Kurofune Porter - Baird Brewing Company / Fishmarket Taproom

Bubbles

California

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%

12-08-2012 21:33:30 | More by Bubbles

Swedgin_Wu

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle purchased from Total Wine & More into a Stout glass.

Appearance - Thickness of the head caught me by surprise. Not quite jet black, very deep brown dark wood type brown on the pour. A very lightly colored Khaki head but very thick....easily more than 2 fingers

Smell - Normally this is not my best category, because i often have trouble smelling beers but i think my nose is a bit stuffy. Mostly picking up roasted malts, some coffee. maybe a hint of dark fruit

Taste - Excellent porter/stout. Nice blend of coffee, roasted malts, some hint of bittersweet chocolate and some dark fruit in the finish. it's a great symphony of flavors in the mouth and transitions well on the palette.

Mouthfeel - Moderate carbonation. Medium bodied...just right.

Overall - Quite surprised with this one. I've had a few of the Japanese craft brews from Hitachino Nest and was very impressed, and so far Baird seems to be an excellent brewery as well. One thing I enjoy about the Japanese renditions on porter/stouts is that they don't over do anything...just a nice complimentary blend of flavors whereas some american stouts tend to be uneven and/or too heavily hopped

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2013 16:11:52 | More by Swedgin_Wu

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

03-10-2013 23:45:13 | More by spycow

IRONRakkasan

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

01-28-2013 07:50:11 | More by IRONRakkasan

bigred89

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%

01-13-2013 02:03:02 | More by bigred89

pin

Australia

4/5  rDev +4.2%

01-12-2013 05:41:11 | More by pin

ber12

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -8.9%

12-28-2012 03:14:02 | More by ber12

YamagamiTravis

Japan

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

12-23-2012 13:48:01 | More by YamagamiTravis

Chrome_Dome

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Didn't have high expectations, as I haven't had many craft brews from Japan.. but right after pouring into my snifter, it slapped its huge nose all over my face and grabbed my attention. Pungent, sweet, but not extremely full/complex nose. 2 fingers of thick, frothy head. Definitely tasted a bit of coffee and raisins/dark fruit, little bit of chocolate.. alcohol was present, but not bad. Good for sipping.

Wouldn't say this was necessarily a top ten favorite, but definitely wasn't bad. I had a delightful time being surprised with the complex olfactory/flavor journey on which it took me! Wouldn't mind drinking again, but probably won't go hunting for it.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 16:22:57 | More by Chrome_Dome

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.95/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Maudite snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown with a half finger, fine tan head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, chocolate, dark fruit and a hint of cherry. Flavor of toasted malt, coffee, chocolate, sweet fruit, slight cherry and finishes with mild hops, coffee and fruit juice. Medium bodied. Sweeter and with more fruit flavor than most porters, the flavors are well integrated and very tasty. This is a well made, different and flavorful porter. Nice.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 04:23:57 | More by LiquidAmber

sneaks2210

New York

3.25/5  rDev -15.4%

11-14-2012 21:36:45 | More by sneaks2210

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.53/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Although stationed firmly on the foothills of Mt. Fuji, the inspiration of American microbreweries hold firm while marching through all sorts of styles. This stop is the English oriented Baltic porter.

The pour brings a dark brown ale with good clarity that shows off ruby and burgundy highlights. It's certainly not the dark brown hue that's common in more robust porters. Forming a dainty creamy head, the supple carbonation underneath gives the beer a decidedly British appearance. Light lace keeps reminding the eye of the quality of beverage underneath.

Coffee, medium toast, and chocolate notes share the aromatic stage while complementing notes of nuts, toffee, and fruit give a slightly sweet-tawny interplay. Light in hop character, the scent of starchy malt keeps the aroma slightly bread to complement the toffee and chocolate.

Flavors again favor the malts with a blend of coffee grounds, toast char, light chocolate, pecans, and semi-dry toffee. Its smooth taste gets its slight and balanced bitterness from woodish hops, seemingly of coffee bean or dry cocoa. The mild "dark fruit" esters of plumb and grape rise late in the session and hides behind the malty focus. Its smooth taste may be the result of cooler-than-usual fermentation that neutralizes the esters of English yeast.

Medium bodied, the beer's light creaminess and malty-dry upstart has an even fade that carries it across the full middle palate and concludes with a semi-dry finish with alcohol warmth and broad earthy bitterness. A linger of toast and chocolate ensure rewards right up to the next sip.

Compared to most porters, this smoother, sweeter, and fruitier taste is sometimes attributed to lager-like conditions in the cold Baltic regions. This keeps the beer tamer in taste despite its uptick in strength.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 19:00:23 | More by BEERchitect

samEBC

Belgium

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%

10-29-2012 20:29:29 | More by samEBC

2neardead

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

10-13-2012 19:14:51 | More by 2neardead

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

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

Appearance is very dark brown to almost black in color. The only real ding I have for this brewery is the carbonation is fairly light and disappates somewhat quickly - likely due to the water. Smell is of coffee and mild cocoa - sweet aroma. Flavor is more of the same with lots of malt balance. Slight bitterness likely from the hops on the back end but the star is the up front malting.

Serving type: on-tap

09-16-2012 05:27:34 | More by Oakenator

WynnO

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -8.9%

08-26-2012 04:14:35 | More by WynnO

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +4.2%

08-20-2012 02:30:25 | More by t0rin0

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

No freshness date on the bottle. First Baird beer. A fun throw-in amongst the gems in the haul my buddy Brian brought back for me from the Midwest. $3.99 price tag.

