El Robusto Porter - Papago Brewing

drabmuh

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%

01-06-2013 21:53:46 | More by drabmuh

gleemonger

California

4/5  rDev +3.9%

06-13-2013 22:25:29 | More by gleemonger

deac83

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%

02-11-2013 05:42:41 | More by deac83

AnotherImperial

Arizona

4/5  rDev +3.9%

01-27-2013 23:55:55 | More by AnotherImperial

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +10.4%

12-07-2012 02:10:30 | More by t0rin0

EyePeeAyBryan

Arizona

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%

07-23-2012 19:54:39 | More by EyePeeAyBryan

DeirdreE

4.25/5  rDev +10.4%

05-27-2012 17:18:35 | More by DeirdreE

Phelps

Arizona

3.1/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Enjoyed from the tap at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival’s Southwest Festival of Beers. Papago calls this one an imperial porter, though it won bronze at the 2005 GABF in the “other strong ale or lager” category. Poured into a small tasting glass.

Inky dark brown with hints of cranberry and a frothy half-finger head of light tan.

Interesting aroma. Smells like a brewhouse filled with sweet boiling wort. Very cereal grainy. I also get coffee, toast and some earthy hops.

The cereal grain continues into the flavor — it’s almost like I'm drinking unsweetened wort. Hints of coffee and some toast pop up in the background. Overall, it’s fairly light, with crisp finish.

Light, prickly carbonation creates moderate fizz as the beers moves about. The medium-light body is smooth but a little thin. Crisp for a porter.

An odd one from Papago. Easy-drinking for a porter, but it tastes unfinished.

Serving type: on-tap

04-19-2011 19:07:41 | More by Phelps

flexabull

California

3.65/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep dark brown color (I thought my friends growler was brown, but it was clear) with a tan head. Looks sturdy.

Aromas are very chocolate forward. There are also seems hints of roasted grainy malts as well.

Taste is typical porter. Doesn't strike me as being a baltic though. Nutty, chocolate, coffee beans, and a background of mildly sweet cream. Finish is crisp and lightly bitter.

Mouthfeel is decent. Seems slightly thin though.

Drinkability is pretty good. Solid porter, but not quite the powerhouse I was expected when it was poured.

Serving type: growler

12-27-2010 05:27:36 | More by flexabull

unclejimbay

Florida

4/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is dark coffee color with a cappuccino tan head. Nice clarity for a darker beer.
Aroma of coffee and dark malts.
Tastes as it smells with a nice brown ale finish.
Mouthfeel seems light for a porter but seems appeoriatte given the robust flavor.
Drinkable coffee fwd porter.

Serving type: on-tap

08-18-2010 03:03:43 | More by unclejimbay

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The best of three Papago contracted stouts and porters that have been talked about by locals, enjoyed on tap at Papago. Opaque black with lovely off-brown head, lacey. Coffee roast chocolate aroma. Good for something coffee, I am not a coffee drinker. Above average mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2010 22:42:04 | More by northyorksammy

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.63/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the growler with about an eighth-inch, creamy tanned head. Not as tight in the lace as from the tap, but that makes sense. OK retention. The color is black, with only the faintest ruby highlighting when held to the light.

The nose to me comes off as a little bit like wort: brew salts and pelleted hops. The malt notes are present, with bittersweet chocolate ringing the bell. On the flavor end, in this iteration I don't find the roasted malts coming in quite as hard. There's definitely some balance between sweet and bitter, but it's leaning a little sweet on this growler. Definitely some dark fruitiness, and an element of unexplained spicing. The hops taste is dried and packaged, pretty earthy but slightly metallic as well.

Light end of the mouthfeel spectrum, even a hair watery. At the end of the tasting process there's more roast than I found in the middle stages, but the alcohol is hidden nicely. More or less a good homebrew, but I would have to recommend it from the carbonated tap.

Serving type: growler

01-21-2010 04:21:10 | More by BretSikkink

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.73/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from growler I got from Papago's.
Poured a deep, deep brown with a nice brown head, decent carbonation. Nose is roasted malts, bitter cocoa, coffee. Taste was thinner bodied fir a brew that was listed as an "Imperial Porter". I have had porters that really blew this way away that was not "Imperial". However, the taste was good, beer was balanced and full of flavor. Cocoa, roastiness and coffee.

