Entire Butt English Porter - Salopian Brewing Company Ltd

bluejacket74

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a pint glass, the beer pours dark brown with a half inch tan head. Head retention isn't good, but there's a decent bit of lacing. It smells like roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, and a bit of hops. Roasted malt, chocolate, caramel, coffee and grassy hops are the main things I taste in this beer. There's a nice lingering coffee/hops aftertaste. Mouthfeel is light/medium, and it's smooth and slick. Drinkability is pretty good, it's easy to drink. I think this is a pretty good porter, very sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2007 23:40:04 | More by bluejacket74

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

(Served in a nonic)

A- This beer has a dark black body with a hint of brown glowing at the base of the glass. The thick bubbly light tan head fades to a film pretty quickly. There are some tiny bubbles stuck to the side of the glass but the body is too dense to see any carbonation.

S- The smell of dark bitter black malt with a slight cream and earthy note is the strongest smell in the glass. The notes of toasted malt and a hint of caramel come through with a fresh raisin note that follows.

T- This beer has a black roasted malt flavor that is light with a light bitterness in the finish that might be from malt or hops. There are notes of chocolate malt and a light toasted malt note in the background also.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a fullness in the finish that adds a creamy quality to it. After the head has disappeared there is more of a watery texture to the body. There is a very light alcohol heat when it is warm for the last few sips.

D- This beer has a nice big malt flavor and a good balance of malt to bitterness even though I can't taste all the malts specifically. By reading the description on the bottle I was expecting a much bigger beer with "vinous notes" but it is very drinkable and I would love to try it on cask.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2007 20:05:50 | More by rhoadsrage

zuccard

New Jersey

2.13/5  rDev -45.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Label indicates made from 14 malts...so, the color and apperance was nearly black. Excellent head retention. Walked away from the glass for several hours, came back and still had a good head above the liquid.

While this one is made from lots of malt...the taste was overwhelmingly sour for an aftertaste, that made it undrinkable for me. The aroma was a hint of almost a molasses smell, which having 14 malts in the brew was probably the reason. The first taste was also of molasses, and not much else. Then the sour aftertaste made it undrinkable. Never finished much more than half of it....Tried it a few times, to see if it was me or the beer.

Even the smell afterwards, after the beer was completely poured into the glass was sour, and high in acetyl. Not recommended.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2007 17:15:51 | More by zuccard

BBM

New York

3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

I had been looking forward to this one for a while. The beer pours a near-black with ruby highlights against the light. There is a 1/2 inch white head that does not stay for very long. A very nice looking beer. The smell is complex, with notes of malt, wood, and smoke.

The taste is more of the same. Very malty up front, but never overpowering. The flavors blend together for a cohesive yet constantly changing taste on the palate. Chocolate, dark fruit, and even some wood can be found in this ale. There is a slight dry, hoppy bitter finish. Mouthfeel is thin, but clean. Not very carbonated. The only slight knock is drinkability, since it is a bit on the the heavy side. Otherwise a very good English porter.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2006 03:48:15 | More by BBM

jdoolin

Ohio

4.6/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: 0.5l bottle poured into an authentic English Imperial pint glass

Appearance: Very dark brown with ruby edges and a big, frothy off white head that never went away. Amazing retention and a beautiful beer.

Aroma: Caramel and chocolate malt in the background, but in the foreground is a sour apple like tartness, almost like a rodenbach or petrus oud bruin. Is this supposed to be there? It is said the original porters were soured because of the old, stale beer. Is this intentional? I hope so, because I freaking love it.

Taste and Mouthfeel: Much drier than I anticipated. Very nice malt flavors, but not the usual sweetness. The tartness takes center stage with a nice green apple flavor, blending well with the flavor of the malt and a scant citrus hop flavor. Medium bodied, somewhat thin.

Notes: Given what I've read from other reviewers, I may have gotten a bad bottle of this. But I sure hope not. I absolutely loved the combination of the malt and tartness in this beer. I'm just going to have to get another one and give it a try.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2006 01:07:27 | More by jdoolin

nriech

Virginia

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Obviously bought for the name but was pleased with the actual brew when I put the entire butt in my mouth and shared my entire butt with friends.

Appearance: Very dark, ruby on the edges. Good dense head @ quarter inch.

Smell: Chocolate and roasted grain; mostly chocolate, with a citrus-hoppy splash that emphasizes the chocolatey character further.

