Sweetwater Exodus Porter - SweetWater Brewing Company

RBorsato

Virginia

4.85/5  rDev +28.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Dark brown with mahogany tones and a low brown head which leaves sporadic lace. Big chocolate aroma and taste making for a rich robust flavor. Medium bodied (leans full) velvety smooth and creamy with a bittersweet chocolate finish.

Note: Won a Silver medal at the 2000 Great American Beer Festival in the Brown Porter Category.

I think of this beer more as a Robust Porter though...

ABV: 5.6% per book "Best American Beers"

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2003 08:04:59 | More by RBorsato

TheBigE5

Georgia

4.68/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

A - Super dark, Black, not allowing any light through. Thin head but sticks well to the glass.

S - Chocolate, coffee, toffee, a little roasty. Still very much a porter.

T - Not as much of the chocolate as in the nose but has a subtle chocolate milk flavor to it. A little nutty woody and roasty. Ends with some hop flavor.

M - Creamy but still carbonated, well done.

O - I simply love this beer. Porters are one of my favorite styles, but i think they are ruined when the coffee and chocolate tastes overwhelm the beer. This beer has just enough of those flavors to be noticed but not too much to ruin the style for me. Excellent porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2012 02:11:49 | More by TheBigE5

horshack7

Massachusetts

4.63/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Presentation: A brown twelve ounce bottle with a trout fish on the label.

Appearance: Pours very dark with a decent head rentention.

Smell: Very prominent chocolate malts scents hints of dark roasted coffee as well as burnt hops and malt.

Taste: Chocolate malts very robust and full boddied small hints of dark roast coffee. It also carries a smooth mouthfeel.

Notes: Where do I begin with this one virtually everything I want in a porter. Very robust simply an exceptional beer. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2005 01:43:40 | More by horshack7

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.53/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is one of my favorite offerings from Sweetwater. Praise Ninkasi that it is available again! It pours a deep, rich, dark-chocolate brown with a thick, light tan head. Smoky aroma has unsweet chocolate, coffee and molasses notes plus a hint of miso. Flavor has a roast coffee core plus chocolate, nutty and molasses notes and a hint of caramel. Smooth, firm texture has plenty of fizz and leaves a nice tingly mocha finish.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 20:20:29 | More by Cyberkedi

StevieW

Florida

4.38/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Deep dark murky brown, could call it black. Tan bubbly head, fades to a slight covering. Smell is slightly harsh, then nice roasted or burnt chocolate smell. Taste is a nice roasted to burnt chocolate malt bitterness. Maybe some hop presence, but the roasted chocolate malt dominates. Silky smooth feel, creamy and rich. Reminded me of an oatmeal stout feel. Very creamy milk chocolate like finish on some sips. Taste stays solid throughout. One of the best beers from the south. Sweetwater, Dogwood, and Old Dominion are making fine beers down here.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2002 17:41:40 | More by StevieW

rabidawg

Georgia

4.38/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Great bottle, with the colors of the Jamaican flag superimposed. Definitely a chillin' vibe at this West Atlanta brewery.

Appearance: Beautiful deep brown, with a small tan head that laced nicely down my pint glass.

Smell: Sweet malty nose that almost completely masks the hop presence. Roasty chocolate with slight biscuity hints.

Taste: So, so smooth . . . very creamy, exquisitely drinkable, and extremely enjoyable. Definite chocolate malt profile, with a lingering hoppy dryness. I return to the creaminess, and this beer almost reminds me of a milk stout. A great beer from an even better state.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2003 17:32:21 | More by rabidawg

ArrogantB

Colorado

4.35/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I received this as an extra from a friendly GA BA. This poured very dark black with a good sized head. The smell was really good with chocolate and cocoa coming through. The taste was more cocoa and also chocolate chip cookie dough. I really liked this beer and I usually don't like porters at all. Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2007 16:34:17 | More by ArrogantB

Bonhoeffer

Alabama

4.33/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Mmm. On tap at 5 Points Grill. Excellent porter. Nothing particularly unique, but it does what a porter should do and hits the mark. Dark. Intense. Roasted. Even a hint of something smoky. Rich.

So glad Sweetwater has so many on tap at 5 Points. Quite an oasis in a craft beer desert.

Serving type: on-tap

09-23-2005 16:26:29 | More by Bonhoeffer

kdawg105

Georgia

4.33/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Great porter. Very smooth. Its has the color and characteristic of a normal porter but not much hang time on the lace. The smell is quite nice but a little light. It taste great wonderful drinking brew, nice balanced body for mouthfeel I would recommend trying it but not one of Sweetwater's best!

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 00:13:29 | More by kdawg105

n2185

North Carolina

4.23/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a dark brown with two fingers of beige head that fades into a thin layer with good lacing.

S: Roasted malts with tons of creamy chocolate aromas dominate with some sweet coffee notes and a slightly smokey finish.

T: Again, roasted malts up front with loads of creamy semi-sweet chocolate dominating the body. There are light coffee and char flavors with only a slight bitterness toward the finish. Very tasty.

