Founders Porter

There's just something about darker beers that works and tastes so wonderful during the colder months of the year.  Much like i seem to overdose on IPA's in the springtime, i found myself imbibing mass quantities of porters and stouts in the winter.  A recent highlight was the Founders Porter from Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The beer is a thick and oily black with a tan head and aromas of roasted malts, nuts, and some hints of coffee and caramel.  The taste is a little sweet on the front end, a combination of molasses and notes of cocoa, but then gets more bitter and biting on the back end when the roastiness really kicks in.  And it's oh so smooth.  All in all, this is a fantastic porter.

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Sex Panther Double Chocolate Porter

The beer is called Sex Panther.  Of course i'm going to drink it.  This double chocolate porter from Arizona's Santan Brewing was actually way different than i expected.  The beer was much lighter bodied than i had anticipated, and the chocolate flavor is actually a lot more subtle than the name would suggest.  Pouring brown with a light tan head, the beer smells of malt and some spices, with some chocolate and toffee notes.  The taste was heavier on roasted malts than chocolate and was crisp on the tongue due to the carbonation.  I liked it.  It was a much different kind of take on the porters i'm more used to, but was actually kind of refreshing, and at 6.9% ABV, the Sex Panther does not mess around.

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Infamous Pumpkin Massacre

Another pumpkin beer.  I don't have a problem, i just know what i like.  The Pumpkin Massacre from Austin's Infamous Brewing is a tasty offering, a restrained dark, kind of reddish ale with a medium and smooth body and a 7.5% ABV.  Aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg are most prevalent, and the taste is similar, but with some roasted malts and hints of brown sugar.  This brew does not overpower.  The pumpkin and spice flavors come in gradually to make for an excellent fall beer.

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Hops & Grain Porter Culture

As temperatures gradually (very gradually) drop here in central Texas, i naturally find my beer persuasion turning a little darker, a little thicker, a little stronger.  With that in mind, i am excited that one of my favorite local breweries, Hops & Grain, are adding a fifth selection to their year-round canning efforts, a delicious Baltic porter called Porter Culture.  The brew pours nice and dark, but with a medium body, and a good, tan and frothy head.  Aromas of roasted malt, wheat, and some hints of chocolate prevail, while the flavor combines those three attributes with some hoppy spice and a dry, almost crisp finish.  This is a ridiculously easy beer to drink, and i highly recommend cracking into one the first chance you get.

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Wasatch Black O' Lantern Pumpkin Stout

If you name your beer the Black O' Lantern, odds are i'm going to try it.  Wasatch Brewery out of Utah has a perfect Halloween companion to all that candy you're probably going to eat.  The Black O' Lantern is a pumpkin stout, pours dark with a tan head, and smells like pumpkin, spices, roasted malts, and some hints of cocoa.  The taste is similar to the aroma, but with some notes of vanilla and molasses, and the pumpkin spice never overpowers the rest of the brew.  The beer is creamy and delicious, and at 6.5% ABV, i recommend having two or three of these.  Happy Halloween.

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Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale

Say what you will about pumpkin spiced beers, but the Pumpkin Ale from Buffalo Bill's Brewery out of California is what started it all for me, leading me down the path of trying out different kinds of beers (particularly of the pumpkin variety), and i've never looked back.  Sure, i've had way better brews, but sometimes it's nice to go back to the original.  The beer pours auburn with a nice creamy head and gives off aromas of nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, cloves, and molasses.  The taste is relatively the same, but with some added yeast to its medium body.  This has been an old standby for me for the last seven or eight years, and has become a marker for the fall season.

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Port City Optimal Wit

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my friend over on the east coast who was in town for ACL Fest this last weekend and brought me a care package, a variety of beers from Port City Brewing in Alexandria, Virginia.  Last night, after some furniture assembly, i broke into the Optimal Wit, a Belgian white brewed with coriander and orange peel.  The beer pours a light and hazy yellow with a white and sudsy head.  Aromas of citrus, the aforementioned coriander, wheat, and some light notes of pepper are most prevalent, while the taste smooth with predominant flavors of citrus and wheat.  It's a very refreshing brew, and it hit the spot.  A very good witbier.

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