Taste: Very malty but good. Lots of malts went into this according to the label, 14 kinds. Toasted grains, cocoa, caramel and coffee all intermingle in the flavor profile. Dark fruits and a glimpse of green hops. Finishes a bit toasty.

Drinkability: Very easy to drink, not too thick or high in alcohol. Very flavorful and enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2006 15:14:16 | More by nriech

Rudgers73

New York

3.53/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served to me at the Old Toad.

A- Nice: thick black and sticky. Dirty oil look to it with a ring of big bubbles for a head.

S- Burnt, malty, a little bit of grassy hops, and caramel.

T- Rich, smooth, sweet to start, grassy to end. Definite charred caramel/wood taste. Good porter.

M- Thick, sticky. Creamy and heavy.

D- Nice for dessert on a cold night.

Serving type: nitro-tap

11-08-2006 21:39:48 | More by Rudgers73

kkipple

South Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours an ultra-dark brown with ruby highlights. Held to a light, you can see Entire Butt is clear with faint bubbles rising to the top. The bubbles aid the small tan head which sticks around a long time.

Smells quite malty, with hints of honey. Mostly roasted grain, molasses, some chocolate. Pretty darn good. Let it warm and the smell changes significantly

A long draught reveals that this is a superb session beer. There’s no harsh bite, the overall impression is of a mildly carbonated, smooth malt slickness. It’s actually a lot lighter than one would expect, given that this is made with fourteen (yes, 14) types of malt! There’s a hint of dry cocoa, that roasted, carbon characteristic common to porters, and a distinct coffee aftertaste. There’s also a grape / tannic quality and just enough hops to impart a slight bitterness. The aftertaste is pleasant and not sour as some porters are wont to be.

Entire Butt feels great in my mouth; (heh) this is smooth and slick but thin enough to drink in gulps. This is significantly mellower than most American porters, and only 4.8% abv, which I enjoyed. This is not a sipping beer, rather, this is the kind of thing you order up a round or four with friends – if you’re fortunate to find it at a pub. This is a classic taste, and one that I can wholeheartedly recommend to lovers of porter.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2006 04:16:52 | More by kkipple

Byeast

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: opaque black , some ruby hues near the bottom , a tan and creamy head of a quarter inch.

Smell: Massively malty , coffee , chocolate, burnt aromas, some grain. very complex.

Taste: The taste is a wonderfully complex and smooth blend of the massive amount of malts. Flavors of: coffee , chocolate , smoke , wood/earth , roasty complexities, deep grain , leafy hop , and some medicinal flavors.

Mouthfeel: Medium body , fairly crisp carbonation, slick

Drinkability and notes: This is one exellent porter. Very unique in its use of malts which include: Pale maris otter, lager , wheat , pale crystal , dark crystal , dark chocolate , pale chocolate , black , roasted barley , cara malt , torrified wheat , amber , brown and roasted oats. ( 14 ).

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2006 06:38:57 | More by Byeast

Portertime

Florida

4.2/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This was one hell of a beer. Probably the blackest I've ever seen, this 14 malt porter was just an explosion of flavor. The feel on the tongue was a little too stingy for me but going down was pretty smooth. It had a true malty porter taste that was easy to savor. I enjoyed it very much.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2006 00:02:18 | More by Portertime

dogfooddog

Panama

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

from picturesque Shrewsbury, this beer pours a small head and had a fabulous roasted, malty nose. happy to see the bottle conditioning apparently held up here. Reminds me a bit of a stout, with a hint of unmalted roasted barley, the label notes it has roast barley but no idea if it was malted.

Taste is pretty much what you expect from an english stout (not porter), distinct roast barley taste among others. Reminds me a good bit of hopback entire stout. Despite 14 malts used, there aren't depths of complexity here, but it is very nicely crafted and does what it claims to do. It is not a traditional porter in the sense that it is not a blend of multiple beers.

Well worth trying, and good on this side of the pond as well.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2006 05:40:02 | More by dogfooddog

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

2.6/5  rDev -33.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Obtained from a fridge at the World of Beer in Clearwater, Fl.

A: Black, off-white head, very little retention.

S: Sour grains, grapes, brown sugar.

T: Bready, slight sour/tartness, grape juice, hints of chocolate, brown sugar and licorous. Dry, acidic, slightly bitter roastyness.

M: Lighter than moderate body, moderate carbonation, dry, hints of chalk and acidity.

D: Not to my liking.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2006 00:45:30 | More by Derek

mjc410

Virginia

1.73/5  rDev -55.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Poured into a Belgian tulip.

