Anchor Porter - Anchor Brewing Company

Zraly

Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This brew parades in proper porter fashion, at least in the appearance department. The head poured a beige film on top of an almost black beer.

The smell is nothing special, nothing not so special. It's rather tautalogous, it's malty smelling. There is a hint of nutty alcohol as well. This feature carries over into the flavor. In addition, it has bittersweet chocolate and brown sugar notes. I also picked up on a suggestion of alcohol. It seems to carry a sharp carbonation throughout, especially the first few swallows. It comes across a bit odd.

While this is not a particularly wonderful beer. It isn't undrinkable. However, I feel that there are better porters out there that cost less per 12 oz. bottle.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2002 18:39:30 | More by Zraly

Todd

Massachusetts

4.4/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 1pt 6oz light brown bottle. Batch number on the back, no freshness date.

Appearance: Dark brown to near black with ruby edges in the light. Mily coffee coloured head; creamy, foamy, sticky with a patchy lace of various bubble sizes that stick as it settles to a respectable, lasting lace.

Smell: Ripe dark fruits, black malts, smooth molasses.

Taste: A silky smooth experience on the palate that rides out with a prickly carbonation feel. Medium-bodied. Complex, yet subtle, malt flavours consist of an even dextrin sweetness, date/fig, ripe fruitiness, molasses bite, hint of unsweetened/dry chocolate, burnt edges and an astringent roasted malt flavour that peaks with a near puckering bitter citric edge. Lip smacking! Hops also lend a gentle herbal spice to the flavour. Finish is dry with residual burnt malt flavours.

Notes: Hands down one of the best porters in the US. I'd even go so far as saying one of the best in the world. This is what a modern day porter should be. If you've yet to try this beer, go buy some now.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2002 12:29:36 | More by Todd

BeerBuilder

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours to a deep brown color, with a creamy light brown head that lasts. With every sip it leaves a nice lace-work down the side of the glass. It has a wonderful roasted malt aroma, with a bit of burnt coffee. The flavor is rich, with a strong roasted malt flavor, coffee and chocolate notes. The mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied, rich, and slightly sweet and bitter in the finish. Overall, I think this is a wonderful Robust Porter with many complex aromas and flavors.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2002 08:26:55 | More by BeerBuilder

DerKaiser

California

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Well, firstly I'd like to say that I think Anchor's stubby, bowling pin-style bottles are some of the coolest in the beer industry.

Pours a molassass-like dark brown/black with a very creamy tan head that likes to hang around. Nice sticky lace, as well.

This porter has a good, thick mouthfeel with nice toasted malt and carmel notes right up front. Semi-sweet hints of toffee are mixed in their also. Unlike some others, the Anchor porter isn't exceedingly bitter and it has an ultra-smooth finish. It's one of the most drinkable porters I've ever tried. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2002 16:42:18 | More by DerKaiser

TheLongBeachBum

California

3.88/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

As I write this, again I realise I drank it too cold. The flavor really improved as it warmed. A very dark black beer that pours thick with a nice light tan head, but which soon evaporates to almost nothing but a brown ring around the top of the beer in the glass. No lace at all. Intense nose of burnt well-roasted barley malt and caramel in the mouth, with an aftertaste that reminded me so much of a vintage alcohol enriched fruit-Dundee cake. Lovely. Has a really dry finish - akin to many other good Porters I have had. But the roast flavours are still there lingering around for a good while after as though they are waiting for a tip! Drank better as it warmed up - I am always guilty of drinking dark beers straight the fridge (which is strange for me being a Limey), I must refrain from this practise. Don't normally drink Porters, but this is a good one that I really enjoyed.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2002 21:33:07 | More by TheLongBeachBum

Jon

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This porter poured a deep brown, almost black color. The tan head didn't stick around too long, but some lace resided in the glass. This beer exuded a huge licorice aroma that was, to me, kind of annoying. The coffee and roasted malt flavors were present. The mouthfeel was fairly syrupy, also. Anchor doesn't produce a bad porter here, but I don't think I'll be trying it again any time soon.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2002 12:17:16 | More by Jon

