Piedmont Porter - Minhas Craft Brewery

mooseisloose

Florida

2.53/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Wife picked this up for me in a twelver with 5 other types of beer. Smell in the bottle is more lager type sweet with undertones of roasting. Poured it into a boot mug. Good foamy head, lacing all the way down. Not much aroma in the mug. Color is mildly translucent dark brown. Taste is good, initially, but not much of a finish. Seems to be lacking carbonation. Not as "thick" as what I would expect for a porter. It's a good attempt but it falls short. When I saw porter I got excited, but not too much too be excited about. This beer might be good to cook the bratwurst.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2006 20:55:33 | More by mooseisloose

bzach

Indiana

2.75/5  rDev -2.1%

10-12-2012 10:44:29 | More by bzach

stevoj

Germany

2.25/5  rDev -19.9%

06-04-2012 15:38:02 | More by stevoj

Goldfishman

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev +6.8%

01-30-2012 17:08:59 | More by Goldfishman

pschul4

Illinois

1.5/5  rDev -46.6%

01-25-2012 07:17:03 | More by pschul4

SargeC

Japan

3/5  rDev +6.8%

01-16-2012 07:45:34 | More by SargeC

areich6

Illinois

2/5  rDev -28.8%

01-06-2012 08:36:46 | More by areich6

lwootton

Texas

3.08/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a white wine glass for tasting.

Appearance: Thick, creamy head with large bubbles. Pours a dark, pellucid brown.

Aroma: Sweet malt smell with an earthy roasty presence and hints of caramel.

Taste: Some dark roasted flavor and a lightly sweet malt taste. Overall mild for a porter.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, much lighterbodied than I would expect of a porter.

Drinkability: Good, added complexity would help here but you could drink this all night if you didn't have any other good beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2011 22:02:03 | More by lwootton

ncfranklin

Alabama

1.85/5  rDev -34.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Part of some beer gift pack given to me.

A: Dark, ruby color. Some bubbles, no head.

S: Feint roasty, not alot going on here.

T: Eh. A little molasses, not much else. Not a flavor burst.

M: Hard to call this one a porter. Medium bodied, if that.

D: Avoid.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2010 20:30:50 | More by ncfranklin

Krishob

Florida

2.83/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

This was one of the samplings from a gift pack for american beers. Glad that it was a gift.

Appearance - nice brown color, low carbonation & head is gone before you know it. It has a clear appearance & looks good enough to bring you in for a taste.

Smell - This is more malts then hops. Sweet smelling, chocolaty and roasty.

Taste - The flavor is sweet, but not overly sweet. Definitely needs more buttering, but not horrible. The sweetness from the brown sugar & the malts comes throughout and that is well balanced, but the lack of the bitter at the end of the sip makes the beer seem to fall flat .

Mouthfeel - The beer has a watery yet smooth body. It does feel flat due to lack of carbonation and wateriness, but would be constant with the feel of this era brewing (1799 AD).

Drinkability - The beer is a easy drink from start to finish. Would I search this beer out, no, but depending on choices or if I was gifted this pack again I know that I would drink this first.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2010 03:52:17 | More by Krishob

magnj

New Jersey

3.03/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

My brother hooked me up with the Beer's of America set...

A - Nice creamy head from an aggressive pour into a Guinness glass. A clear deep brown body lies beneath.

S - Aroma is...beery. Mild chocolate nose, smells more like a brown ale than a porter at least by today's standards.

T - Thin body but reasonably good chocolate and coffee flavor, again more in line with an American Brown than a porter to me.

M/D - Thin body but not watery. Easy to drink, not the most complex, innovative, or style accurate brew but not bad. It may reflect what a porter was like at the time, in the area.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2010 21:23:31 | More by magnj

biggred1

Indiana

2.55/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Clear russet with amber highlights, pretty light colored for a porter. Creamy light tan head that quickly fades to a skim and leaves little lace behind on the glass. Light toasted grain and brown sugar are detected in the mild nose. Brown sugar, bubblegum and a touch of toasted malt. This beer is way undermalted for the style, it's more Oktoberfest than porter. Light, watery and fizzy. This beer is just not very good.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2010 01:38:14 | More by biggred1

DmanGTR

New York

2.17/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Review from notes on 9/15/09

A - poured very dark brown with a clear garnet hue in the light. Nice foamy beige head of 1.5" in the tulip. Decent rings of lace. 3.5

S - very faint, light roasted malts and a hint of caramel. Not much improvement after warming up. 2.0

T - caramel, toasted biscuits, hint of coffee aftertaste, otherwise quite clean. A bit lacking all around. 2.0

M - Thin for a porter. Highly carbonated. 2.0

D - decent, I probably won't get this again but it has its place at a bbq... 3.0

Overall - This is a bland, fizzy, and all around useless beer. Pretty sad when it's the best one out of the entire mix pack of "History of American Beer".