The beer raises an at first grainy bubbled, two finger head. The bubbles coalesce as the head falls, leaving a nice short layer of medium-dark tan foam. The body is utterly black, and beautiful. Aroma raises caution flags - vinous acid, apples, tangierines, perhaps. Certainly not what I expect from a porter. Roast is not evident in the nose (until it warms - a little roast peeks out). The bottle describes the ale as "distinctly vinous," so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Taste is acidic, with a lambic character hinting at the Cantillons that I can't bring myself to review, owing to their overriding acidity. You know, there's not much else to it. I won't rate this as rock-bottom, as it's not undrinkable, but I certainly don't expect all this with an utter lack of roast from a porter. I'd chalk this up to a bad bottle, perhaps, although the bottle self identifies as vinous. Perhaps a revisit is due in the future.

Edit: While still drinking this, I find that it pairs well with some high % chocolate, melding with the vinous character in the candy. By itself, it's still not so good.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2006 18:45:08 | More by mjc410

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a translucent reddish-brown color with a fizzy, sparse tan head. The aroma is pretty intense. The most dominant feature, although not the most intense, is a distance acidity. It’s not acrid, just slightly sour. There are also strong smells of malt, chocolate, burnt and highly roasted malts, smoke, raisins, and fruit. The beer has a very dry, roasted taste. There’s an herbal hop bitterness that comes out in the finish. There is a mildly tart flavor as well. Very dry finish, complex flavors, and a medium body. Nice. History in a glass.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2006 09:47:10 | More by Suds

jwc215

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured nearly black with a fairly well-retained head.
The smell was quite complex. I saw on the label that it uses 14 malts. You can smell each of them.
You can taste all of them too - well - done! It is very malty - if you are looking for hops - do not look here - they are masked by fourteen delicious malts. This is an incredible beer. Very complex - you can taste each of the malts.
It leaves a good - but complex - feeling in the mouth.
It's very drinkable because it is smooth while retaining its complexity.
Highly recommended - An excellent brew!

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2006 04:07:27 | More by jwc215

orbitalr0x

Illinois

3.35/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Saw this at Discount Liquors and being a big fan of the porter style I figured I had to give it a go. Pours from the 50cl bottle a deep black with crimson highlights and a half inch of bubbly bone white head. Looks good in the glass. Initial aromas of dark fruits, quite vinous actually with an odd sour fruit scent. Hints of roasted coffee, dark malts, grain and cocoa. Something just seems to be a bit off here, I was expecting a richer aroma.

First sip brings a roasted flavor upfront bathed in sour grapes. Toasted grains, cocoa, caramel and coffee all intermingle in the flavor profile. Dark fruits and a glimpse of green hops. Finishes a bit toasty. Not nearly as robustly malty as I was expecting and the odd sourness puts me off a bit.

Mouthfeel is much thinner than I imagined. Goes down smooth with bubbly carbonation but I was expecting a bit more body. Definetly an interesting porter here...I'm not sure if I got a bad bottle or what, but I'll have to give this brew another go round and see what it brings next time. For now, I can't say I'm terribly impressed.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2006 02:50:28 | More by orbitalr0x

geexploitation

Indiana

2.58/5  rDev -33.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

I was totally amped to try this beer, and disappointed once I did. Pours very dark brown with some slight lightening at the edges and a skimpy head. Smell is cidery, with a ton of apple esters. There's a roast malt character underneath there, but it's overpowered by the fruit. The cidery flavor is immediately apparent on tasting -- this beer is tight and acidic, and the cider note has a sour note to it as well. It's not tasty, and there's not a roasted malt flavor or a hop flavor that I'd expect from a porter... at least, an American porter. This is English, and I do notice some similarities between this and, say, Sam Smith's Taddy Porter. I want to like this, I really do, but I don't. Thumbs down.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2006 01:22:26 | More by geexploitation

Naes

New York

3.05/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This one pours out black with a tall light tan head. Retention and lacing is good.
The aroma is roasty with hints of coffee and chocolate.
The flavor is also roasty and chocolaty with a bit of smokiness and a coffee presence.
Mouth feel is medium to full bodied and it is moderately carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2006 06:22:16 | More by Naes

Shovelbum

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a big chunky light mocha head over a black body. Good head retention and lace. Fairly clean aromas; a bit of roasted malt. Flavors of slighty smoky roasted malt, slightly tart vinous fruit, slightly sweet with an intriguing hop bitterness that balances things out. Full-bodied. British mineral character as well. Fairly high carbonation gives this a rather crisp mouthfeel.

