We’ve already reviewed Old Foghorn and Small beer by Anchor, but how does their Porter stand up?  

I’ve said before that Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter is my favorite of this style, so I tend to compare others to it.  Anchor is only slightly different in color that Samuel Smith’s, which is to say that it’s pretty dark.  There were touches of red running through the beer when I held it up to the light.  There was a nice, thick, stable, brown head on top of the dark body.  

The aroma of Anchor’s Porter was pretty biscuity and roasty, more so than Samuel Smith’s version of Porter.  There were also touches of alcohol on the nose (also more than Taddy).  Very faint hints of chocolate were present on the nose–less than my favorite Porter (the chocolate notes to Samuel Smith’s is, perhaps, what makes it my favorite Porter).

Alcohol touches that came through on the nose dropped by to say hello in the mouth.  The roasted and biscuit qualities of the beer came through very nicely on the palate.  I noted caramel and…touches of caramel.  Probably the most prevalent attribute of Anchor Porter was it’s long, dry, dark-roasted grain finish. If you are looking for a Porter that has an acidic roasted grain punch versus more chocolate velvet smoothness, then you might really enjoy Anchor Porter.  I can say that both Taddy and Flag were more enjoyable to me, but this is still a pretty good Porter.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¾☆ 

Among other Porters ★★★½☆