feste_sylvain

Continuing my reviews of the Samuel Adams breweries traditional American beer recipes, #2 of the four is called "George Washington Porter", the beer he stained his wooden teeth black with.

First off, this beer was a tad over-primed, which is a polite way of saying that it foamed like mad upon being opened. Perhaps this unfiltered porter simply had more active yeast bottled than is usual.

But one side-effect of this little mis-hap was I had to quick-slug down a couple of gulps before I was truly ready. Thus, I was quite surprised by how thick the molasses is in this brew. Then I got hit with the major licorice back-bite. And when I say "licorice", I'm not simply describing the "hints" or the "nose" of the after-taste; there's real licorice in here.

I transferred the rest to a wide-mouthed Belgian-style beer glass, the better to get the aromas. This is a thick, dark beer, but a bit hoppier than most porters (sorry, jbsegal), but the molasses is really the dominant flavor here.

This is tasting history. Tastes shift over time, like styles, fashions, accents, cultural mores, etc. The original martinis were never "dry", were made with sweet vermouth, and were often served in sugar-rimmed glasses. This beer is a meal all by itself, but the molasses is apparently of the black-strap variety favored 250 to 300 years ago. Our "refined" palates probably won't take to this.

This is probably the wrong time of year to be drinking this. A beer this heavy should be drunk in the late autumn or winter. But frankly, I prefer a spiced Winter Warmer or even a smoked porter to this. I will, however, consider using licorice in a future dark batch.

As an academic exercize, this beer is a resounding success. But I don't think I'd seek it out just for a drink.