Irvington Juniper Porter - Alameda Brewhouse

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured cold into a standard pint glass.

A - Dark brown w/ thin tan head that produces minimal lace.

S - Roasted and malty scented w/ caramel notes w/ a very sweet aroma.

M - Rich and roasty- good mouthfeel with a malty presence.Sweet finish keeps the emphasis on malt.

T & D - Deep coffee and piney, musky, earthy and deep pungent roasted malt w/ a tinge of juniper accenting. This is a step up from the nitro-porter I had earlier with a much more enhanced malt taste.
The hops and spice are easier to pick up as well as a full ale taste in the feel instead of creamy. The rich porter roasted taste was less restrained.

Serving type: on-tap

07-24-2007 01:27:41 | More by Slatetank

Dubbercody

Washington

3.2/5  rDev -14%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Alameda dark brew with a little head. Dark, slightly bitter with a good chocolate and roast flavor. I don't really get the juniper out of this beer, but I'm pleased with the taste and smell.

Thick for a porter but I must say a great beer!

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2007 23:02:56 | More by Dubbercody

unklesyd

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I'm just so excited because this is my very first growler!

This is a standard porter. Obviously well crafted, but not too much out of the ordinary in terms of appearance, flavor profile, nose. Main notes: a mellow roast, darker color and opaqueness, subtle nose. Heavy for the ABV, smooth without being oily.

The fun thing of it is, the day after initially opening this one, I can catch hints of the juniper spoken of that I didn't taste last night. Perhaps with some of the effervescence out of the way, the nuance comes through a bit better.
A good choice for the growler or on cask (if they get it up and running again... when I was there it was broken).

Serving type: growler

09-19-2005 02:11:42 | More by unklesyd

RoyalT

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – This one was blacker than black with a thick, tanned head that showed great retention. Even when I emptied the growler back home this Porter had an awesome head.

Smell – This is a monster nose. The giant coffee and dark chocolate notes open up before the glass is full. The roasted malts seem to go on forever.

Taste – This is a good Porter. The malts come out dark and burnt at the taste and the coffee is more like old coffee grounds. I can pick up some good sweetness as well, maybe like brown sugar or some unnamed dark fruit.

Mouthfeel – This medium-bodied beer is dry on the palate. The crispy burnt feeling in between the cheeks will have you sucking down water in the process of draining this pint.

Drinkability – These flavors come in bunches. It was almost overwhelming at first but once you get used to it you can’t get enough. I can’t believe I drained the whole half gallon growler on my own and wanted another. I could drink this seven days a weeks.

Comments – I don’t know much about juniper other than the berries are used to make gin, so if they imparted some special flavor to this Porter I wasn’t able to identify it.

I’d also like to thank skyhand for telling me about this gem of a brewpub. We here in the NW seem to struggle with brewing the darker styles but this one is a beauty.

Serving type: on-tap

09-28-2004 16:15:43 | More by RoyalT

HiroProtagonist

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Irvington Juniper Porter was served at the Alameda brewpub. In a glass, the beer was black, with mahogany accents and was topped by an ample light brown head. The nose yielded rich notes of mollasses, roasty chocolate, and yes, accents of juniper! These aromas meld very well together and offer something a little different from most other porters. The taste was lightly roasty with chocolate malts, becoming sharper with coffee and bitter chocolate notes. Vague herbal (oregano?) accents make an appearance in the transtion to the juniper-herbaceous tinged roasted dark choco-coffee finish...interesting. One complaint was that the body was a tad too thin for the flavors/character of the beer. Overall though, the Juniper Porter was an enjoyable and slightly different interpetation of the porter style.

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2004 05:08:59 | More by HiroProtagonist

freed

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

To accompany dinner, I chose a porter. Something about shellfish and a dark beer...

The pint came with no head, just a slight, cheshire cat smile of a lace around the rim. The carbonation was fine otherwise. The body of the ale was a very dark red, so dark it was appeared brown, but for the hints around the edges.

The aroma was very subtle, and hinted at a smokey beer. I couldn't detect any juniper from the aroma, though the beer felt chilled.

The taste was very nice though - a clean, peaty porter with a little extra sweetness in it. There was some additional tart that didn't seem to come from the smoked malt, which I assume came from the juniper. It was quite complimentary though. However, by the end of the pint, the residual sweetness was taking its toll, and my mouth was dry, and I was thirsty.

Serving type: on-tap

05-01-2004 18:51:12 | More by freed

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Alameda promotes their Irvington Juniper Porter as “An Alameda Signature Beer.” It was served to me too cold but I can handle that. (When will they learn that people like me will drink faster if we don’t have to wait for a refrigerated beer to warm up to cellar temperatures?) It is dark brown, nearly opaque, with some burgundy hues at lighter depths. The head is tan, fades quickly and leaves no lace. The aroma is as complex and unusual as the genre of spiced porter might suggest. Smells a bit like witch’s brew, but from a good friendly vegan witch such as my old high school art teacher. The aroma also has notes of chocolate.

The taste is roasty-toasty in the porter tradition but then progresses towards that witch’s brew which at its best is somewhat arboreal. At its worst it is like a bird’s nest lined with mint. Perhaps the best taste profile I can liken it to is that of a log cabin: a crisp, piney air adrift in a warm, smoky room. It is rated at 39 IBU.

I admire experiments of this nature a great deal. I am especially fond of Siletz Spruce Ale for example, and of Fraøch Heather Ale. In the end however, I’m not sure if this experiment fully works. There’s a slight toothpaste flavor at work here that I know I didn’t bring with me to the bar. Nonetheless, I do like this beer. I even respect it. It just may be an acquired taste that might take some time to acquire.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2004 22:45:12 | More by RedDiamond