Pin-up Porter - Southern Oregon Brewing Company

mattmaples

Oregon

4.65/5  rDev +24%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The S.O.B porter now ranks as one of my top three porters of all time. Think of it as a cross between a Baltic porter and the Fullers London Porter. What you get is a rich chocolaty porter with a nice roast, great body and an easy finish. Not as sweet as many Baltics and not near as hoppy as almost all of the Northwest porter. The draft I had was lower in carbonation but that only accentuated the smooth round body.

Serving type: on-tap

11-14-2008 04:14:10 | More by mattmaples

xmorgan

California

4.6/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A very nice porter.

Good smell, taste was very much roasted malt flavor and it was just really, really tasty.

I like porters and this one was picture perfect for an American Porter. The price was right at $4 for a 16 oz pint.

I had it in the tasting room at the brewery, it was a cool little place in Medford. I was there on business and stopped in after work.

Would buy a 6 pack or 22 oz bottle if they had it in there tasting room

Serving type: on-tap

10-17-2008 01:37:45 | More by xmorgan

bitterthebetter

Oregon

4.33/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

pours a deep murky yet not quite opaque black with subtle dark brown hues and a light tan head

rich, malty, slighty smoky, slight mocha and light coffee

slight dry malt upfront followed by caramel, slight chocolate, faint chocolate, and a faint coffee finish with a touch of smoked malt at the end. slight bitter hops too, faint

medium to full bodied with a great malty profile with a lot of flavors transitioning to each other very nicely, not too dry or heavy, or sweet or bitter, just right

a delicious porter for 3.99. probably one of the best I've had in recent memory, and I just want to keep drinking more. It's got all the good flavors I like in a porter, but balanced extremely well with a very nice finish, slightly bitter to round it all off. I know I'll be buying another soon

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2009 07:50:39 | More by bitterthebetter

bkilpatr

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a pint glass. 03/15/09.

Pours a deep brownish black color with ruby highlights around the edges. About a finger of light tan head slowly receded to a thin layer, decent retention. Aroma is sweet and chocolaty and slightly nutty with roasted malt.

Taste is sweet up front with chocolate and slight caramel and nutty flavors. Nice roasted malt character with an every so slightly bitter finish and a hint of smokiness. Not very complex, but it works very well and is very tasty. Feel is medium bodied with low-ish carbonation. Pretty smooth with a dry finish. Drinkability is very good. It goes down very smoothly, fairly sessionable. Each sip makes me want another.

Overall, quite tasty and easy to drink without being very complex. I enjoyed this and would recommend it to others.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2009 05:27:55 | More by bkilpatr

Spikester

Oregon

4.22/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very dark brown with some ruby highlights. One finger tan head with good lacings. Cocoa coffee aroma. Tastes bittersweet chocolate, some coffee, and a perfect malt compliment. Silky on the tongue and the carbonation is just enough. Drinkability is very good at 5.5% abv. Light bitter finish. Great first beer from Southern Oregon Brewing!

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2009 06:17:40 | More by Spikester

ccrida

Oregon

4.2/5  rDev +12%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bomber poured into my Duvel tulip, Southern Oregon Brewing Company's Porter is a dark, blackish cola color with a khaki head that leaves scattered lace.

Smell is like toffee brownies, with a damp earthiness to it.

Taste is really nice, very much in-line with there description, I get a lactose/milk chocolate and iced coffee flavor, semi-sweet, with a light finish of camp fire at the end - it's more obvious from the first sip but quickly intermingles. The subtle integration of the rauch malt here reminds me of my conviction to never use peat malt in my homebrews ever again!!!! The more I drink it, the more I like it. Great porter for sure.

Mouthfeel is very smooth, it's got some viscosity, but definitely isn't too thick.

Drinkability is great, I was really loving this by the end. Exactly what I want in the style, the good price means this is a reasonable choice to session. My first from this brewery, a few years old but the first run of bottles I've seen up here, now I'm anxious to try the rest.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2009 05:55:38 | More by ccrida

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

Reidrover

Oregon

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

Bomber, Capital Market Salem. Nice looking deep dark brown ale with a huge and lovely frithy/creamy tight tan head. Aromas of roasted coffee type malts,dark 70% Cacoa choclate! Flavour as above but with some really nice peppery and fruity undertones. Palate I rather enjoyed, its not a thick chewy porter but more drinkable even light( not a bad thing) more in the English style than the American porters.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2009 20:15:20 | More by Reidrover

flexabull

California

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

Pours a dark brown color with a decent off white head.

