Brewed By: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams
Brewed In: Boston, MA/Cincinnati, OH
ABV: 5.8%
Type: Porter

What they say: Website: Introduced as a member of the Winter Classics Mix Pack in 2004, Samuel Adams Holiday Porter with its rich malt complexity has become a favorite among our winter seasonal brews. In total, five varieties of malted barley are used in the brewing process including a variety of German malt called Carafa. The Carafa gives our Holiday Porter its smooth, roasted malt character. Add generous portions of imported hops to the mix and one has a brew that is both robust and high in drinkability. Carafa is a registered trademark of Weyermann Malt, Bamburg, Germany. Bottle: Samuel Adams Holiday Porter is a full-flavored porter inspired by the famous drink of London’s Victorian era luggage porters. Brewed with generous portions of Caramel, Munich, and Chocolate malt, this hearter porter finishes with traditional English Fuggles and East Kent Goldings. Cheers!

Why I picked it: This is the fifth of six total reviews in the Samuel Adams Winter Classics 2009 sampler pack. Holiday Porter was added to the Winter Classics in 2004 and locked up the fourth slot rather quickly. This only really leaves one rotating slot.

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Presentation (5): Like Old Fezziwig, this beer is exclusively brewed for Winter Classics and, as such, has a unique painting for the label. I rather like the snowy background and the porter (see what they did there?) delivering a barrel of ale to a shopkeeper with children looking on. I like the old-timey feel. The red ribbon on which the beer’s name is displayed is thematically consistent with Old Fezziwig, too. 5

Originality (5): First brewed in 2004, I didn’t have to give it retroactive points. It’s a caramel and chocolate malt porter and, while the Carafa malt is a nice touch, nothing really merits full points. 3

Body (10): This is a pretty rock solid representation of a porter. The dark, ruby color, minimal head, and light lacing leads to a both heavy and refreshing body. Just a touch of carbonation carries the big flavor perfectly. My one single complaint is that it’s a little heavy for the ABV. 7

Taste (10): It tastes, well, like a porter made with chocolate and caramel malts. That’s not to belittle it. It’s tasty, but I can’t place the Carafa malts, which means I can’t really pinpoint what they do to the style. Then again, I like the generic Sam recipe. This is a very tasty, nicely carbonated version of the Sam porter recipe. 9

Efficiency (10): As mentioned above — this beer has a great taste, a high ABV, and a generally nice overall feel. It would be difficult to have more than a couple of these in any one sitting but, again, there’s no way for someone to get more than two at a time. So, its inclusion in a sampler is perfect. 7

Versatility (10): Like the Old Fezziwig, it’s only available two at a time in the Winter Classics sampler. It’s really hard to call it versatile in any way. This was another case in which I considered granting an N/A rating to the versatility but decided it wasn’t fair. The two bottles aren’t really versatile in any way. Of course, they’re not meant to be. 4

The Snob Sez: I’ve been a fan of this beer since they introduced it in 2004. I look forward to it every year and I really wish they’d start putting it in 22 oz bottles for the holiday season.

Final Score: 35 (of 50) – Really good beer

Brewed By: FX Matt Brewing
Brewed In: Utica, NY
ABV: 5.3%
Type: Porter

What They Say: Saranac Maple Porter is a robust, flavorful porter reminiscent of a by-gone era. True to brewing tradition, we’ve used dark caramel and chocolate malt as well as Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops for a smooth, yet slightly bitter, roasted flavor. Look for hints of maple syrup flavoring used in this deliciously different brew. Enjoy!

Website: The Saranac website is unchanged from last year’s 12 Beers series. They have, however, added Club Saranac. The fact Saranac has a club, a nice brewery, and a Summer Band Schedule is the one thing that would make life in Utica tolerable. I say this after having spent a week in Utica once. It was……. unpleasant.

Why I Picked It: Weirdly, the Saranac posts do pretty well on Google and, since Saranac invited me to a preview of this back in October (which I sadly couldn’t attend because it was in Utica… on a Thursday) I’ll be running this concurrently with the Samuel Adams Winter Classics review. This is beer one of six in this year’s 12 Beers Of Winter.

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Presentation (5): As we discussed last year, Saranac’s thing is double colored labels with a watercolor of some sort which may or may not have anything to do with the beer. With the rating system I used last year, I generally gave 4s if the painting had something to do with the beer and 3 if it didn’t. 4

Originality (5): I spent some trying to remember if I’ve ever seen another Maple Porter from a craft brewer. On Google, the only results ahead of Saranac’s are a homebrew recipe and a Site That Shall Not Be Named’s posting of a limited edition brew no longer in production out of Michigan. On top of that, the Saranac website calls this a “returning favorite.” I don’t recall this from a previous 12 Beers which means it probably dates back some time. Minor suggestion to Saranac — take a page from Sam and list the year a beer was first brewed and, if possible, list what collections these beers appeared in. You can’t expect us to remember it when you’re in the business of killing brain cells. 5

