Black Butte Porter – Deschutes Brewery

Deschutes_BlackButtePorterAs you may or may not have picked up on, I love a good dark beer. Recently I have taken a step into the dark side to find myself a great porter to add to my repertoire of recommendable brews. The first stop on this midnight train is Black Butte Porter from Deschutes Brewery.

This beer was Deschutes’ first real flagship brew and as such, helped set them apart from the rest of the crowd. Since then, it has stayed as one of their most popular year round brews and lead to the annual barrel aged homage of the same name, the most recent of which being Black Butte XXIV.

The pour is a very dark brown with a nice creamy off white head that lasts for a long time and leaves a great lace. The aroma has an earthy, toasted malt with notes of chocolate and coffeeDeschutes_BlackButtePorter2A and a hint of grassy hops and smoke. Medium bodied with quite a bit of carbonation that lends to a creamy mouthful. The flavor starts on a sweet dark fruit flavor with a bit of grassy hop that quickly fades to a bittersweet chocolate malt and finishes with toasted malt. The aftertaste has a mix of coffee and chocolate notes with a slight chalkiness, but in a good way.

Black Butte has an amazing play between the malt backbone, with its subtle earthiness, and the grassy hops. At this point, it is my go to porter. But this is the first stop on a long journey for the midnight train. See y’all at the next stop.

Name Black Butte Porter
Brewery Deschutes Brewery
Style American Porter
ABV 5.2%
Availability Widely Available
Rating 4 out of 5

All Aboard!
Beer Guy LA

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