M: Medium body and carbonation, this beer feels surprisingly light and clean for a porter, making it very drinkable.

O: A good porter overall, not overly complex but very drinkable and tasty. At only 5.9%, it's damn near sessionable as well.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 19:37:31 | More by n2185

Loki

North Carolina

4.22/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a rich, deep brown with a medium white head that disappates quickly. (Do any of the SweetWater beers keep a head?)

Aromas of caramel, chocolate, malt, some hops, and a dark coffee (maybe sumatra) waft from this brew. The taste continues right where the aroma started with chocolate, malt, and a bitterness much like a good coffee. Definately not a Spring or Summer beer, but would be great for Late Fall and Winter.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2003 11:38:24 | More by Loki

Chaney

District of Columbia

4.22/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got this as an extra from GatorBeerNerd at Sexual Chocolate Day 2011. Thanks Donnie!

A: Poured a vicious dark, pretty much black color, with a massive 1-2 finger off-white head that stayed at least a sheet of bubbles over the dark liquid below it throughout the entire session.

S: Wonderful smell of chocolate, with toasted marshmallow. It also had a bit of that characteristic of a porter smell of BBQ or mild bacon.

T: Very much like the smell.... only even better. There surprisingly wasn't much coffee on the full-bodied flavor. It was much more chocolatey and/or candy-like in nature. The candy? Smores! - chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows.

M: Very creamy and then some! The carbonation was fairly low, but not too. After all, it would have been tough to create a head like this brew had on an anemic carbonation reserve. Despite the candy flavor, the sugar content was never cloying, but just right IMO!

D: I was really taken aback by how much I enjoyed this brew. I've tried several Sweetwater brews and I've noticed that they are either fantastic or barely drinkable. This one was the former....

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2011 01:52:47 | More by Chaney

VncentLIFE

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Color is a bit light for a porter. Deep, deep brown with a thin white head.

The smell reminds me of Edmund Fitzgerald. Sharp bitter woody smell, along with dry coffee and powdered dark chocolate. Taste is dry and woody, with lots of coffee. Starts off sweet, then you get all the dry woody and coffee notes, then it finishes chewy, roasty, and finally clean. The dry bitter coffee is all that really lingers.

A very well put together porter, but its just in a tough category.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2012 22:44:34 | More by VncentLIFE

UnionMade

Colorado

4.13/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle courtesy of LostBear Brew. Thanks!
The beer pours a deep, dark brown, topped with a fat, tan head. Good head retention, but no lacing. Nice aroma, thick with coffee and cocoa bittersweet maltiness. Some plum and piney hop notes. The first sip reveals a restrained coffee bittersweetness, moving elegantly into a moderately hopped, maltier finish. Notes of dark chocolate, carob, and some fig. Roasted malt takes precedence throughout, accented with cleanish ale fruitiness and restrained hopping. Mild carbonation, with a lightish medium body. Smooth, almost creamy mouthfeel. Very nice, this is a sessionable porter if I've ever had one. A very drinkable brew for when you're in the mood for darker stuff. Milder and soothing, this is my idea of a comfort beer. A great one for sitting on the porch and carrying a conversation with a couple friends.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2005 17:03:15 | More by UnionMade

Jredner

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Aroma came across a little grassy to me which could have been hops, but thankfully roasty elelments, mildly coffee tinged, do come in shortly after. Reddish brown to dark brown in color this porter sports an initially bubbly head that compresses into pinky thin tan line. Mmmm very nice mildly roasty, but amply malty fore. That is how a porter should start right there. it gets a little "Nut Brown Aleish" there in the middle with some dry and oily peanut skin notes, but gets back on track and finishes with a mildly chocolate tinged, roasty smoothness. Nice one and typically underrated as most fine porters on this site are.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2006 18:16:36 | More by Jredner

purplehops

Maine

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Exodus poured a deep opaque brown with a medium tan head that dissipated quickly into a thin ring around the glass. Little to no lacing on the glass. The aroma was black malt, roasted barley, and chocolate. The taste started with french roast coffee flavors blended with chocolate and caramel malt flavors. The finish was dry with a nice balance of charcoal, chocolate, and some notes of citrus hops. The aftertaste was bitter chocolate and coffee. Mouthfeel was medium with a smooth texture.
Overall a nice surprise for a southern U.S. beer. Having grown up in Georgia I never considered it "porter" country. Exodus was filling, pleasant, and enjoyable with a nice balance of bitter and sweet.

Serving type: on-tap

03-02-2003 22:17:32 | More by purplehops

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz longneck brown bottle, capped. Date notched on label.

This porter poured a very dark brown with hints of red if held to the light (not completely opaque), with creamy, tan foam that dissipated relatively quickly. The smell was mild: sweet dark malt. The taste was dominated by sweet, dark roasted malt with hints of chocolate and coffee and caramel, and low hop presence. The mouthfeel was full bodied, creamy, smooth, and relatively clean. The carbonation was medium. This was a nice, enjoyable porter, and very easy to drink.

