.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 20:52:19 | More by StJamesGate

BGDrock

Ontario (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: almost black, with cranberry red hue when held to the light; dense cappuccino head has great length and stickiness

Aroma: dark berries - blackberry, raspberry - sweet like jam and damn appealing! hint of chocolate is a perfect match; truly addictive

Taste & Mouthfeel: luxurious satin mouthfeel, incredibly smooth going down; great blend of berry and rich chocolate , coffee gives way to just right bitterness that seems to be both mild hops and roasted malt, and finally a lingering dark chocolate powder; great profile, like dessert in a glass, but not too sweet

Overall: amazing vibrant and defined flavours, and love the start - middle - end flow; absolutely delicious

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 02:29:58 | More by BGDrock

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.38/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Perhaps the least captivating thing about Elemental Porter is its appearance. Whereas the flavour has enough brimming hops and burnt malt to turn the palate either green or black, the appearance is solely black, and, honestly, relatively dull in comparison. It looks like liquid coal and has a head that, despite seemingly good structure, shrivels away with time and air.

In the aroma, cocoa and hops are two sides of the same coin. Big and remarkably boisterous, they each slash into the olfactory bulb with the swiftness, precision, and severe force of a samurai. The brewery uses only hops grown in their own backyard - and what a massive backyard it must be to accommodate this recipe. How many acres went into this thing?

The appreciably green (as if just picked), earthy, pine-y, and overall pungent quality of the hops are appreciated every bit as much on the palate, which also features equal amounts of smoky, bitter raw cocoa pods and a black roast that's like the charred bits off the end of a fillet mignon. Notes of vanilla bean and black licorice also sweeten the already delicious, gratifying deal.

The texture has both the chocolatey decadence of a creamy, rich ganache but also the sooty, earthy, bitter sensation of raw cocoa. And again there's the grassy-green, spearmint-y hops which under no circumstances can be ignored. This beer has a profile that instantly conjured to mind the names of my all-time favourite porters (as well as a few imperial stouts too!)

I hear that in New Zealand new and extremely talented craft brewers are popping-up in droves. Even if Renaissance is the only one of those to actually make it to Canadian shelves, we can't consider ourselves hard done-by. Like the Stonecutter and Craftsman, Elemental is yet another feather in the cap for both Renaissance and New Zealand. An elite porter.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 22:24:04 | More by biegaman

LampertLand

British Columbia (Canada)

4.11/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Renaissance Brewing's 'Elemental Porter' @ 5.7% , an English style porter served from a 500 ml bottle purchased for $8

A-pour is a very dark brown almost black in the glass with a small tan head that is leaving a fine streaky lace film along the pint glass after every sip

S-sweet smelling roasted malts

T-very smooth dark chocolate , crisp finish

MF-ok/mild carbonation , full bodied , easy drinking beer

Ov-good beer , good English style porter , I will seek out more Renaissance Brewing

sampled alongside Deschutes Black Butte Porter & Mill St. Coffee Porter

prost LampertLand

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 23:58:07 | More by LampertLand

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.91/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a deep black color porter with a small dark brown foamy head with average retention and some light lacing. Aroma of black chocolate and cocoa is pretty intense and enjoyable with some dry light bitter roasted malt notes also perceptible. Taste is also dominated by rich smooth dark chocolate notes with quite a bit of cocoa and dry roasted malt notes with subtle hints of coffee. Hops are very neutral. Body is full with nice smooth texture and medium carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Very well brewed.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 14:10:43 | More by Phyl21ca

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.74/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

500ml bottle. Weirdly difficult to read name, with an obscured main title. Only a sign of the weak sauce to come...

This beer pours very dark brown, verging on black hue, with bright reddish highlights, and one of those stupidly overwrought, immediately rising and overflowing at every juncture towers of thin, yet powerfully foamy beige head, which sets in for a serious spell, before eventually settling, to reveal some strangely sparse blobs of cloud form lace around the glass.

It smells of roasted chocolate malt, a bit of caramel/toffee sweetness, some creamy milkiness, sugar cookies, and ashy, earthy hops. The taste is grainy, toasted bready malt, caramel biscuits, semi-sweet cocoa powder, oily bar nuts, a bit of black licorice, a slightly off milkiness, and earthy, crackling leaf hops.

The carbonation is, as already noted, way the fuck out of control, still burbling up out of a half-empty bottle at this point in the game. Really, Renaissance? I know the first thing to check for in a non-bottle conditioned scenario (as far as I can tell here) is for infection, but the flavour is actually quite all right, so no problem there. Aside from this distraction, the bubbles are normative enough, the body a decent medium weight, and so-so smooth, a hoppy edginess taking its pound of flesh. It finishes on the drying side, the roasted character starting to fully assert itself, the chocolate notes aiding and abetting, and the hops looking the other way.

