Archive for the ‘Porter’ tag
TravelDL Beer Snob: Wagner Valley Brewing Sugar House Maple Porter
Wagner Valley Brewing Dockside Amber Lager
Brewed By: Wagner Valley Brewing
Brewed In: Lodi, NY
Type: Porter
ABV: 5.8%
What They Say: Only handcrafted once a year when the maple sap runs, this true, incredibly smooth dark robust porter is brewed with fresh East Kent Golding hops & has wonderful dry roasted & chocolate malt tones. Subtle molasses and vanilla notes are balanced by pure NY “Sugar House” maple syrup. This small seasonal batch is released annually near the first day of spring.
Website: Addressed in Part One (Sled Dog Doppelbock).
Why I Picked It: This is the fourth and final beer that I put in my sampler pack. Also, I was sadly disappointed by Tommyknocker Maple Ale so I wanted to give a porter a shot. I don’t usually drink porters at this time of year (and this seems like an odd choice for a spring seasonal) but the taste I got from sampling was way too good to pass up.
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Presentation: This another beer in which the website image in not the same as the current bottle. I like the new label much better than the one on the website. It took until the fourth beer, but it’s the cheesy, low-rent image on the label that I don’t like. The version on this bottle is blinged up. It’s got a rustic wooden theme to go with the “Sugar House” name, plus a non-symmetrical silhouette of the Finger Lakes across the bottom. This is a much cooler label. Love it. 5
Originality: Maple Porter is a little more of an explored territory than maple ale. 2
Taste: The flavors of even a generic porter support the sweetness of maple syrup much better than does an ale. In this beer, the bitter chocolate malts play a delicate balance with the sweet maple syrup. Surprisingly, the hint of vanilla in this is much more obvious than in Saranac’s Vanilla Stout. As a porter, it would be unfair of me to take points for it being too dry. Oddly, this beer’s flavors get more distinct as it comes to room temperature. The maple gets bolder as the beer gets warmer. 9
Body: It pours a thick, stouty black with a relatively thick, tan head. Minimal lacing and the lack of head led me to believe the carbonation would be nil. Surprisingly, though, the carbonation was much more distinct then I was expecting. It’s a pleasantly thin body to balance with the huge, heavy flavors. If the body here was too thick, combined with the heavy flavors would make this beer nigh-undrinkable. 8
Efficiency: Unlike with the maple ale, I didn’t find the maple flavor in the porter to be so sweet to regulate consumption speed. But, the distinctive drymouth of the porter combined with heavy flavors were. This beer is a heavyweight, filling me up after just two. The big ABV makes up for some of those limitations but it’s just too heavy to make up for all of them. As was mentioned earlier, the flavors actually get heavier as the beer warms up. I’m not sure exactly what that should do to an efficiency rating. 7
Versatility: This is a heavy, high ABV beer that isn’t really for beginners. However, if you’re a fan of porters and are looking for something that packs a punch before dinner, go for it. 7
Final Score: 38 of 50 – Great beer.