Pin-up Porter - Southern Oregon Brewing Company

devilben02

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

This one is really impressive out of bottle, with a deep, opaque brown-to-black color topped by a huge, fizzy beige head that settles to a persistent ring. The aroma is pleasantly sweet and earthy, with a predominant vanilla character over a light roasted quality that was reminiscent of white toast. The flavor is sadly more one-dimensional, with the same vanilla character and some dark caramel being only modestly balanced by a dark roasted coffee bitterness. A light, prickly carbonation cuts through a medium-weight body, which combines with a slight astringency to make this one harsher than would be desired. In the end, the sweet yet roasty profile is enjoyable enough, but it doesn't make this beer any more than a nice but unremarkable porter.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2011 17:01:12 | More by devilben02

chugamugofsud

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev 0%

02-20-2013 23:01:02 | More by chugamugofsud

vcoggins

Texas

3.75/5  rDev 0%

02-14-2013 16:16:01 | More by vcoggins

Kurt92118

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

12-24-2012 01:25:06 | More by Kurt92118

adkieffer

Washington

4/5  rDev +6.7%

12-17-2012 23:47:56 | More by adkieffer

Pintofbrown

Iowa

3.3/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This porter was had in a glass stein.

Appearance- An opaque dark brown body, this is appropriate for the style. I also like the inch wide layer of milk chocolate foam.

Smell- At first, this porter gives off aromas of cocoa powder and some roasted malt. After a little bit of swirlin', the chocolate becomes more pronounced and there is a bready, nutty note too.

Taste- I thought this was a porter? Where did this brown ale come from? The nuttiness and sweet malt are very pronounced. And without any real roasted qualities, or even a little bit of acidity, I guess this is what porters begin to taste like. I also weep for the cocoa that never was on the palate, like it was in the olfactory holes.

Mouth feel- This is a big medium body and REALLY creamy. Sure, this is carbonation that has been crafted to perfection like a samurai sword from Hattori Hanzo. However, the slightly cloying quality of the malt is only enhanced by the heft of this beer.

Overall- Pin-up Porter, you had me enraptured with your fine looks. Looks will only get you so far though, sweet heart. And looks don't amount to a hill of beans in this world if you don't have the flavors to back it up.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 04:36:20 | More by Pintofbrown

avaldivia

California

3.75/5  rDev 0%

07-28-2012 22:06:07 | More by avaldivia

Dunkelhund

Oregon

4/5  rDev +6.7%

04-19-2012 17:41:41 | More by Dunkelhund

twelveinches

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

04-01-2012 05:41:22 | More by twelveinches

Andrewseher

3.55/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served on tap at Pints Urban Taproom at 412 NW 5th Ave in Portland, OR.

A: Nice dark color with good head retention and lacing.

S: Not much to speak of. Hints of dark chocolate.

T: Espresso and dark chocolate. Very nice and easily drinkable.

M: Medium-bodied with a dry finish. Combined with the mellow, chocolaty taste, it makes the Pin-up very easy to drink.

O: A nice porter. It's not breaking the mold, but it is one of the better examples of the type.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2012 03:09:13 | More by Andrewseher

N3rdM3t4l

Oregon

3.95/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from Bomber into a standard pint

A: dark and opaque with two fingers of lovely tan head that took about a minute to recede and left a little lacing. Pretty beer.

S: Chocolaty right off the bat with big toasty malts. A touch of hop to balance the almost sweet smell coming off of it. Smells delicious.

T: Like drinking iced coffee, holy cow. Dark malts up front that has an almost french roast coffee flavor. Finishes with a good hop bitterness that sits on the back of the tongue, not too strong not too mild. A very sweet beer. A little bit of alcohol warmth on the way down too.

M: Thinner than I would expect from something so dark and sweet. Would expect it to be a little syrupy considering how sweet it is. All that said it is still a medium bodied beer. May feel thicker as it warms up some. . . more on that later.

O: Good beer, I had my reservations about it but it pulled through for me. Not the "go to" porter but good if you want something a little sweeter.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 05:55:13 | More by N3rdM3t4l

shelby415

Oregon

4/5  rDev +6.7%

02-29-2012 08:16:41 | More by shelby415

OregonMicrobrew

Oregon

4/5  rDev +6.7%

02-19-2012 23:07:14 | More by OregonMicrobrew

slimntubbs

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -20%

02-05-2012 14:40:12 | More by slimntubbs

sommersb

Tennessee

3.98/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tasted On: 11-28-2011
Freshness: Not indicated
Packaging: 22 oz. brown bottle
Glassware: Tulip pint
Purchased: Received in a trade

A: Black and opaque, with some brown on the edges when held to light. The tan head is 2 fingers high, with a fair amount of lacing and retention.

S: Strong aroma of toasted malts, along with coffee and dark chocolate.

T: Much like the aroma, the taste features bittersweet chocolates, roasted malts and coffee. Little to no hop flavors. Very pleasant.

M: Smooth, with a medium amount of carbonation. The aftertaste is of bittersweet chocolate.

