Ghost Pigeon Porter - New England Brewing Co.

foodplusbeer

Connecticut

4.75/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

New England Brewery does it again! It starts with mild aromas of dark chocolate and toasted malt. It's slick and creamy with the full flavored taste of roasted malts and bitter hops up front. Chocolate and coffee flavors mix in with a bit of dried fruit. A remarkable amount of bitterness and roasted grains linger on the tongue as it slides down the throat.

A perfect of example of the style. To me it feels like the flavor is somewhere between Founder's Porter and Great Lake's Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. More bitter and roasted than Edmund, but slightly sweeter than Founders. I put these down as my top three for porters.

Overall, a wonderful experience. NEBCO can do no wrong!

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2012 13:07:58 | More by foodplusbeer

alexgash

Connecticut

4.48/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

64 oz. growler filled on 10/25/12.

Dark root beer brown body. Not too viscous, but thick enough. Small, pinkie finger of dense, gauzy, light sandy head. Some lacing. Nose full of dark chocolate, roasted barley, and French roast coffee. Very nice. Accents of milk chocolate, vanilla, tobacco, and licorice.

Dark, bitter roasted malt and coffee up front. Espresso like in its bitterness and intensity. Very nice. Roasted bitterness sticks around as dark chocolate, peat, and tobacco fill in. Traces of vanilla and molasses. Dry finish, with long lingering roasted coffee and malt. Medium plus body with an almost sticky feel. Nice carbonation levels. Very well done!

Serving type: growler

10-26-2012 22:10:18 | More by alexgash

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A-Pours essentially black. Head is small. It is more of a compilation of tan bubbles stationed towards on side of the glass. The bubbles do leave persistent lacing rings. Nearly zero light penetration in the body of the beer.

S-Chocolatey and smoky. Quite roasty and burnt. Noticeable hop aroma as well. A bit nutty as well. This is an aromatic porter. Nose is not muted.

T-Really quite tasty. Heaps of dark-roast coffee beans. Chocolate seems to envelop the coffee. What I love about this beer is it doesn't have that chalky taste that other Porters sometimes had (one of the NEBCO brewers enlightened me to the fact that they wanted to avoid such a flavor). This beer boasts a pleasant hop-induced organic flavor in the finish. A good dose of bitterness too.

M-Perfectly tuned. Has enough body to avoid a watery feel, but it is light enough to make me yearn for another pour from my growler and not feel too full. Carbonation is soft but sometimes seems pleasantly prickly.

O/D-I must start off by saying I love what the NEBCO clan has done. Every one of their beers is a delightful experience. This Porter is no different. While it isn't in the realm of my most favorite NEBCO beers, this is a finely crafted Porter that is well worth the $10 growler full. This growler won't last for more than an hour or so.

Serving type: growler

02-05-2012 04:18:45 | More by VelvetExtract

modernartblues

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Growler Purchased Today, Poured into a Tulip

A: decent size tan-ish head, recedes fairly quickly, but not entirely, tinges of lazing, pretty, black opaque body, dark

S: roasty with touches of chocolate, roast is the most prominent and quite pleasant

T: chocolate picks up a bit more in the taste, but the roast is the key to this beer, this is both flavorful and an easy drinker, easy to take the next sip. I don't get a ton of hop notes, but there is enough bitterness there to keep the beer together. English yeast lets itself be known on the back end.

M: light and smooth for such a dark beer, nailed the style

O: Damn, I was hoping to be the first review here. This is the latest offering from Nebco. They have yet to take a misstep in my book and this is not exception. Nailed the style with a great drinkable brew. Would love to see this out in the Fall as a seasonal. Too bad it was released in Gold Stock season, so it will be mostly ignored for the time being ;)

Serving type: growler

02-04-2012 21:53:23 | More by modernartblues

CHADMC3

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an opaque black body with brown hues beneath the robust mocha head that is very perseverant before giving way to a thin, yet sticky lacing.

Aromas consist of a very nice mix of chocolate and roasted malt with an earthy hop bitterness lying beneath.

The flavor is much more roasted and a touch smoked with the earthy hops becoming much more noticeable as the chocolate malt temporarily takes a back seat and notes of coffee appear.

Medium in body with medium to generous carbonation and a roasted, palate coating finish.

This is really good and offers a great blend of traditional porter characteristics with a nice portion of hops to give it the American influence. I will be watching for this again.

Serving type: growler

02-11-2012 01:01:48 | More by CHADMC3

pmlondrigan

New York

4.2/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Its a porter, its black as night, with a light, light tan head. Retention is not really there, but its a porter so that is forgivable. The aroma is soft but what is there is more chocolate, toasted malt, toffee-esque then coffee and roast its nice. It seems there is some english yeast too, is this fermented with english yeast? Good flavor. Malty, thick rich and toasted flavor, some cocoa, chocolate, lightly bitter but missing that accrid note that some porters have (and thats a good thing). There is some lingering bitterness in the after taste. Fluffy full mouthfeel, love it, it really coats the tongue. Sad this isn't a year round offering, NEBCO really hit a doozy with this!