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2010 19:05:45 | More by DmanGTR

Brettster

Indiana

3.8/5  rDev +35.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Pours a very dark ruby red almost brown with a one finger tan foamy head. This porter has a pretty decent head retention and good lacing. I pick up some malt and a slight sweet smell. It has a very similar smell to many of the other Minhas beers. None of the flavors in this beer are overwhelming. It has very good balance. Has some roasted flavors and just a little hop flavor. It has a pretty smooth medium bodied mouthfeel. For the most part, I like this beer. I would have it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2010 21:34:59 | More by Brettster

darklordlager

Wisconsin

2.78/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

A: Pours a dark chestnut brown, with a small head of off white/grey bubbles.

S: Pale malt, caramel malt, and a bit of roasted malt. Acidic sourness can also be noticed.

T: Fruity (yeast?) flavour, with a light malt backbone, finishing dry. Slightly sour, light nuttiness.

M: Very watery, low carbonation.

D: This was very interesting to try once.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2010 03:52:04 | More by darklordlager

number1bum

Pennsylvania

2.17/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

5th of 6th beers from this Historical Beers of America pack.

Pours a clear copper color with about one finger of light tan head. This is a porter? Very light color for a porter. Only keeps a thin lace and not much more.

Smells of sweet, buttery caramel and toffee. No roasted aroma to speak of, nor any hops. It's not offensive, although it's not very appealing either.

Taste is even less appealing. It's sweet and not much else, with buttery caramel and a touch of honey. Nose smelled more like toffee but I don't get that here. Also a touch of grain and a metallic quality. Bleh.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and the sweetness is a bit cloying, a bit sticky. Carbonation is advanced enough to keep it from being too much of a trainwreck.

I often think that porter is a style that's hard to screw up. It's dark enough that you can hide flaws relatively easily, and doesn't demand a ton of flavor or complexity. This, however, is a lousy one. In keeping with my thoughts about the other beers from this box, I'm glad that beer in America has progressed to where we are now.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2010 03:26:59 | More by number1bum

vdread

Texas

2.38/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

Piedmont Porter

poured from a very interesting bottle with a parchment style label with a weird looking bird announcing that 'freedom is brewing'.

tis light red with amber at the bottom, this doesn't look too much like a porter. a tiny little head came up with some aggressive pouring but faded out quickly.

smell of light roasts and dirty water. and that's pretty much it.

tastes of slightly roasted nuts, taste is followed by the dirty water/metal/diacetyl taste that seems to be the theme in the beers of america pack. overall this is a dull beer. the slight roasted notes are the only thing similar to a porter i can detect, but it's ruined by its other qualities.

mouthfeel slick and watery, not much carbonation. not satisfying at all. drinkability okay i guess. it's not completely horrible, it's bearable. but it's nowhere near a porter. reminds me of a coca-cola, really.

i would use the words 'watery' 'roasty' and 'indistinguished' for this beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2010 22:17:49 | More by vdread

thekanna

Maryland

2.98/5  rDev +6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

One of the beers from the Beers of America Historical Beer Collection.

A: Pours a somewhat clear tannish color leaning towards light orange-red. Not much head except for a thin, white ring.

S: Generally fresh with hints of roasted sweet malts.

T: Strong sweet malt flavor with some diacetyl, citrusy hops and a faint roasted character. This would serve as a nice, heavier American Wheat ale, but this is definitely not a Porter in the conventional sense of the style.

M: Somewhat thin with medium carbonation.

D: It was drinkable enough, but nothing about this beer said Porter to me.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2009 09:55:13 | More by thekanna

generallee

New York

2.1/5  rDev -25.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Presentation: This is one of six beers from an eighteen pack labeled Beer of America, Historical Collection. The 18 pack also came with a nice book titled, The History of Beer in America. It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. There appears to be no freshness date on the bottle.

Appearance: The body has a medium brownish/red color with a very clear appearance and visible carbonation. This seems very odd to me for the style. On top is a thin white head that quickly fades out to just a wispy thin ring of bubbles that makes no lacing at all.

Smell: Its aroma has hints of lightly roasted sweet malt and metallic/salty minerals with a touch of leafy hops.

Taste/Palate: There is a big buttery grain flavor with some lighter hints of roasted malt. The malt up front has modest sweetness is lightly balanced by some mineral/leafy hop flavor and mild bitterness. Into the finish there are some citrus orange peel and salty metallic notes. The body is light to medium with a slick fizzy texture.

Notes: There is nothing about this beer that reminds me of porter. The color seems to light, the flavor is to light and boring. There is no head retention at all and it has that same salty/metallic/diacetyl taste I found in all the others beers in this mixed pack. The best part of this 18 pack is the book that came with it.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2009 21:16:00 | More by generallee

joepais

Maine

2.8/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into a pint glass produced a finger worth of tan that than disappears to almost no lace. The body of the brew was the typical black for a porter.