Aromas are of chocolates, light coffee, and creamy light sugary malts.

Light chocolate flavors, dark sugars, creamy malts, dark toasted bread flavors as well. Nice crisp flavors on the finish and a general mineral hop note.

Mouthfeel is nice and full, but not overly heavy.

Drinkability is good. Nice overall solid Porter, I'd happily drink another. Well done S.O.B.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2009 03:16:54 | More by flexabull

jdense

Oregon

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

22 oz. from Belmont Station PDX, poured into Piraat tulip, 12.20.10.

3/4 finger tan head, pretty quick dissipation, minimal lacing. Dark brown opaque body, a bit of carbonation rising around the edge of the glass. Pretty big nose, coffee, 50% cacao, roast, some caramel, grassy and floral hops with a bit of bitterness. Taste mirrors nose, I got quite a bit of hot chocolate infused with a shot of expresso, roasty goodness but enough sweetness for balance, hops are pretty grassy, not very bitter. Mouthfeel is on the full side of medium, good effervescence. Didn't take much effort to finish the bomber, pretty tasty. Not as much roast quality as Deschutes Black Butte, but a nice tasty cold weather treat.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2010 03:11:45 | More by jdense

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

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

Docer

Washington

3.93/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Snagged a bottle up at The BeerMongers here... glad to start seeing a lot more from this brewer.

- Nice dark coffee/americano black... little light amber/brown at the edges of the glass... minimal head down to a ring of mocha brown mini-bubbles... with scattered floating foam..

- Nice clear, fresh, and light chocolate malt scent... lightly sweetened.. subtle coffee-like bitterness....

- Smooth chocolate malt... light creaminess.... roasted.... little bit of a coffee punch... light bittering.. overall smooth and decent. Kind of like a good English Porter..

- Bitterness leaves a touch dry, and the mouth waters as it finds the left over flavors.. which are good.

- Very drinkable... and a great porter. Doesn't stand out much like many others, but I think it touches on the style very nicely.. and isn't an overcarbonated bomb of a porter that is too creamy at the same time.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2009 02:37:25 | More by Docer

mjl21

California

3.88/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle poured into an Imperial pint glass. Comes in at 5.5%. No bottling info is present. Pruchased from Bear Creek Beers in Medofrd, OR.

A-Pours dark brown with a one finger tan head that fairly quickly goes to a thin layer that does not entirely cover the top of the beer. Tiny bubbles are visible going up the side of the glass.

S-As expected, lots of malt. Pick up on roasted malt and coffee that has been left in the pot for a few hours. Also get a tad bit of cocoa.

T-It is sweeter than it smells. Lots of sweet chocolate throughout. There is a tad bit of roast in the finish along with a little bitterness.

M-Medium to full bodied and smooth. There is a little bit of prickly carbonation on the tongue. It finishes dry.

D-An easy drinking porter. It has a low abv and is very sessionable.

I really liked this beer. It had the perfect level of sweetness and was not overly roasty. Both bottles that I received are now gone. Would purchase if it was available in my area.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2009 21:44:14 | More by mjl21

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.85/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with a bubbly, khaki-colored head.

Smell: Humble roasted malt nose with notes of unsweetened chocolate and coffee dosed with whole milk.

Taste: Ah, the sweet taste of roasted barley underscored by tastes of chocolate and café au lait. Fairly faint fruitiness. Earthy hop profile with a light bitterness. Minor puff of smoke. Roasty, bittersweet finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: A fairly enjoyable, certainly easy drinking porter. Recommended, provided you're looking for an easy going porter.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2009 00:27:01 | More by ChainGangGuy

Wasatch

Utah

3.85/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz. Bomber

Pours a pretty nice black color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy tan head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with some chocolate/toffee notes. The taste is malty, slightly sweet, with a nice touch of chocolate/toffee note. Medium body, the finish has a very slight bitterness. Drinkable, a nice brew, glad to have gotten a chance to try it.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2010 20:10:50 | More by Wasatch

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

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

msubulldog25

Oregon

3.65/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Southern Oregon (SOB - get it?) has been popping up more frequently in Portland, both bottles and kegs. Today after work, had my first taste of the Porter, a pint on-tap at Clyde Common.