Body (10): Pours the color of actual maple syrup with a fairly decent head. Lacing is much more distinct then I expected. It’s thin for a porter which, given the source ingredient, is something of a surprise. If it was as thick as the bold flavor and strong ingredients would suggest, though, it would be a brick in the stomach after two. The carbonation is much higher than I originally expected but, again, given the strong flavor, the carbonation is necessary to lighten the mood. 8

Taste (10): It is… fantastic. Much like Saranac did with their Caramel Porter, they took a flavor not usually associated with beer, made it the superstar ingredient of a porter, and went with it. It smells like maple, starts with maple, sits on your tongue as maple, and finishes with same specific sweetness of real maple syrup. If there is ANY knock it’s that the taste is so strong and so distinct it would blow the doors off anything else in this sampler. However, that’s not a strike in the flavor department. 10

Efficiency (10): As per usual, Saranac’s beers come in between 5.2% and 5.5% with the reasonable cost of a beer brewed in Upstate New York. Unfortunately, this beer is the antithesis of “poundable” with a hugely-heavy flavor. Even though this really can’t be consumed quickly, the body and carbonation is a great balance to the heavy flavor. Combine with a reasonable price and it’s of serviceable efficiency. 7

Versatility (10): Many of the beers exclusive to sampler packs take a solid versatility hit due to the limited availability. This beer is packaged well in a sampler. It’s heavy and, while I don’t think I’d like a case of them, two are perfect. On the other hand, the distinct, bold maple flavor is going to turn off anyone who doesn’t like maple syrup… or doesn’t want a beer that tastes like it. 7

The Snob Sez: This is quite possibly my favorite Saranac brew outside their Caramel Porter which had graduated out of the 12 Beers to its own sixpack for a while. Great thing to try if you love maple. Terrible thing to try if you don’t.

Final Score: 41 (of 50) – Great beer

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.

What They Say: This hearty, mahogany colored ale is brewed to evoke the dark, full-bodied ales that were a favorite of dockworkers and warehousemen (hence the name “Porter”) in 19th century London. It is a good bet that when Dickens’ Mr. Pickwick sat down for a pint, we would have been drinking an ale much like our Robust Porter.This is a smooth and very drinkable beer, characterized by its well-balanced malt and hops, plus subtle notes of coffee and chocolate.

Website: Excellent website. I’m generally put-off by 3-column layouts because I think they look too crowded, but the Smuttynose front page has enough mix of images and text to make it work. If I have one complaint it’s that the beer stuff and the dog adoption stuff should be “above the fold” because it’s more important to me than filler text which, generally, no one reads. People tend to scan webpages to pick out images, links, and headlines and usually ignore standard text. As such, the center column with the blurb about the company is probably wasted. But, for the most part, well done site. Extra points for the Brewer’s Notes blog and the Tavern blog.

Why I Picked It: Since I decided I wanted a stout in my growler (kinky), I went with a six pack of porter. I was contemplating just getting a second growler because they had a new Sixpoint, but decided to knock another Smuttynose off my list.

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Presentation (5): Smuttynose always gets 3 automatic bonus points on presentation. They get 2 points because their seal mascot is so damn adorable. They get an extra 1 point because at every Smuttynose tasting I’ve attended, their rep Dan Henry is one of the friendliest dudes I’ve ever met. The “Robust Porter” has a picture of a circus strongman holding a barrel under one arm and a dancer in the other. In the lower right is a picture of an old dog wearing clown costume. I guess the strongman is “robust”? I don’t love Smuttynose packaging but, to their credit, I know a Smuttynose box and bottle when I see it across a room, so they grudgingly do get the job done. 4

Originality (5): It’s a basic porter, so the originality would take a hit if it wasn’t winning awards back in a pre-9/11 world. This is another case where it’s tough to rate originality based on the time frame since I was still sucking down Busch Light in 2001 or, when I felt like an upgrade, Killian’s. Since I don’t remember a huge number of Porters sitting on supermarket shelves back in those dark days (and not a whole lot of things involving chocolate or coffee) I’ll give it a bonus. 3

Body (10): It’s a porter, through and through. Gentle, almost non-existent carbonation with almost no taste until the malt hits the back of your tongue. Definitely a full-bodied, dare I say, robust porter combining the best parts of an English dark ale with the best parts of what’s become the trademarks of an American craft porter. 7

Taste (10): As tends to be the case with porters, the initial flavor is pretty weak with the real kick coming in the aftertaste when the bitter notes of the coffee and chocolate hit your tongue at the same time. Deductions for the taste hanging around on the back of your tongue indefinitely. I don’t mind a beer sitting on my tongue for a little while, but having to eat a clove of garlic to get it to go away is not good. 7

Efficiency (10): As a Robust porter, it’s not something one could pound, but a reasonably hefty ABV combined with a good, forgiving flavor ups its efficiency. The cost of six is not any higher than your average microbrew sixpack. All told, it’s as efficient as one can ask for in a standard-priced sixer. 10

Versatility (10): The same thing that helps the beer’s efficiency hurts the versatility. You’re not drinking this beer quickly. If you do, you’ll feel like you ate a meal and will be tired. This is a perfect “sit around and watch a football game” or “have a beer with your steak” beer and not much else. Best consumed in the opposite of mass-quantities. 3

Final Grade: 34 (of 50) – Good Beer.