Our latest selection, “Walker’s Reserve Porter”, comes from California based Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Looking at a lineup that includes the full spectrum of styles, the Reserve seems like a good starting point for our first review.
I decided that I didn’t want to enjoy this all by my lonesome so I enlisted the taste buds of some friends to offer their thoughts as well. We don’t believe in snarky reviews around here so everyone is welcome.
The pour produced a really nice, dark head that stuck around for a while with good lacing. With such a strong appearance I expected the smell to follow but I was surprised with how subtle it was. Coffee and chocolate aromas are evident but not to the extent I would have expected by the bold appearance.
Let me say, if you are a coffee drinker you will most certainly like this beer. If you are a cafe mocha fan…you will REALLY like this beer. Now I hope that doesn’t turn off folks who may not like coffee because it shouldn’t. This is a well balanced beer that is actually a nice happy medium for porter lovers and those who may not be such huge fans of the style. It is definitely not on the heavier side of what I consider to be a porter and at the same time provides a good amount of bitterness.
My overall view is that I could very easily see this as a session beer. It’s 5.9 abv so manageable over the course of a few hours. I purchased this in the 22oz bottle and immediately wished I’d picked up a few more. I will definitely be going back for more.
So what did my friends think (we’ll use initials to protect the innocent)?
J – I’m coming off a string of pretty bad porters so this is refreshing. It smells really fresh and has a great coffee flavor.
N – This is very smooth like a cold cup of coffee.