Dogbrick

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is a good Porter and is one of the best that you can get readily and at a good price. I like Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter more but not much. Great coffee flavor and dry roasted chocolate bean impression. I will definitely get this again.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2002 08:28:29 | More by Dogbrick

bditty187

Nebraska

3.88/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Superb, rich black hue and brunette head of compacted & tightly bunched bubbles. The bouquet is light coffee, heavy toffee, and some faint fruit and hops... prone to erupt out of my glass! By now my expectations have peaked. This Porter was just a tad too dry for me. It kind of grated over my tongue like sandpaper. The taste was very good nevertheless. The burnt taste faded to a light coffee/toffee combo that was good. I could taste the hops.

So what didn't jive? The bitter dryness put me off for about half of its consumption. It did rebound nicely. It was almost perfect by the time I finished it.

All in all, it is great… try one.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2002 18:30:57 | More by bditty187

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3.5/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Quite hoppy nose and flavour. Great malt roastiness mid-palate. Slightly sweet but pleasantly bitter. I don't think the malt and hops blended however, will definitely resample, hopefully i enjoy it more next time.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2002 02:27:45 | More by rastaman

Pegasus

Texas

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep mahogony brown in color, just as well to say sable. Beautiful tan cloudtop head that endures, thick sticky lace that coats the glass walls. Rich aroma of caramel, coffee, alcohol and a vey slight smokiness. Strong roasted malts flavors dominated the taste, begins with malt sweetness, toasted malt flavors, finishes with earthy notes and a mild sweetness. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. A very substantial porter.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2002 07:29:38 | More by Pegasus

marc77

California

4.22/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Virtually opaque, but a tinge of deep garnet around the edges is discernible. The initially thick, beige head settles into a moderate, but very dense & lace leaving layer. A combination of sharp, black patent & mellow chocolate malt hits the nose at first. Light fruitiness, toffee & dark caramelized sugar ensue, & become more pronounced as the beer warms. Deeply roasted black patent & chocolate malt dominate the flavor at first, but quickly give way to dark crystal malt sweetness & well formulated hop bitterness. The body is relatively full for a porter and almost rich, while the mouthfeel is dextrinous, but not cloying at all. Finishes bittersweet due to the combination of roasted grain bitterness & unfermented sugars and dextrins. Anchor Porter straddles the boundary betweenn a robust porter and stout... I've forgotten how good this is. I was lucky to get a well - handled 2 month old six - pack, however. Anchor does not travel well.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2002 19:50:55 | More by marc77

MTMugs

New York

4.22/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Had this at a picnic today...22oz. bottle. Nice and dark with a great foamy head! Good body, smooth and light enough to drink on a hot day. Definitely not as heavy as other porters I've had but definitely a good solid coffee taste. Definitely will go back for more.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2002 15:16:36 | More by MTMugs

jtw5877

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep dark brown with a nice tan head. Great rich malt flavors I taste, chocolate/toffee/coffee, a sure thing for me when I want a solid porter. I would recommend this to anybody who likes porters, a staple in my refridgerator.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2002 10:25:53 | More by jtw5877

BillyBrew

Maine

4.35/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A beautiful black colour with a creamy brownish head that laces its way down glass. Pleasant toffee and light coffee aromas find thier way to your nose. Very deep and nearly-heavy body ride lazily across the tongue with a faint carbonation. Very rich and creamy malt flavors taste of toasty, if not burnt, caramels and toffees. This brew goes down smooth and easy. Excellent to relax with.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2002 22:23:01 | More by BillyBrew

Suds

Pennsylvania

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

Good porter. Pours very dark brown to black color, with a small tan head. Not much carbonation. The beer has a distinctly porter malt aroma - roasted barley, chocolate malt, etc. It's a little sweet, and somewhat complex. Not as hoppy as I expected. Very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2002 16:50:43 | More by Suds