Thanks to aracauna for this bottle.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2003 18:26:20 | More by UncleJimbo

rajendra82

Georgia

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer when poured in the glass looked opaque black with a rough brown head that dissipated to a thin line of bubbles. The beer lacked a strong hop aroma but had noticeable bite of hop bitterness. Great roasted coffee taste with a drying palatte feel that got stronger and deeper with time. The overall experience was excellent. The body was a bit lighter than I expected, but was not weak by any stretch of the imagination. An exceptionally drinkable brew, that is typically stellar work of this brewery.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2003 03:30:09 | More by rajendra82

TheSeeker61

Georgia

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I was impressed with this offering. In fact it was one of the best porters I've experienced. The appearance was a very dark brown with an inch head. Poured into a pint glass from a growler. The nose was giving off some very attractive chocolate/coffee smells. The tongue was a pleasant combination of chocolate coffee faint vanilla cream. Mouthfeel was somewhat watery. Thought it should have been at least medium. Overall very enjoyable and will pick this up again.

Serving type: growler

10-17-2012 20:58:55 | More by TheSeeker61

MSchae1017

Georgia

4.03/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This beer was tasted in a Pint Glass from a Bottle.

The beer pours almost opaque black lined with an amber hue. The head is rather frothy and sizeable but dissipated. It smells sweet and malty. This is definitely some roasted malts. It tastes of roasted chocolate malts but there isn't much by the way of hops. This is quite good though. It is very smooth with the right amount of thickness and carbonation. Another good one to pick up if you are in the atlanta Area.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2006 17:00:44 | More by MSchae1017

oberon

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep ruby tinted brown with a tight one finger mocha colored head that was gone quite fast.Aromas of unsweetened chocolate and raw earthy nut with a touch of cookie dough.A porter on the drier side quite woody and earthy with big unsweetened cocoa flavors only a tad sweet.A nice smooth mouthfeel lends to the drinkabiltity along with its dryness,I think a very solid porter and likely food friendly to boot.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2006 02:17:45 | More by oberon

sulldaddy

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I am sampling this beer courtesy of DING and SS 07.
Thanks man!
The beer is at cellar temp and poured into a snifter.
Even with gentle pour an overwhelming creamy beige head fills the glass without emptying the bottle. I'll give a small hit in score due to overfoaming.
The head slowly recedes leaving windowpane lattice as it fades, the center of the head almost looks like a milkshake it is so thick.
Clear mahogany in color.
Aroma is mild yet malty with some chocolate and caramel with some nice roasted notes as well.
First sip reveals a smooth silky textured medium body with very fine and tingly carbonation.
Flavor is clean and sweet with chocolate and some mild sweetened coffee notes. No real hop presence to be found. I get a bit of tanginess on the finish, not sure what to attribute that too, almost like diacetyl.
Very drinkable no hint of ABV.
Nice brew.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2008 05:01:44 | More by sulldaddy

fields336

North Carolina

4.01/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: not quite opaque, lighter than normal, brown, chocolate, with slight caramel tinge, 1 finger mocha colored head, bubbles away leaving

S: coffee, caramel, toffee, chocolate, with a slight hop aroma

T: milk and dark chocolate with a mild coffee flavor, really really delicious. notes of toffee, fig, slight cherry flavor and caramel on the finish. delicious

M: medium bodied, residual sugars are nice, carbonation is medium, done well for the style

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 01:45:22 | More by fields336

jlervine

Georgia

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

Pours a deep brownish black with ruby highlights. A light tan head forms and quickly recedes into the brew. The smell is of chocolate and roasted malts, with a touch of hops. The taste is very malty. Lots of chocolate and coffee notes. A hint of hops leads the finish. The mouthfeel is somewhat slick and leaves the coffee and mocha notes slowly disappearing from the roof of the mouth. A very tasty brew, and very easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2003 00:02:30 | More by jlervine

boudreaux

Alabama

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - deep, dark brown in color; easy to mistake as being opaque on first glance, but upon closer inspection there's plenty of brown highlights showing through around the edges when held to the light; 2 fingered head of creamy light tan foam fades away rather quickly, leaving behind just a light dusting of lace on the walls of the glass

S - decent nose; big whiff of chocolate intermingled with faint citrusy hops and a touch of caramel and bread pudding

T - caramel and Munich malts really shine through on the palate, bringing a delightful sweetness with notes of caramel, lightly toasted bread, mild dark chocolate, lightly roasted coffee and a touch of milk chocolate as well; hops show themselves in the middle with just a bit of a citrusy-herbaceous twang; things dry out a little toward the back of the palate, and the beer finishes with a semi-sweet chocolate-roast character that lingers for quite a bit

M - Rich and creamy mouthfeel, with a moderate carbonation that lifts things just a bit

D - As I say with just about every Sweetwater offering, give me more.

Overall, an excellent, solid porter. Extremely satisfying.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2011 23:30:06 | More by boudreaux