Went a little too crazy with the pour, but it got me a huge three-finger head in the pint glass. Looked a little thin coming out of the bottle. Body is black coffee brown. The head, that's retaining pretty nicely, is a dry foamy heap of khaki. Serpentine lacing. Good-lookin' brew.

Milk chocolate, musty grains, light banana, fruit taffy, and light roast coffees. Hint of artifical strawberry back there somewhere. An interesting mess of a nose. Not unappealing, just strange. Far from robust or rich or even very malty. Something of a small hop presence noticeable.

Salty malt flavors that remind me of an oyster stout. Thin watery coffee, saltwater, molasses, dark sugars, topsoil/minerally element possibly a contribution from the hops. Light malt bitterness. Roasty, but attenuated. Middle-end sweetness flushes out in some mild bitter and minerally flavors. Kind of a muddy finish. Not bad. An interesting and trusty porter taste without being rugged or gluggy rich.

Very thin for the style. Tightly-carbonated, so that it's not detracting. A washing-down effect every time I take a gulp.

Thanks, Brian. This beer didn't disappoint. It has that coastal city/port ocean water vibe with a semi-fruity character that makes it a nice rainy weather beer. Doubtedly so, but if I ever saw it on a shelf again, I might pick it up--or give one of their other offerings a try.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2012 04:21:17 | More by thecheapies

smakawhat

Maryland

3.73/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Nice simple pour provides a very dark walnut brown and a large red color to this body. Head is light tan with lots of noisy snapping carbonation, two fingers forms nicely with a solid cap and some decent retention.

Nose is a sweet spicy nutmeg, cherries, dry roast character. Quite a fascinating mix on the nose, hinting at classic banana in the background.

Palate sort of lacks and doesn't quite match the nose but it's really not bad. Dry roasting malts, and faint sort of sweet pine action and charing roastiness. Light bodied wetness, without any of the sweetness, complimenting nicely.

Overall it's a little non-matching from the nose, but it's kind of an interesting porter to be drinking, and certainly doesn't taste like any other baltic porter I've had before, I could have this again.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2012 22:47:21 | More by smakawhat

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

360ml bottle poured into tulip 3/6/12

A very dark cola with a finger of foam that quickly falls to a thin film that leaves a single ring of lace

S coco powder and milk chocolate with some nutty cold coffee and faint dark fruit

T some more dark roast with a little smokey char on top of what I smell, pretty solid if you like coco

M not quite as thick as the color would let you believe but still far from thin, good carbonation gives it some life and a burnt roast aftertaste, no booze detected

O not a massive big rich porter but I could easily drink another, pretty smooth brew that went down pretty fast

worth a shot for sure, I've had some pretty decent brews from Japan and a range of styles many wouldn't guess, this is not your standard rice lager

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 18:42:05 | More by wordemupg

metter98

New York

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is hazy brownish red in color and has a high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a three finger high foamy beige head that seemed to take an eternity to die down.
S: There are light to moderately strong aromas of roasted malts in the nose along with notes of dark chocolate and coffee beans.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell but is a bit stronger and has some initial sweetness and then metallic hints towards the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer has some nice flavors of roasted malts but seems to be a bit too over carbonated and lighter-bodied compared to other Baltic Porters.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 00:14:08 | More by metter98

TasteTester

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -8.9%

04-01-2012 22:12:40 | More by TasteTester

shigg85

Japan

4.4/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had a pint of this on tap at the Baird Beer Harajuku Taproom. A squid-ink black porter with a beautiful cocoa head that coats the glass in a nice lacing. A bit thin on the aroma, but still wonderful dark notes of chocolate and roasted almonds. Nice and thick mouthfeel in the way a good porter should be. Overall, I would recommend this as a great after-dinner drink or even with a nice lamb/red meat dish.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2012 08:40:15 | More by shigg85

xpdrinker

Florida

2.43/5  rDev -36.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

A - Pours light brown as it fills the glass and immediately blackens, with a finger-thick mocha head with serious retention and lacing.

S - Chocolate-covered hops, green olives and light soy sauce.

T - Roasted malt, hop bite in the middle and a subtle coffee bitterness on the finish. The label mentions "bittersweet" but it's mostly bitter.

M - Possibly the lightest porter I've ever had. Spot-on carbonation keeps it from seeming watery, but it really is quite thin.

O - This is my first Baird beer that isn't part of some collaboration, and I was expecting a little more (especially at $5 for a 12oz bottle). It looks great but there's just not much in aroma, taste or mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 18:50:36 | More by xpdrinker

matjack85

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I found this single 12oz brown bottle at the Binny's store in Bloomingdale, IL for the rather steep price of $4.99 a bottle. Cool looking label, but no freshness date.

The beer poured a dark brown root beer color, and with a full 3-finger rocky tan head, it sort of looked like a freshly poured root beer. Head retention was good and the beer left lots of lacing.

Faint roasted malt aroma, but with a hard swirl you can bring out some dark chocolate and coffee notes as well.

This is a decent chocolate/coffee porter. Combined with the roasted malts, the chocolate adds a touch of sweetness and the coffee a touch of bitterness.

This has a nice light feel to it - maybe too thin for some. Carbonation is on the high side.

A 6% abv is low for the style, but that being the case it makes it easy to down 2 or 3 at a session. Oh wait, $4.99 for one bottle! I think I'll stop at one. It's good, but not THAT good.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 07:27:29 | More by matjack85