Wildman

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer poured out a very dark color. Formed a nice dark tan head with little lace(may have to adjust my frig's temp). Nice aroma of malt and coffee to it. The taste of it was quite interesting. Had not only the elements of coffee to it, but the flavor associated with it, toffee. It gives it an interesting finish. Well worth checking out for fans of dark beers.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2002 16:28:14 | More by Wildman

stoutman

Michigan

4.35/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This brew is black in color with a rich, creamy head and an aroma of roasted malt and some hops. It offers a mellow roasted malt flavor with medium body. Mingled flavors of sweet fruit, caramel, licorice, smoke, and hops.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2002 17:14:06 | More by stoutman

Murph

Arizona

4.47/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours black with a nice tan head that stays nicely. Smell is of roasted malts, coffee, and some chocolate. Nice coffee and chcocolate flavors are the first to hit the tongue with a nice roasted malt background. Very creamy and very drinkable. This is a very good porter, definitely recommended.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2002 10:28:11 | More by Murph

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.1/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This beer is almost black with a nice dense brown head. Pretty sweet aroma for a porter. Seem to get a little acetic smell. Upon tasting, I find no acetic (vinegar) taste present. That's a good sign. I do find some pleasurable tastes. Sweet chocolate, molasses and hints of bittersweet chocolate and java. It seems like the sweet notes override the bitter notes in this porter. Or maybe they just don't blend correctly. But I've had many a better porter than this. It is not bad by any means, but I prefer more hop notes and roasted quality and bitter tones.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2002 21:47:11 | More by Bighuge

Thrasher

Oregon

4.08/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is a big ol' beer, rich, full and rewarding. Sweet dark malt aroma, pleasing dark tan head. Roasty, smoky flavor with trademark American-stout-style hop oiliness. I got hints of grasses, greens, and herbs. This might sound odd but I thought it excellently complemented the aftertaste of the dark green vegetables I had earlier in the evening - beans & peppers. Would like to try it while nibbling on crisp fresh pea pods. Nourishing and authoritative, with a wonderful burnt finish.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2002 18:55:14 | More by Thrasher

Jason

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 12oz short brown. No freshness date.

Appearance: Black in colour with dark brown hues on the edges. A very creamy tan lace retains well.

Smell: Sweet toffee, caramel and light coffee. Faint alcohol is present also.

Taste: Very smooth and creamy, semi chewy mouth feel from a hefty malt back bone of grain, malt sweetness, light burnt malt and rounded caramel. Hop bitterness is just enough to balance out the malt a bit. The after taste is fading burnt caramel and toffee.

Notes: Rich yet not overwhelming, a porter to reckon with in drinkability ... it gets very addictive.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2002 16:51:28 | More by Jason

aracauna

Georgia

4.4/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

My first Porter and it definitely encouraged me to try more, of course one of my beer philosophies is the blacker the better. The porter's close parentage of the stout shows through in this dark roasty beer with hints of espresso and dark chocolate. Fine beer

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2002 11:29:29 | More by aracauna

ADR

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Head forms deeply, settles at 3/4 of an inch. Dark, dark color, lets dang little light through. Sweet aroma. Dense mouthfeel, very nice milk chocolate/vanilla malt notes. Nothing fleeting, sweet and increasingly roasty malt presence front to back. Hops were very understated to me, just barely present. I have no idea what the Brit's blended Porters tasted like in the 1800s but I do like the taste of the recipes used by the revival American craft brewers like Anchor.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2002 11:14:52 | More by ADR

inebrius

Michigan

3.53/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown to black with deep-red edges. Slight roasty nose. Bittering hop finish lingers on the back of the tongue. If I were in the mood for a porter I would not spend considerable time looking for this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2002 10:19:40 | More by inebrius

John

New York

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Classic porter flavors; full, rich body, bittersweet chocolate and coffee. Subtle hop aroma and flavor in the finish. A bit expensive here in NY though.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2002 13:06:42 | More by John