Porterhouse Red - The Porterhouse Brewing Company

ryan1788a5

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Odd peel-off cap in the place of a traditional crown.

A: Deep red-orange with great clarity. The off-white head is very creamy looking and displays excellent retention. A thick, foamy coating of lacing paints the walls of the glass. Impressive.

S: Caramel and toffee. Fruity with aromas of plum and maybe even grape skin. Subdued roast impressions of coffee beans, brown cocoa, and some woody/nutty smells. Extremely faint hint of acidity. Subtle grassy hops.

T: Caramel, toffee, and hints of cola. Slight acidity. Roasted coffee beans on the mid-palate. Light, vague fruity presence. Much cleaner than the nose suggested. Nutty yeast. Slight balancing grassy hop presence. Very toasty, slightly buttery. Bone dry finish with a light, lingering coffee roast.

M: Medium bodied. Very creamy and almost velvety. Filling in the mouth, but with a very light and airy quality. Strong, seltzery carbonation scrubs the palate. Great mouthfeel.

O: Porterhouse did a great job staying true to style with this one. This is a textbook Irish Red, and the body/mouthfeel is truly great. Highly sessionable to boot. I could see it pairing very nicely with a grassy Irish cheddar. Unfortunately, the American palate tends to only appreciate sweeter, hoppier "Americanized" reds. I can see this gem slipping through the cracks in our market. The high price tag doesn't help.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2013 20:16:55 | More by ryan1788a5

TripelMark

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7.8%

05-17-2013 16:46:28 | More by TripelMark

pixels

New York

4/5  rDev +7.8%

05-14-2013 21:25:42 | More by pixels

skaboom420

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -12.4%

04-30-2013 23:12:17 | More by skaboom420

JackRB

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%

04-06-2013 00:30:33 | More by JackRB

jewellrunner

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%

03-24-2013 15:33:29 | More by jewellrunner

popery

California

3.83/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours a dull reddish brown. Nice, warm color. Some cloudiness. A couple fingers of off-white head. Good retention. Rich malty aroma. Lots of sweet bready malt and toasty caramel. Mild spicy hop character. Fairly simple aroma, but for a 4.4% abv beer, it's relatively big and rich. Taste is similar. Considering the strength of the beer, there's lots of sweet caramel malt flavor and a good undercurrent of hops in the background. Carbonation is pretty low. Just a bit of prickliness. Kinda soapy. Finish is a bit mineral-ish, and the beer mostly dries out. It's a nice, low abv red ale with a mild hop character and rich malt. Easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 05:19:35 | More by popery

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.01/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml pull tab bottle poured into tulip 10/3/13

A clear reddish amber with lots of tiny bubbles throughout floating up to a well retained two fingers of foam that leaves lots of random lace

S malty with some earthy hops, dry cereal, fruity nut bar and a hint of coco with a slight metallic aspect

T more of the same really, slightly more cereals and the handful of pennies I was smelling is toned down in the mouth

M pin prick bubbles, lighter side of medium bodied and a earthy fruity finish

O pretty solid Irish Red that's a nice blend of nutty fruity malt and earthy tones, lots of flavor in a low alcohol brew

pretty solid example of the style and I like a flavorful brew that I can drink several of without getting buzzed

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2013 01:26:50 | More by wordemupg

Eucrid

Ireland

3/5  rDev -19.1%

03-10-2013 18:45:15 | More by Eucrid

Millerf1127

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +21.3%

03-07-2013 12:30:22 | More by Millerf1127

t0rin0

California

3.25/5  rDev -12.4%

03-02-2013 23:16:31 | More by t0rin0

Monoke

Ireland

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%

03-02-2013 18:01:22 | More by Monoke

Beerstorian

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +7.8%

02-16-2013 03:30:13 | More by Beerstorian

JLapadura

New York

4/5  rDev +7.8%

02-06-2013 01:47:21 | More by JLapadura

FLBeerGuy

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

01-27-2013 18:34:42 | More by FLBeerGuy

HabiMendes

Rhode Island

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

01-21-2013 22:00:33 | More by HabiMendes

KStark

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

01-20-2013 23:56:57 | More by KStark

MudDrinker

Ohio

2.5/5  rDev -32.6%

01-18-2013 00:57:07 | More by MudDrinker

dvanhandel

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%

01-13-2013 17:24:38 | More by dvanhandel

His_Royal_Hoppiness

United Kingdom (England)

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

12-20-2012 22:22:29 | More by His_Royal_Hoppiness

Bouleboubier

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%

12-18-2012 04:05:57 | More by Bouleboubier

innominat

Ireland

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%

11-28-2012 19:29:51 | More by innominat

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle, thanks to the rep for the sample. I hadn't noticed the 'right-handed' label feature on this brewer's label before. Cute, as is the description for the main graphic's askew nature (6 degrees off-kilter).

This beer pours a clear, medium bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, foamy beige head, which settles at due pace, leaving some nice roiling wave lace around the glass in the process.

It smells of lightly toasted caramel and pale malts, some further toffee/cocoa notes, a reserved dense orchard fruitiness, and musty, earthy hops. The taste is more nicely roasted bready, caramel malt, with a touch of chocolate and coffee, dried black fruit, a slight acidic note, and softly offsetting earthy, leafy hops.

The carbonation is reserved, and just strong enough to provide unseen support, the body a more than adequate medium weight, and mostly smooth, a simple edginess marring things only slightly. It finishes off-dry, the bready malt still on top, though the musty, leafy hops don't exactly fade away.

A pretty tasty Irish red ale - my go-to has always been Smithwicks (sometimes even just to pronounce it properly), but were this as readily available, the contest wouldn't even be close.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 02:22:00 | More by biboergosum

OF001

4.15/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Golden-ruby hue on the pour with crisp clarity and a very thin head that is maintained by light but constant carbonation, very little lacing worth noting, but it occurs.

Smells of medium roast pale and chocolate malts that is rich and teasing. Caramel, toffee, chocolate and cooked dried fruits (prune, raisin? mostly on the sweeter notes). Notably sweet.

Dark fruits and a light copper not round out roasted cocoa nibs. Butter toffee and light tobacco/leather notes. Finishes a little dry and an iron minerality that I thought would have given the hops a little more bite. The low ABV allows some of the more subtle flavours to show, although I burnt y tongue on coffee this morning it can only help ME so much, and it does.

Mouth-feel is medium bodied and well suited to this style. Willing carbonation makes it lively on the palate and probably adds to the dry finish.

Well balanced and fairly complex. Better than the majority of reds I’ve had in the last little while. Light and slightly spicy hopsg with juicy, roasty-toasty sweet malts and long finish makes this a joy. An approachable beer for most, but not complex enough for the seasoned, the flavour and mild complexity make a great and affordable everyday beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 01:17:13 | More by OF001

Musicjack

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%

10-14-2012 18:51:58 | More by Musicjack