Once past the presentation chaos, this turns out to be a generally agreeable old-world porter, with the roasted, multi-pronged sweetness, subtle dairy notes, and nudging alcohol all making for an enjoyable tipple, once, well, you know...

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 02:07:09 | More by biboergosum

jbsteiny

Hawaii

4.26/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Haven't reviewed anything in a while and was surprised to see that the scales are in quarter-points now - nice! Was motivated to review this because 1) I've never reviewed anything from NZ before and 2) this is a really good porter.

Poured into a pint glass, opaque near-black with cola-colored highlights and a light tan head of a cm that eventually fades into an uneven ring with some lacing. The pour was fairly agressive, and the beer was near silent with no splashing - I like that - demonstrates thickness and I anticipate it to be chewy.

Aromas are just awesome, like a fresh-baked piece of chocolate cake. Cocoa and sweet cream dominate, a little bit of brown sugar and cookies in there too. Super appetizing.

Flavorful on the palate too. A bit more molasses and roast, a bit less sweet chocolate than the aroma, with a fairly dry finish. I could drink this regularly. I had it with a spicy smoked turkey sandwich and it held up well. The label recommends it with "blue cheese and almost anything off the barbecue" and I'd agree, but I think it'd also be great with cheddar or some aged goat.

Maybe a over-carbonated for the style, but good body and nice drying finish, although with some lingering treacly sweetness coating the tongue. Overall, definitely worth the buy and I'll continue grab it as long as it's at the LCBO. Looking forward to trying more beers from Renaissance.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 23:36:10 | More by jbsteiny

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nearly jet black, 1.5 fingers of tan coloured head, good lace on the glass as well. Smell is full of chocolate and roast, coffee with earthy hops and a bit of black liquorice here as well. Taste is also well roasted with chocolate, coffee flavour and bitterness, some earthy floral hop is present but light, medium bitterness, faint black liquorice and finishes lightly hoppy. Lightly carbonated, light-medium body, drying feel. Really solid stuff here, solid porter and something that was really drinkable, another above average offering from Renaissance.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 14:57:53 | More by peensteen

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Bottle from the LCBO, 500ml into a tulip.

Dark brown with some deep red hues around the edges. Khaki head with good retention and frothy, cappuccino-like lacing. Nose has great cocoa and chocolate notes, almost cakey. Light roast and a sweeter malt base. Taste has more roast upfront, almost too heavy initially. This lingers for a while, over some dark chocolate and some English hopping. More direct cocoa notes with warmth. Medium feel, moderate bitterness. Quite tasty, Renaissance has failed to disappoint yet.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 23:12:15 | More by liamt07

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

4.09/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Bottle from the LCBO. Nice to keep seeing Renaissance brews on the shelves.
. Poured into a goblet.

Dark Chesnut, nearly black. Good sturdy head of off white foam, nice retention.

Rich coffee, cream, licorice, caramel and nuttiness to the nose. Very nice.

Tasty porter, nice blend of flavors. Initally sweet but finishes dry. Coffee, roasted malts, licorice or anise. A touch of hops in the finish.

Lighter bodied, mild carbonation. Very easy to drink.

3/3 with Renaissance. Very enjoyable porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 03:56:40 | More by JohnnyBarman

hopsolutely

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

An impressive beer from New Zealand!

Pours a dark brown, near-black, with a respectable coffee-coloured head that dissipates fairly quickly. A delightful aroma of roasted chocolate malts with espresso or coffee bean undertones; lots to enjoy. The flavour is also well balanced with enough complexity to be interesting and to justify the 6% ABV. Elements of cocoa, chocolate and coffee with roasted malt highlights throughout the body. Surprisingly there is also a bitter hop backbone that leads into a delightfully dry and lingering finish.

A "robust porter" that I'd highly recommend.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 01:55:35 | More by hopsolutely

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.66/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

This poured out as a traditional looking dark brown color with a tan colored head on top. The retention was decent but not much lacing at all. The smell of the beer gives off some big roasted notes as well as some hops too. The taste is bitter, more of a hop bitterness than a roasted one. There are flavors of chocolate in there as well. The mouthfeel was a little bit too carbonated in my opinion for the style. Overall it's a decent porter, not one I'd have to seek out again but it was nice to try.

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2013 03:56:04 | More by Knapp85

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.09/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

BB October 2013. I expect it was bottled October 2012.

Beer is black and the pour results in a mammoth tan head. Must be very carbonated. Very good retention.

Smell is powerful and nice. Chocolate, cherry, raisin. Roasted malt. Anise. Smell comes through strongly even while pouring.

