Saranac Maple Porter - Matt Brewing Company

dsa7783

New Jersey

2.4/5  rDev -33%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Copped as part of a twelve-pack winter variety sampler... Certainly not your conventional English porter... Watered-down taste and flavor... Weak output...Few hints of maple if any in the overall flavor profile... Not impressed with this offering... I have often looked down on Saranac beers as macro in taste... Average stuff and not recommended...

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2009 22:33:22 | More by dsa7783

DmanGTR

New York

4/5  rDev +11.7%

02-06-2013 04:09:00 | More by DmanGTR

phishbone23

New York

3/5  rDev -16.2%

01-25-2013 14:35:02 | More by phishbone23

cliff1066

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -2.2%

12-25-2012 17:21:50 | More by cliff1066

sendbeer

Georgia

1/5  rDev -72.1%

12-03-2012 20:02:46 | More by sendbeer

Mart1

3.75/5  rDev +4.7%

09-08-2012 17:37:21 | More by Mart1

pagardner

Virginia

4/5  rDev +11.7%

06-02-2012 00:29:03 | More by pagardner

avisong

Virginia

2.5/5  rDev -30.2%

04-26-2012 02:57:56 | More by avisong

dananabanana

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Dark brown, but not quite black. Thin layer of white foam, it almost looks like a Coca-Cola. Lacing is pretty strong (white spots, not streaky).

S: Dark malt and caramel. Strong coffee notes. A vague hint of cream or vanilla.

T: Perhaps a hint of bourbon. Strong malt, some coffee bitterness but not too overwhelming. Maple comes through at the end. The sweetness is too artificial in flavor.

M: The maple flavor makes it nice and smooth.

O: Heavy in the stomach, but smooth on the palate. Drinakble, but there are better porters out there.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2012 22:17:44 | More by dananabanana

TheRuss9585

Vermont

2.75/5  rDev -23.2%

03-28-2012 20:08:46 | More by TheRuss9585

deonreds

New York

4/5  rDev +11.7%

03-18-2012 06:32:45 | More by deonreds

jsboates

4/5  rDev +11.7%

03-11-2012 20:44:53 | More by jsboates

mikerems

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +25.7%

03-07-2012 06:05:02 | More by mikerems

Bockrules

New Mexico

3.5/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle into a pint glass

A - Pours a slightly used motor oil brown with bronze highlights. Only a few small bubbles rise to the one finger, tanish head. Head stays intact about halfway down the glass. Leaves behind a few splotches of lacing at the bottom of the glass.

S - Plenty of maple syrup smell with hints of chocolate and caramel. There are hints of earthy hops as well.

T - Maple syrup upfront. The body is ruled by chocolate and caramel malt with plenty of earthy hops. More earthy hop notes as the beer passes over the back of the tongue followed by a chocolate chip pancake covered in way too much syrup finish.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

The last beer from the Saranac winter back I bought back east as an undergraduate a few years ago. Despite being a couple years old, this beer tasted about as expected - like an acceptable brown ale-to-porter with a heap of maple syrup added to it. I'm still on the fence about adding extraneous ingredients to beers as this came off a little artificial tasting. I'd drink it again if I stumbled upon another Saranac winter craft pack for $10, but it's not something I would seek out.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2012 05:30:51 | More by Bockrules

rxthree

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -16.2%

12-26-2011 21:59:04 | More by rxthree

claspada

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +4.7%

12-08-2011 14:19:28 | More by claspada

rab53

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -16.2%

12-02-2011 04:14:54 | More by rab53

djrn2

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -16.2%

12-01-2011 23:20:04 | More by djrn2

Rochefort10nh

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +11.7%

11-27-2011 15:55:32 | More by Rochefort10nh

Another6Pack

Michigan

4/5  rDev +11.7%

11-26-2011 13:59:45 | More by Another6Pack

deapokid

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -30.2%

11-26-2011 01:35:52 | More by deapokid

tclapper

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +11.7%

11-17-2011 21:35:55 | More by tclapper

oline73

Maryland

5/5  rDev +39.7%

11-15-2011 01:50:37 | More by oline73

airheadmtrcycle

Georgia

3.05/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

From the Saranac Winter Sampler poured into a Sierra Nevada pint glass. I am really looking forward to this one. I love porters and this is surely a different twist, "with Natural Flavors".

Appearance is a bit lighter than most porters, brown with red hues. Acceptable head, but no lacing to speak of. After a few swigs though there's some nice lacing clinging to the glass.

Aromas are sweet, toasted malts and maybe a little sweetened coffee. I guess the sweetness could be a maple smell, but I'm unable to say for sure. But, upon the first sip, now I can say for sure; it's maple, sweet and sweeter. They really nailed the maple flavor. There's some coffee and toasted malts in the background that want to show themselves upon warming. The sips are bittersweet, or more precisely uber-sweet and a hard to find bitterness. I would have preferred quite the opposite, but that's a subjective call, and I want to give them credit for trying. And if you like the the idea of a sweet maple-flavored porter this could your thing. Frankly, the word cloying crossed my mind. The mouth feel is on the thinner side, but not really what I would call watery.

The last English porter I had was a Taddy Porter, arguably the quintessential English porter, and frankly there's no comparison. But as a novelty it's quite drinkable particularly if shared with another or two. I can't see drinking another immediately afterwards.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2011 15:26:04 | More by airheadmtrcycle

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.28/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed on 2/14/2010. Bottle. Pours a clear dark brown with a thick light tan head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, residual sugars. Flavor is quite full of maple syrup, which basically dominates the flavor along with some sweet caramel malt and brown sugar. Well, it is what it advertises. The aroma is pretty poor but the flavor is not too bad -- overall, a decent, maplely beer (although not a classic porter at all; it barely resembles a porter actually).

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 18:41:19 | More by LilBeerDoctor