Serving type: growler

12-26-2008 05:48:53 | More by barleywinefiend

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.7/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a black body with a small, dark brown head.

Smell: Aroma smelling of roasted barley, chocolate, cold coffee, caramel, and the unmistakable scent of buttery diacetyl.

Taste: Roasted barley topped with cocoa powder and a few pats of unsalted butter. Charred sugars still manage to lend a little sweetness. Some caramel kicks in and, with the diacetyl, gives it a slight butterscotch taste to it. Dash of coffee. Roasty bitterness. Chocolatey, roasted finish.

Mouthfeel: A hair above medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Still tasty even though it's riddled with diacetyl, but, then again, aren't we all?

Serving type: growler

06-15-2008 23:03:06 | More by ChainGangGuy

ATLbeerDog

Georgia

3.48/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a beautiful brownish/back color that is slightly cloudy - with a small caramel colored ahead, with below average lacing and very under carbonated. Smells of burnt malts and cooked brown sugar. First taste is smokey with a heavy burnt malt taste. Taste like burnt campfire cooked marshmallows.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2008 00:14:26 | More by ATLbeerDog

Deuane

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A-Black with a medium dark brown colored foamy head that reduced to a thin film.

S-Roasted malt, some chocolate, and a bit of coffee. Also a sour mash scent overlaying all of this.

T-Roasted malt, chocolate, and slight coffee as in the aroma. Also that bit of sour twang in the mouth. All in all a nice flavour.

M-A rather thin body....not as El Robusto as I would have expected. If this brew has any major flaws it is this....lacking in a nice full mouthfeel.

D-Nice...certainly not the best Baltic Porter I have ever had but decent. A good try by this new brewery. I am glad to have had the chance try it.

Serving type: growler

03-08-2008 02:37:09 | More by Deuane

NCSUdo

Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 64 oz growler, from tayner

P: Pours black under a small brown head. No retention no lace.

S: Smells of olives. Yeah, olives. Some hints of roasted malt and some chocolate, but a distinct olive smell to it. Don't know where that came from. It's not horrible, unless you hate olives, but it's rather unexpected and out of place. And to be fair, I think the olive smell is just the combination of all the other aromas, it just hits me like olives.

T: Taste is actually pretty clean. Mostly some chocolate and light coffee, some roasted malt with moderate bitterness. No hint really of the olive in the nose.

M/D: Smooth, low carbonation, easy to drink. Aside from the olive in the nose, this one is pretty good, and I'm surprised to report that after the first smell.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2008 01:06:22 | More by NCSUdo

naproxen

Connecticut

3.98/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on tap at Papago's.

I first had a sample and proceeded to order a full snifter at once. This porter is worth the name "robusto" both in aroma and taste. It poured a dense black-brown with a lovely thick milky head, but it is the smooooth drinkability of it which wins you over. The aroma and taste are at once dark chocolate and roasted nutty yumminess which gains as it warms. Very easy to enjoy this full flavored porter without feeling too full or overwhelmed.

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2008 03:27:16 | More by naproxen

areitz

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Was just in AZ for the Superbowl and my rep and I visited the Papago Brewpub. The beers were impressive and even better the pizza were amazing. I had an El Robusto for the first round and was very impressed - one of the best Porters I have ever had. Light and easily drinkable and went perfect with my Cilantro and Pepperoni personal pizza. A great deal of flavor. I want to thank the gang at Papago and thank my rep for bringing me.

Serving type: on-tap

02-08-2008 14:52:08 | More by areitz

drseamus

New York

4.15/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Got a growler of this from tayner. It poured very nice with a pretty decent dark mocha head on top of a very black body. It looks very thick and syrupy as it pours. The aroma is filled with a ton of coffee and some slight chocolate. Very inviting. The flavor is very chocolaty and then it fades into a blast of roasted malt that gets stronger as the beer warms. When it's decently warm, the roastiness is overpowering. Great body on this beer and pretty good drinkability.

Serving type: growler

12-20-2007 18:10:29 | More by drseamus

tayner

Arizona

4.13/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I finally made my way to Papago Brewing. not sure what took me so long, its not that far..

This brew poured into my pint glass very dark black with a brown colored foamy head that lasted for most of the glass, about 1/2 inch.