Taste contains roasted malt, a large dose of anise, cocoa and dark fruit (raisin, prune). Caramel. Sightly bitter, particularly in the finish. Quite tasty.

Medium bodied, on the full side, moderate to high carbonation.

Overall, very good. A very flavourful porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 02:38:06 | More by jrenihan

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

4.01/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours pitch black, finger of head with solid retention and solid sheeting lacing.

S - Rich cocoa, dark chocolate, hints of vanilla, and leafy green hop notes.

T - The chocolate notes dominate, dark cocoa, vanilla and leafy green notes, much like the nose. Chalky cocoa lingers alongside hints of leather and toffee.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and a touch of dryness.

O - A tasty brew that is full flavoured and fits the basics of the style. Well worth seeking out and glad the LCBO included this in their release.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 02:28:43 | More by andrenaline

MrKennedy

Australia

3.55/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle from Beermasons, into a Kent Old Brown handle.

Starts to gush and foams out of the bottle a bit. Pours a deep brown to black with a light tan foam on top. The head was more than half and it gradually dissipated.

Smells very roasted. Almost acrid to start with. Roasted malt and roasted chocolate plus licorice. A little off putting to begin with but these subside and a nice chocolate aroma comes through to work with the licorice.

Rich flavour of roasted malt, chocolate and licorice. The latter only there early. Plenty of intensity on the flavour scale.

High carbonation doesn't compliment the rich flavours. If it was a lot lower, this would really shine. Still some softness early and roast bitterness late that gives it a nice feel.

Good beer, shame about the carbonation. Plenty there, a shame the carbonation didn't help it be the beer it could and should be.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 05:52:43 | More by MrKennedy

ngeunit1

California

4.23/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a dark brown with a big finger of frothy khaki-chocolate colored head. The head fades down slowly leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of roasted dark chocolate malts with some dark fruit, and coffee with a touch of black licorice and vanilla.

T - Starts off with a mix of roasted dark chocolate malts with some raisin and other sweet dark fruits and a touch of black licorice. Through the middle, a bit of earthy hops come through with some roasted coffee. The finish is a mix of dark chocolate malts, coffee, earthy hops, with a bit of black licorice and dark fruit.

M - Medium-plus bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a sweet and roasted finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice balance of chocolate and coffee flavors with the right amount of roastiness.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2012 06:06:09 | More by ngeunit1

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours black with a large, tan head.
Nose shows dark chocolate, peppery hops, roasted coffee beans and roasted malt.
Equally roasty flavours, focussing of coffee and roasted malt rather than chocolate though. Very smooth stuff, but becomes a little more bold in the dry finish.
Could use a richer body.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2012 01:12:36 | More by CrazyDavros

Offa

California

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Black with very big dark brown head that slowly shrinks to foamy ring.

Aroma is rich dark dried figs, coffee, chocolate, dark toast, dark toffee, caramel.

Taste is nice and maintains the character of the aroma. It is somewhat sweet and faintly sour up front with roasty-woody-pepper bitterness balancing nicely.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2012 20:36:19 | More by Offa

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Absolutely terrific porter. Black with record lasting head. The pleasant roast yields to a rich roasted flavour that seems to get better with each sip. Full mouthfeel, bittersweet chocolate, a substitute for after dinner coffee. Try this for transitioning your buddies from Bud. marvelous craftmanship.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 05:02:11 | More by northyorksammy

danieelol

Australia

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled at the Taphouse.

Mmm nose was delicious coffee and roast. There was also a substantial hop presence concealed slightly below the surface, which I really appreciated.

Taste is more solid coffee and roast flavours. This reminds me a fair bit of Coopers Stout in terms of flavours, especially the substantial roast and accompanying hoppiness.

Mouthfeel was thick and good.

Really nice beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-20-2012 11:37:38 | More by danieelol

rjimlad

Australia

4.45/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A massive beer. Black in the glass with a rich dark chocolate head. Big stinky cocoa aromas with a little hop action cutting through. Flavour is like an 85% cocoa chocolate with a little bit of roast beef thrown in. Slight hop to prevent cloying and clean the palate but still a bit chewy and sticky on the lips. Nothing bad to say about it really. This is a really good beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 07:43:35 | More by rjimlad

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a warm, opaque sable with a VERY thick and fine-bubbled tan head. Not only is this head quite persistent, it forms an "island" in the middle of the mug as it dissipates. Smoky aroma has coffee, caramel and chocolate notes. Rich flavor has firm tones of coffee, caramel and chocolate plus a hint of licorice. Smooth, firm-bodied texture has a fair amount of fizz and leaves a smoky, tingly finish with a mocha tone to it.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 01:19:22 | More by Cyberkedi