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2012 19:57:53 | More by pmlondrigan

sulldaddy

Connecticut

4.18/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured on tap into a mug from my fridge in the cellar. The beer pours a deep brown hue with creamy cascading tan head that recedes to a sturdy surface layer and leaves dense tightly packed latticework on the glass after each sip.
Aroma is rich roasted malt and just a bit of dark cacao mixed in for good measure. I dont really get much hop profile on the nose.
First sip reveals an average body with smooth texture and gentle mild carbonation.
The flavor is similar to the nose with mostly roasted malt and some dark chocolate, but I get hits of coffee bean here that I didnt notice on the nose.
Again no hop hits and no signs of booze anywhere. This is a smooth drinking tasty porter that I am glad I have a sixtel of in the basement. I could, and have been drinking this every night and it still makes me smile with each glass.

Serving type: on-tap

12-19-2012 04:17:08 | More by sulldaddy

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at the brewery, poured into my trusty medium-sized Duvel tulip. A new beer from NEBCO is always cause for celebration!

A: Dark brown body with some clear red-brown highlights and a thin, fleeting tan head that leaves some spotty lace. Pretty standard.

S: Lovely, fresh mixture of herbal hops and roastiness - both dark chocolate and coffee, as well as a touch of licorice. Balanced, restrained, and pleasant.

T: Rich maltiness up front, with tons of chocolate, some coffee, a bit of raisin, and lovely creaminess. The bitterness from both roast and hops hits hard on the finish, closing things out with a fresh herbal bite. Very, very good.

M: Slick medium body, light carbonation. A bit more life would be welcome, but it's a decent fit for this rather mellow take on the style.

O: This is a really enjoyable Porter, but after the brewery's recent successes with more "extreme" beers (e.g. Gandhi-Bot), I guess I was expecting a bigger, chewier porter. The flavors indeed approached my ideal (the broad array of specialty malts really did a nice job delivering both bitter roastiness and creamy sweetness), but the body and aroma just didn't quite fulfill their supporting roles as well as I could have wished. Quibbles aside, this is an excellent Porter and one I'd love to be able to buy in cans. Winter seasonal, guys?

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2012 14:24:02 | More by woosterbill

PicoPapa

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at New York Pizza. Pours a dark brown/black color with a half inch of dark brown frothy head. Lots of lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, light and sweet coffee, dark chocolate and caramel. The taste is a nice blend of chocolate, caramel and coffee flavors, with the coffee being the most prominent. Roasted malt finish mixed with some chocolate. Lightly carbonated. Overall, solid porter with a nice blend of flavors. Worth grabbing.

Serving type: on-tap

11-06-2012 16:14:14 | More by PicoPapa

davey101

Connecticut

4.08/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pour into a pint glass from a 32 oz growler. From the second batch, obviously.

A - Pitch black with a dense and lasting creamy khaki head. Only when held up to the light does the very edges of the glass let some light shine through to show a dark brown body. Somewhat sticky lacing and retention. Looks damn near perfect to me.

S - Really strong roasted coffee beans. A bit of sweet milk chocolate and caramel malt on the finish, but this beer is all about the bitter and roasty coffee notes.

T - Roasted coffee beans, milk chocolate, and a subtle touch of toffee and dark fruits. The bitterness does catch up to it towards the end making it less drinkable. Mouth feel is a bit on the thin side but the body is still creamy and silky. Carbonation is also very light. After an hour long car drive and a short ten minute chill in the fridge the growler opened with only the faintest of hisses.

O - A very solid and well made porter. Perhaps its because its so fresh, but the roasted coffee element is super intense and enjoyable. Could probably use a bit more carb, but still a winner.

Serving type: growler

10-25-2012 00:17:08 | More by davey101

far333

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep chestnut with a light brown thick head that recedes slowly. Low aroma of roasted malt and cocoa. Rich Flavors of roasted malt, cocoa and molasses, some espresso and smoke. Rich and full mouthfeel, a bit tannic. Overall, this is s really good beer. Another CT beer to be proud of.

Serving type: on-tap

11-23-2012 21:34:50 | More by far333

jimmy82063

Connecticut

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Surprise (at least to me) from New England Brewing. Poured into a tulip glass.

A) Nice deep dark black, small tan head which quickly dissipates.

S) The nose gives off some coffee and chocolate also sense a slight bitterness.

T) Charred coffee, cocoa with some licorice undertones. This finishes with a nice hoppy bitternes (40 IBU's). I like this combination.

M) Smooth and thin which I think is representative of the style.

O) Nice to have found this tasty treat. Hopefully it goes into the rotation.

Serving type: growler

02-04-2012 20:35:29 | More by jimmy82063