Short Order Porter
Brewery: Martin House Brewing Company
Style: Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer (30A)
Package: 12oz Can
Purchased: January 2019, HEB
Best By Date: 12/20/18
Consumed Date: 2/2/19
Details from the Brewer
Short Order Porter is the second porter we’ve ever created and the first imperial porter. This beer is overflowing with the best flavors of breakfast, it’s ridiculous. SOP is an 8.8%abv beer brewed with cacao nibs, coffee, hazelnut, and maple syrup. This genius brew is the creation of our friend Smitty (the guy on the can) of SmittoX Brewing. He is the winner of our Riverside Shootout Homebrew competition. Short Order Porter is available Nov 2018. Cheers!
Review
Aroma – 11/12
A sweet maple syrup, and nuttiness are present at high levels. A medium-high dark chocolate aroma also joins in. Lower notes of roasted coffee, bread crust, and graininess round out the aromatic complexity. Any fermentation character is masked by other aromas.
Appearance – 2/3
Pours a deep black colored liquid. Small and fine beige bubbles compose a thin, but dense head. Retention is somewhat below average. Color is opaque, with seemingly good clarity.
Flavor – 15/20
Initially, a moderate high maple character, an hazlenut hit the tongue. The syrup note increases in intensity as a low roast character appears. A very light hint of burnt character is present, along with a bit of earthiness. A moderate sweetness is also present, with almost no bitterness. Towards the finish, the maple and hazelnut character seems to dominate again. The finish is slow, revisiting most of the previous flavors, and leaving a lingering maple note.
Mouthfeel – 4/5
Full bodied. A low-medium carbonation gives some life to the beer. The mid palate has a good amount of sugary sweetness and a chewy quality. The finish is quite soft. There’s a touch of astringency on the finish, drying the tongue.
Overall Impression – 7/10
This is a nice flavored porter. The hazlenut character in particular is wonderful. A bit sweet, it’s a great dessert porter. It definitely matches up to the Imperial adjective, bringing a bit more balance that expected. While the maple syrup note is nice, it is a bit oddly intense and a bit sickly as it warms. The coffee character could use a slight boost to meet the other notes’ intensity.
Rating – 39/50
The aroma on this beer is really cool. It’s reminiscent of a Ferrero Rocher candy. While it’s definitely bordering on becoming a pastry porter, it works pretty well. It’s definitely a good can to split, as I was only able to drink about 1/2 before what I assume is fenugreek came to be a bit overpowering. Overall, it’s a fun beer and worth trying a can if you can still find one around. Martin House has been continuing their experimental beer game over the past few years, and it’s been fun to keep up with.