A bit more crisp than the American porter’s I’ve had. Still, well-balanced and highly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2006 03:12:40 | More by Shovelbum

whynot44

Missouri

4.18/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Medium bodied, very dark opaque reddish brown - almost black - with a thin milk chocolate colored head that vanishes quickly.

The aroma is caramel, coffee and plums.

The taste is complex- coffee and cream, toffee, caramel, light chocolate and a touch of plums or maybe cherries? All flavors are mild and mellow, well blended and balanced. No noticeable hops flavor, just a hint of bite at the finish with a lingering coffee aftertaste.

Very smooth. An excellent porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2006 05:44:52 | More by whynot44

BillyB

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

The color is a deep dark brown almost black with a thin tannish head.
Malty sweet aroma is strong. No hop aroma. All Malty; chocolate, coffee even a hint of vanilla.
Taste is similar to aroma. Not much bitterness. More malty sweetness and a hint of smokiness (salty?). Nice combination of coffee, chocolate roatiness.
Medium body, not much carbonation.
Good example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2005 20:44:15 | More by BillyB

claytri

Maryland

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer poured a fine black with a good tan head. The aroma was of malt and coffee. The taste had a bit of coffee bitterness at the start then broadened into a rich malt with hints of dark fruit. The feel was wonderfully thick and oily. Quite a fine beer to finish the day with. The taste and feel are robust without being overpowering. I'm sure I will be purchasing more of this fine beer in the future.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2005 03:36:26 | More by claytri

unclederby

Oregon

3.08/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Been waiting awhile to sample this one based on hype. 16.9 ouncer stamped with L04-114. If that means (like most european dating) the 114th day of the year then this thing is supposedly way out of date.

poured a dense, near black with no head to speak of.
aroma was in line with the predominate malt character of the brew.
faintly chocolate with a little brown sugar.

so, this is quite a dry- though not hoppy- porter. dark chocolate predominates (again the malt character). A bit smoky as well, with a bit of a sweet and sour middle only to finish bone dry; much like gin really.

i'm pulling to get more out of this much looked forward to experience, but frankly- the mouthfeel is a bit thin...i get a bit of carbonation but not much of the viscosity that i appreciate in a porter. similar to the mouthfeel of ice coffee.

anyway, perhaps this bottle was past it's prime but i'm a bit dissapointed in the overall experience. for a beer, it just had too many things in common with iced coffee (without the cream and sugar) for me.

sure it was easy enough to drink and i'd give it a try again, but only to see if i got a bad bottle. there are just too many other porters out there i'd rather treat my palate to.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2005 21:43:10 | More by unclederby

evh883

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is nice example of a porter. All of the 14 malts combine to create a roasty aroma with notes of caramel and milk. When you pour this beer, a huge, light brown fizzy head erupts in your glass and hangs around until you're done but doesn't show any lacing. It's a nice contrast from the very dark brown color of the beer. The beer has a descent flavor that is sweet when it hits the tongue with bitterness and slight acidity at the finish.

Overall, this beer was worth the try and pretty easy to drink for a porter. Porter fans will like this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2005 18:55:37 | More by evh883

OldSock

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance and Presentation – .5 L bottle at cellar temp, best before 04/04 whoops… Beer still looks fine, a 3 inch craggy light tan head sits atop the black beer in my pint glass, I didn’t think I have a Worthington style glass as the label suggests. Head retention is great along with nice sticky lacing.

Smell – Surprisingly fruity, grapes in particular, with just a bit of coffee roastiness. The smell almost has a Belgian yeast twang to it.

Taste – The taste is more stout than porter. First impression is of a definite chocolate/coffee roastiness and a touch of English hops. There is also a strong metallic taste. Very complex for a porter. As I drink on the huge list of malts makes every sip different, roast, toast, crisp, smoke, and caramel all come to mind. Well balanced, a solid flavor.

Mouthfeel – The flavor initially suggests stout, but the mouthfeel is still that of a porter. Medium bodied with surprisingly strong carbonation.

Drinkability and Notes – Sadly an older sample, but still a solid, drinkable porter. Definitely the most flavorful sub 5% abv porter I have had. Good complexity and definitely different from what most porters try to be. Time to go find a fresh sample.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2005 00:12:10 | More by OldSock