Porter beers have a long and sorted history. Originally the poor man’s pint, porter was also the first beer aged directly at the brewery and delivered to the pub fit to drink. Fast forward a few centuries and porter has become one of the most diverse styles of beer available today. From dry to sweet, hoppy to malty, and sessionable to imperial, ithere are endless possibilities when it comes to porter. Last week, New York’s Blind Tiger Ale House celebrated these historical suds with their first “style event” of 2011.
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Tags: 2011, Blind Tiger, blind tiger ale house, Event, imperial porter, Photography, porter, smoked beer.

Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: unknown
Availability: limited release, draft only
Pairing: caramelized pork chops, wash-rind cheese, vanilla ice cream, cheeescake

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Last night, New York received another great opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Brewery for the invite-only release of Dark Matter, their latest in the Brewmaster’s Reserve series. Brewmaster Garrett Oliver was on hand along along with a laundry list of the city’s finest pub owners, food editors and beer bloggers. Once again, the tap room flowed with some of brewery’s best drafts: Cookie Jar Porter, Monster ’09, Blast, Black Chocolate Stout ’09, Pilsner and more. The Bedford Cheese Shop and The Meat Hook were on hand to supply a nice meat and cheese compliment Dark Matter’s vanilla-oaked, sweet palate of flavors.

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Tags: Brewmaster's Reserve, Brooklyn Brewery, New York beers, porter.

Style: English Porter
ABV: 7.8%
IBU: unknown
Availability: limited release, draft only
Pairing: oatmeal cookies, braised pork, bbq, funky cheese, Brooklyn Brewery Carbonade

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Last night I had a chance to swing by the Brooklyn Brewery for the premier tasting of their latest in the Brewmaster’s Reserve series, Cookie Jar Porter. Brewmaster Garrett Oliver was on hand to discuss the beer and the tasting room flowed freely with some of brewery’s best drafts: Cookie Jar Porter, Monster ’07, Manhattan Project (a personal favorite), Blast, Brooklyner Weiss and more. The Cookie Jar Porter was paired with the brew’s inspiration, Oatmeal cookies from Feed Your Soul Bakery, as well as select cheese from the Bedford Cheese Shop.  Overall it was a great event and good to see the whole Brooklyn Brewery team and NYC craft beer family out enjoying themselves.

Appearance: Draft pours a deep brown color with a dark tan head. Due to the draft pour, there was little to no lacing initially but a slight swirl developed a subtle head and some nice residual lacing.

Smell: Chocolate and roasted malts on the nose. The Marris-Otter malt – a favorite of European beers – comes through as well. Hints of raisin and some pine hop notes

Taste: There’s a surprisingly light body to the Cookie Jar Porter and a more tart flavor than I was expecting. Lots and lots of raisin notes come forward (the source of the tart/sour flavors) as well as chocolate and caramel flavors and some herbal, woody hints from the Willamette hops. As the beer warms, som vanilla and honey flavors develop but they primarily the supporting cast for the chocolate malt.

Mouthfeel: A fine light carbonation and bitterness hit the tongue. Slightly dry finish.

Drinkability: Cookie Jar Porter has a surprisingly light bodied for having such a heavy sounding name. If you like malty beers with tart and bitter notes then this will go down easy. Initially, I thought one was enough but ended up drinking three to hunt down all the flavors. Its not a growler fill, per say, but a pint or two will go down without question.

Overall: The name Cookie Jar Porter threw me for a loop on this one. I was expecting something candy sweet, almost like a Breury 2 Turtle Doves. Instead, this is much more like a traditional English porter (with American Willamette hops rather than the British Fuggles). Once I realigned my palate out of “desert beer mode” I really appreciated all of the subtle tart and bitter notes to be found here. This reminds me a bit of a Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre but with more British Ale elements.

Brewing Note:
Malts: Floor Malted Maris Otter, British crystal, chocolate and caramel malts.
Other Grains: Whole Golden Oats
Other Sugars: Brown sugar, pureed raisins, wildflower honey
Hops: Willamette
OG: 19% Plato
ABV: 7.8% ABV

Tags: Brewmaster's Reserve, Brooklyn Brewery, Cookie Jar Porter, New York beers, porter.

Style: English Porter / Winter Ale / Holiday Ale
ABV: 8.5%
IBU: 30
Availability: annually, late fall and winter, bottle and draft
Pairing: charred steak, black and white cookies, brownies
click here for more Nøgne Ø reviews

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Popped in to the bar on a brutal New York City winter evening to grab a quick beer and came across a real treat… Nøgne Ø Winter Ale on tap. In my opinion, Kjetil Jikiun is one of the finest brewers crafting ales today and this one is no exception. I’m on a mission to drink as many of this fine Norwegian brewery’s offerings as possible.

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark brown with a tan head which leaves a bit of lacing on the glass

Smell: Notes of licorice, chocolate and vanilla all come forward. Some roasted notes as the beer warms. Very unique for a porter.

Taste: The Nøgne Ø Winter hits the palate with lots of roasted malt characteristics and a dry finish. There are lingering flavors of burnt caramel as well as all chocolate and vanilla. It’s incredibly balanced for such a unique beer and hides it’s 8.5% alcohol well.

Mouthfeel: A fine light carbonation and sweetness hit the mouth but the finish is quite dry. The result is a dangerously drinkable combination.

Drinkability: This one goes down pretty easy. It’s thick for a porter but – like most Nøgne Ø beers – the balance holds together any skepticism of its drinkability. I could easily have a few of these on a cold night.

Overall: The Nøgne Ø Winter (or God Jul if you live outside of the U.S.) is a rich winter ale that is welcoming to both porter and stout drinkers alike. The combination of sweet flavors, roasted notes and dry finish make it a great dessert beer, pairing for a heavy winter meal or even a nice aprés ski brew.

Brewing Note: “A dark ale brewed specially for the Christmas season, with a rich, complex taste of caramel. This is a strong, dark and rather sweet Christmas Beer – just the way we think a Christmas beer should be. Recommended serving temperature 12°C/53°F. Great with cheese or nuts. Ingredients: Lager, Munich, caramel, black, and chocolate malt; Chinook, Columbus, and Centennial hops; English ale yeast, and our local Grimstad water.” source)

Other reviews:
Nøgne Ø Winter on Beer Rant
Nøgne Ø Winter on Beer Advocate

(photo source)

Tags: Christmas Ale, god jul, Holiday Beers, Nogne O, porter, Winter Beers.