A: Coffee-brown darkness with an underwhelming head, a fraction of a finger, light tan. Drops quickly to a swirl of film; I watched the bartender pour other pints and noticed he pulled very slowly, aiming to minimize the head it appeared. Can't fault for a 1/2 oz. more of beer, but 'presentation' suffers a little. Only a modest cluster of lacy bits.

S: Fairly strong aroma of cocoa and lightly-roasted coffee. Pretty traditional 'porter' aroma of toasted malt sweetness.

T: More cocoa and slightly bitter chocolate, with a sweeter caramel finish. Balancing spice, not bad at all. Just not terribly exciting either.

M: Remarkably smooth, mellow. One of the easier sipping porters I recall, a 'melted chocolate' mouthfeel that hides a pleasingly tame carbonation.

D: Good. Overall an enjoyable, satisfying porter that I'd order again. Doesn't break the mold, but delivers with flavor and feel that are worthy of a recommendation, albeit not a glowing one.

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2009 00:56:00 | More by msubulldog25

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

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Predominantly sweet with integrated chocolate roast, brown malts, and light bittering. The aroma is roast cacao, the color is opaque brown. No head and irrelevant lace.

Though also brewed with lager yeast at ale temperature, SOB's porter has enough roasted character to surpass the limitations of its warm lager fermentation. It works well enough for drinking though the sullen lack of CO2 is disappointing.

Serving type: on-tap

07-17-2008 02:06:27 | More by RedDiamond

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

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.53/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Darkest nut brown with generous highlights of crimson and orange. The beer falls short of opacity, although that isn't a negative in a 5.5% porter. The golden khaki colored crown is all kinds of attractive. It's mousse-like, sinks exceptionally slowly, and is beginning to grace the glass with a thick blanket of finely pocked lace.

The nose could be bolder. It strikes me as part porter and part brown ale. To be fair, it's more the former than the latter. There's a whiff of cocoa and a small shot of coffee, alongside an earthy brown maltiness that is the reason for the above comparison.

S.O.B. Porter is decent beer, but it isn't a classic American porter and it isn't impressing me any more as the ounces begin to disappear. The brown ale-porter vibe still applies, thanks to an earthiness that one doesn't often taste in beer of this style. More roasted malt and less medium-dark malt (Carafa, caramel) would have tweaked things in the right direction.

The flavor profile includes light brown bread, weak cocoa, weak coffee, baked nuts and (oddly enough) a small splash of vanilla. Hops add no more than modest bitterness and flavor. I'm not sure why the brewers decided to use so many varities: German Magnum, Northern Brewer, Styrian Goldings, Perle and Mt. Hood.

The mouthfeel is acceptable enough given the style and the ABV. It's on the light side of medium and is gently bubbled. Perhaps too gently. A more expansive creaminess would have been more enjoyable.

Porter is of roughly the same quality as Pale Ale. Neither one was a waste of money, but since the Pacific Northwest is such a hotbed of craft brewing, it will probably be difficult for Southern Oregon to grow beyond the small, local brewery stage. Unless they step up their game, this is.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2009 14:05:29 | More by BuckeyeNation

Magpie14

Michigan

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

A: a creamy mocha head sat atop a deep earthy brown body. I noticed the body hid brick red hues with orange shades that were evident during the pour. Just a few blobs of lace, not bad

S: I am convinced this a nut brow type ale by my initial whiff. chocolate toasted malts and grains with a barely noticeable stale coffee sniff

T: the coffee notes stand out a little more on the tongue, but not much and the same holds true for the chocolate as well. The chocolate notes are reminiscent of dry dutch cocoa powder. If anything the main base of the beer is a toasted malty earthiness that lends little room for coffee, nuttiness, and sweet sugars. As far as the label is concerned no real smokiness stands out...nor hops, for that matter

M: I am finding this porter to be rather drinkable. Although the flavor department is somewhat lacking, I find its mouthfeel mildly tingling and quite easy to drink. Nothing to brag about if you use the word "smooth"

D: I was handed this beer on a recommendation and would have, should have, chosen something else. Otherwise I would say an okay porter

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2009 21:50:36 | More by Magpie14

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