The smell was not as "robust" as i expected although i could pick out notes of roasted malt, chocolate, and maybe a tad of a fresh brewed coffee smell although all of the smells seemed a bit muted.

Taste was not muted.. very nice. Roasted malt, chocolate, and slight coffee were all present, but all very well balanced. not alot of hops, that was more of a background flavor, just enough to keep it from being sweet, which it is not at all sweet. the abv is not all that high, 6.5% i believe, but very, very well hidden.

It was not as heavy as i thought it was going to be by the look of it. It had enough carbonation to keep it smooth. it was thick and full feeling without feeling heavy, if that is possible.

As for drinkability, i could easily seeing myself finish off a growler in one sitting, even though it is still in the mid 70s here. I will for sure being going back really soon for more of this brew, i am glad it is something they brew all the time and do growler fills of. Very underrated IMO.

Serving type: on-tap

12-05-2007 13:13:28 | More by tayner

Pooba001

Arizona

3.63/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had this on tap at Papago last night. Good looking beer served in a nonic pint glass. Its dark, with a lightish off-white head, decent retention. Aroma is a big mix of roasted grain, alcohol, malt sweetness, slightly burnt toast, coffee, chocolate, raisin, and cigar tobacco.

Unfortunately this didn't taste as good as it smelled. My expectations were raised by the aroma and then I felt a little left down as I didn't get the same complexity on my tongue. The roast, sweetness, and coffee and very prevalent, and so is the alcohol, more than it should be for a 6.5% ABV beer. I didn't know what the strength was when I was drinking it, and would've guessed it was about 8.2% if pressed for a number.

Mouthfeel was fine, relatively smooth, decent carbonation, etc. Drinkability was OK, I guess could have a few of these if I was in the mood, but there are much better Baltics out there, and at Papago I quickly moved on to a Scottish ale.

Serving type: on-tap

10-16-2007 20:51:22 | More by Pooba001

PhxHorn

Arizona

3.73/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I bought this on-tap at Papago. Almost no head when it was brought to the table, but left a fair amount of lacing on the glass. The appearance was very dark brown, almost black.

The aroma was light, smelling of coffee and roasted nuts. The taste was predominantly roasted coffee and chocolate, but no single flavor was overpowering. The beer (and the food I was eating) were quite filling, and so I can't say that I was ready for another right away, but I wouldn't have had an issue if another had appeared in frot of me. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. I would definitely recommend giving this one a try.

Serving type: on-tap

09-17-2007 19:28:15 | More by PhxHorn

brentk56

North Carolina

2.95/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Appearance: Arrives at the bar with a dark chocolate color and a nice tan head that retains and laces reasonably well

Smell: Rich coffee aroma

Taste: Starts out with a mouthful of chocolate that is quickly overtaken by an overroasted taste of charred coffee dregs

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly light body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: This sure ain't no Baltic Porter; you could call it a Coffee Porter but its just not very drinkable at all

Serving type: on-tap

05-02-2007 23:34:31 | More by brentk56

Gatch

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Filled a Papago growler on 3/2. First drink on 3/3.
A - Pitch black, even when held up to the light. This is one of the darkest porters I've ever seen. The head is exceptional. Medium brown & frothy, creamy, & very uniform.
S - Dark, roasted, fresh coffee beans, almost espresso-like. Oak & roasted malt are prominent as well, but coffee is all over the nose.
T - Extremely smooth. Dark chocolate, roasted malt, roasted coffee, and oak work well together. I'm also tasting a little lake water, which is strange. Maybe it's the horrible Arizona water. Edit: Wasn't as noticeable a few days later when I opened the growler again to have another pint.
M - The roasted character is great on the palate. The body could be a little heavier or thicker. The lake water taste disrupts the mouthfeel just slightly.
D - Very drinkable and enjoyable. It's on the lighter side for a porter, so you can take drinkability either way. It's either too thin for full enjoyment or thin enough to make it very drinkable, whichever you prefer. I find it a bit too thin, the lake water taste contributed to that, but I'm glad I have this in a growler because I love it. I haven't had too many Baltic Porters, but I know this will stay near the top of my list for that style.

Serving type: growler

03-04-2007 05:54:19 | More by Gatch