During our 10/10/13 excursion to NYC for the 2013 Whisky Jewbilee, Limpd and I stopped into Rattle N Hum, a Craft Beer-centric pub on East 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, for a quick lunch before our #WhiskyFabric meet up at Keens Steakhouse. This would be our first visit to Rattle N Hum, a place we knew nothing about until it was recommended to us by our friend Ed “The Dogs of Beer” Morgan.
During our brief visit, we ordered up some food (a six pack of sliders, some spicy fried calamari, and an order of curry fries) and a round of beers. Limpd went with an Anderson Valley Bourbon Barrel Stout and I went with the Founders Porter, the subject of this here review. Since I loved this beer the first time around, I decided to pick up a bottle during a recent beer run so that I could find out if it loses any of its luster when not on draught.
And now for a few words about this beer from the good people at Founders Brewing Company:
Pours silky black with a creamy tan head. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter the full flavor you deserve and expect. Cozy like velvet. It’s a lover, not a fighter.
Let’s find out if this beer is as good the second time around…
- Appearance: Deep, rich mahogany color. Not much in the way of head or lacing, just a thin bead of tan foam that hugs the inner edge of the glass.
- Aroma: Rich and roasty with lots of bittersweet chocolate and espresso coffee notes. A hint of lemon hops in the background.
- Taste: Medium bodied and lightly carbonated. A delicious balance of coffee and chocolate flavors from beginning to end with a soothing bitterness that builds slowly as you approach the finish. Dry and astringent finish with a lingering bittersweet chocolate finish.
- ABV: 6.5%
As I’m slowly working my way through this glass of beer (ya gotta sip and savor it!), the following thought crossed my mind: How would the Founders Porter stack up against Anchor Brewing Company’s Porter or Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Edmund Fitzgerald Porter? Given how delicious this is, I’m thinking that these three beers would be evenly matched and stacking the three of them against each other would make for an interesting tasting session, and quite possibly, a really interesting blog post.
As I stated at the beginning of this review, this is my second time having this beer in a little over a week, and while the bottled version is delightfully delicious, it’s not quite as luscious or creamy as it was on draught. Draught is better, but only by a very small margin. That being said, whether on draught or in the bottle, I highly recommend this beer.
