Kudzu Porter - Back Forty Beer Co.

chinchill

South Carolina

3.49/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Kudzu Porter pours a very dark reddish mahogany topped by a durable tan head that leaves excellent lacing.

Aroma: more hops than expected lend an unusual citrus nose, but there is too little in the way of roasted malts.

Taste: a bit hoppy, but on par with some other American Porters. Thankfully, there's plenty of dark roasted malt too. The dark malt brings a light smoke and a bit too much burnt quality.

M: medium+ body; Nicely carbonated,

Overall: an unusual but nice American porter worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 17:27:29 | More by chinchill

docnose

Alabama

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very good looking beer. Almost black in the glass, but a deep brown when back lit.

Can smell the aroma of hops. I think this has too much hops, at least for my taste.

Taste is pleasant. Although the smell of hops is quite present, the taste is more balanced. The tastes are good as it goes across your tongue, but it leaves behind a somewhat bitter aftertaste at the back of my mouth.

This is an easy beer for me to pour down my throat! I would say that the mouthfeel is pleasant. A heavier feel than lighter beers, but I think, a somewhat light feel for a porter.

Overall this is a pretty tasty beer, but the hops component seems to be more than I like - as someone who doesn't particularly care for hops...

Serving type: on-tap

02-14-2013 07:29:16 | More by docnose

daliandragon

North Carolina

3.8/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very impressive very dark brown with impressive frosty lace. The nose is more balanced than I expected in that I'm not overwhelmed by caramel and roasted, and can detect muted hops. Powerful, multifaceted taste with lots of intermingling flavors, with dark chocolate and roasted malts starting off before giving way to citrus and pine hops. Thick texture allows for maximum saturation of flavor and long aftertaste. Too hoppy for a true American porter, but an interesting and worthwhile hybrid.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 02:38:18 | More by daliandragon

dogma46an2

Alabama

2.63/5  rDev -26.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The bottle was awesome. Appearance true to style, and it was dark rich mahogany, the smell was light, but too hoppy to style. taste was thin. no malt character, comparative to the hop notes. mouthfeel was thin and nonexistent. it was not as good as we expected.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 02:47:21 | More by dogma46an2

IsaacmanTX

2.8/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Far too hoppy for a porter. Although it does have some drinkability, I feel this is unbalanced and a poor representation of its style. I am not a fan of featuring a hops above malt profiles that excell in their own right. It does have a pleasing depth of flavor... presenting a honey, coffee mineral flavor, almost like a syrup. I Want to like this beer for what it is, but they called it a porter...

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 02:02:38 | More by IsaacmanTX

BhamBeerLover

4.33/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a light and hoppy kind of porter. While this beer probably won't win any beer competitions where style is a main consideration, it is great for the drinker who likes even his or her dark beers a little on the hoppier side. This beer was great for my personal preferences but couldn't give it quite the numbers I would have liked to just because of the style under which Back Forty lists this beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 01:44:07 | More by BhamBeerLover

Mojo

Alabama

4.08/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is my favorite of the beers brewed by Back Forty. Up until now I've found them to be not bad, but certainly not anything special. This one is the best of their offereings. It pours up a deep, deep brown, almost black with a 1 1/2 inch to 2 finger caramel colored head. Retention is good and there is a huge amount of elaborate lacing left. Smell is coffee, honey, floral, and some saltiness. Mouthfeel might be the weakest component. Not quite enough carbonation. Taste is very good. I love the roasted malt perfectly balanced on the finish with coffee, dark chocolate, and some roasted nut accents. Try this one if you find it. It's common in Alabama, but I don't know how widely it is distributed.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 02:45:43 | More by Mojo

Reaper16

Alabama

2.95/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

served on-tap @ Egan's, Tuscaloosa, AL, into a pint glass

Kudzu Porter is Back Forty's third beer, and also their best. Until today they have only brought it to beer festivals in the state of Alabama, but they debuted it at Egan's today with all proceeds going to Tuscaloosa tornado relief efforts.

Pours a lighter-than-expected shade of muddy, dark red. I mean, man is this light for a porter. It's very red throughout. Half a finger of light khaki head actually looks attractive sitting on top of the red body, but it doesn't stick around for long.

Interesting nose, actually. You have to wait for it to warm up, but there's a vegetal note here that must be coming from the kudzu that the beer was brewed with. It's not a hop note, but a truly vegetal one. Apart from that interesting note, it's all slightly-roasted sweetness. Little depth to the malt profile, unfortunately.

The taste follows the nose. It's very sweet, almost cola sweet. There's thankfully some roast to offset the sweetness, but not enough. The kudzu/vegetal character is very pronounced with warmth. It makes for a sort of harsh finish, even if you enjoy the astringent, turnip like flavor that this beer has.

Medium-sized body. It's perhaps a touch undercarbonated, but I might be nitpicking. Overall, this is an average porter even considering how uniquely vegetal it is. I enjoy the kudzu component, but the malt bill could use some work. Additional roast flavor would do this beer a world of good. Still, this is by far the best beer that Back Forty has released. I'd much rather see this on-tap at local bars than Truck Stop Honey Brown or Naked Pig Pale Ale.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2011 02:56:57 | More by Reaper16