O: A delightful and easy drinking porter.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2011 05:55:04 | More by sommersb

Sargully

Oregon

5/5  rDev +33.3%

11-28-2011 04:15:23 | More by Sargully

BierBliss

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +6.7%

11-23-2011 01:43:13 | More by BierBliss

NWer

Washington

4.05/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a brandy snifter.
Dark brown appearance very little head. Thin layer of foam that clings to the edges, little else. Virtually no lace.
Nice milky coffee-like aroma.
Good taste. Goes down easy. ABV light enough for a session beer but enough body and taste to make it a good sipping beer.
A solid porter. Very much worth the effort to seek it out at least once.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2011 20:42:48 | More by NWer

depechemode1983

Texas

3.48/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Very dark brown almost black in color. Head is tan with moderate retention. Not seeing any lacing.

S - Roasted sweet malts with a bit of smokiness. Smells a little like beer jerky.

T - Lots of roasted grains with faint coffee. Still getting the smokiness as well. In the middle the hops pull through and continue to the finish.

M - A bit light but very soft. Silk and bubbles.

O - Not bad at all. A fine drinking porter. This one is a bit sweeter than most porters Ive had. I dig it.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2011 18:34:40 | More by depechemode1983

flagmantho

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 22oz bomber into a pint glass.

Appearance: dark brown nearly to black; nothing comes through when held up to the light. Head is a thin layer of creamy tan foam. Good stuff.

Smell: nice coffee notes up front backed up by a creamier chocolate aroma at the end. My one complaint is that the aroma is a bit weak.

Taste: bitter roasted malts up front with a little tartness, that then develops into some coffee flavors and maybe some earthy hops, possibly nobles. There are some good flavors in there, but unfortunately it's a bit of a mess -- it just doesn't seem to work quite right.

Mouthfeel: medium to medium-light body with a decent carbonation level. The overall effect is creamy for a porter, which is a good thing.

Overall: this beer has some rough edges but overall it's a solid drinker -- a good session porter in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 07:09:37 | More by flagmantho

loren01

Oregon

3.83/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours into traditional pint glass a dark black color, tan/white head with very slight lacing down the glass
S: Roasted malt, chocolate and slight hint of dark fruits
T: Much the same as smell, nice roasted dark malt flavor along with milk chocolate flavors. Nice earthy hop bitterness in the aftertaste
M: Medium bodied beer, carbonation is slightly on the high side
D: Good easy drinking porter, I would get this one again.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2011 05:38:47 | More by loren01

jamescain

Texas

3.58/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a sniffer, thanks to texasclimber for sharing this one.

Appearance: Black with an off white head. The head quickly fades to a ring around the glass with no lacing.

Aroma: The aroma was very nice. Chocolate, burnt sugar, vanilla, roasted grains. The aroma made me really want to try a sip.

Taste: Sadly the taste could not live up to the smell. Bland, not much going on. The taste was not as dynamic a the smell, it was basically roast-y, what you expect from a normal porter.

Mouthfeel: A little underwhelming again. I prefer my porters to have more body to them. Medium carbonation and light body. I wasn't expecting it to be heavier though, because it is not a robust porter, so it is brewed to style. Just not my preference. I would say it was a little watery even for the style.

Overall: I wasn't that impressed with this beer. The aroma gave me high expectations, but sadly the rest of the beer couldn't live up to it.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2011 21:40:44 | More by jamescain

chumba526

Oregon

2.63/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appears dark black with a small light brown colored head.

It smells slightly chocolate taste; I get a toffee caramel smell as well. I also get a bit of a roasted malt flavor.

It tastes similar to the smell. I get a bit of a toffee like flavor. A bit of a sweet chocolate flavor and a mild coffee like flavor. I get a bit of a nutty and caramel flavor to the beer. Not bad but it seems a bit clumsy.

Medium high carbonation with a somewhat thin mouthfeel.

Drinkability is ok. But I am not tempted to have more than one glass of this.

Overall an ok beer but it is a bit boring and there is nothing about it.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2011 01:50:52 | More by chumba526

Bfarr

Washington

2.05/5  rDev -45.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Bubbly dark brown with foamy head and no retention. Faint off chocolate and roasted malt aroma. Taste follows with light lingering and sweetness. Diluted taste all around. Bubbly and watery mouthfeel.

Much like their IPA, it seems like a very minimalist recipe with the mouthfeel on this one way off for a porter. Not bad tasting but nothing really good to look forward to.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2011 02:27:57 | More by Bfarr

vkv822

Oregon

2.98/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

22oz bottle into tulip pint.

Pours a dark brown almost black with great frothy tan head that dissipates to leave a thin film across the beer and some light lacing.

The aroma is of quite roasty, almost astringent coffee. There are some faint chocolate notes. The hops that are present are very subdued.

Something just isn't quite doing it for me in the taste. There are the same basic flavors as in the nose but they seemed more subdued. It just really isn't coming together here.

The mouthfeel is okay, medium to light body and fair carbonation. But there is almost a slightly chalky feel to the finish?

This beer started out good in the appearance and aroma but in my opinion it just fell off where it counted. Oh well, it happens.
And remember, a "3" rating is average and 2.5 only falls between "Not impressed" and "Average" so this is by no means a bad beer . . . I just wasn't very impressed with it!

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2010 01:37:36 | More by vkv822