Aromas' of roasted malts and a light coffee smell filled my nose. The flavor is rather subdued too a little watery not to much in the way of roasted malt flavor. The mouthfeel is rather light for a porter as well, good carbonation though.

It is drinkable it goes down really fast not what I expect in a porter as well. Really not to impressed with this brewery. Oh well live and learn

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2009 20:25:02 | More by joepais

Durge

Connecticut

3.78/5  rDev +34.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A solid heavy brown color with a modest dusty tan head that erodes quickly into a ring and very little sign of lacing. The aroma is licorice charcoal and molasses raisin. Interesting. The taste brings more charcoal molasses and caramel malt. Not a bad flavor although the feel is a bit too aqueous. It does offer a refreshingly fine carbonation and is very drinkable. There's a vague touch of prune-like alcohol but it's obviously not high in alcohol. Near the end I even detect a slight dark chocolate effect. Overall, for a thin, drinkable porter this was pretty good. Suitable for most any occasion! My bottle actually specifies the brewery name as "MD II" which may account for my higher than average rating here somehow. I should also note that this has been in my fridge for well over a year, maybe aging did the trick?

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2009 02:44:19 | More by Durge

BigRedN

Nebraska

2.98/5  rDev +6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Part of a mixed 18 pack in a nice metal tin that may be able to be used as a patio beer & ice holder later this summer. I'll have to see how bad it leaks ro rusts.

Appearance: Poured from the 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. The beer is very dark brown to black. My pour produces a nice brownish head about 1 inch in thickness. Head fades to a solid ring and partial cover with some lacing.

Smell: Some roasted malt aromas (caramel, chocolate). Nothing too aromatic though.

Taste: In line with the scent, roasted malts, no hops (not bitter). Not big on taste, I'd call it Porter Light.

Mouthfeel: A bit thin, and watery, light to medium bodied. Sufficiently carbonated, making it a bit more lively on the tongue.

Drinkability: A decent beer, not an overly complex or robust representation of the style. Maybe that's good as many people will try the mix pack, give this a shot and say "That's not too bad" and try some other (better) porter.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2009 18:25:56 | More by BigRedN

CMW

Missouri

2.33/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

A - Jet black with a small tan head. The head dissapates immediately. No lacing to speak of. This looks like Pepsi.

S - Dark cherries and maybe a slight whiff of chocolate

T - The dark fruits are the only thing I can taste. This is very plain.

M - Extremely watery.

D - Easy to drink but so is pepsi, that doesn't make it a good beer. I'm glad these were free.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2009 01:29:17 | More by CMW

JohnGalt1

Idaho

2.7/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

12 oz received as a cool extra from jjanega08.. thanks Jozef.. poured into my Chimay goblet..

1" head from an aggressive pour.. no lace and the head dies within :15 seconds ... pretty lack luster cap. the brew is dark brown..

the nose is more fruity than anything else. lite... plums... some dried cherries.. and a pronounced "cola".. actually very little traditional porter aromas.... lite chocolate .. and even lighter dark malts.. brown sugar emerges as it warms.. but no other real porter qualities emerge.

flavor is a big let down.. I was hoping for more.. pretty much lite coffee with some out front fruity esters.. more interesting (slightly) as it warms to room temperature.. very light body and a fizzy carbonation... not great .. and barely good.. okay if I was grading friend's homebrew, but even then, my friends brew better than this.

This makes me think that there is nobody behind the wheels at this brewery.. more likely just a mechanical pump that pushes mediocre brews through dark grains (I know this does not actually happen).. but still.. a fizzy dark brew that is sorta burning in my tummy.. pretty terrible.. even for me.. and I don't traditionally like middle of the road porters.

Thanks Jozef.. but no thanks.. an average brew at best that needs to be whittled down to the basics and reworked.... really... people buy this??!!

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2009 10:31:44 | More by JohnGalt1

garymuchow

Minnesota

2.85/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Tight leaning aroma with some dark roast/coffee character, but really hard to pick up.
Dark brown to black with garnet highlights. Minimal head that ends up leaving a persistent tan thin layer.
Flavor is mild for a porter, but especially at the start hold tasty coffee/roast flavor. Mild bitterness and short finish with a tad of dryness.
Body approaches reaching about right, but a bit on the thin side and a bit aqueous. Carbonation is about right.
Because is a tad thin, lacks some body and is under rich, it drinks okay. Lack of intensity of flavors also help some, except that also lowers appeal and desire to drink more. This is more the makings of a decent porter, but otherwise not quite there.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2009 02:11:23 | More by garymuchow