A Pint Half Full

I haven't delved too deep into dark beers so much on this blog as I think I generally favor hoppier styles.  When I think of Porter-style beers, I think of dark, rich flavors but since I'm a novice at this, I didn't know much beyond that.  I imagined they'd be bitter and syrupy or something, possibly "crunchy" tasting.  After reading about Porter, it looks like it is a close cousin to Stout beer, both using dark malts and emphasizing dark fruit (raisins, cherries), coffee, chocolate, and roasted flavors.  I like all those things so Porter is probably something I'd like.  I've tried two examples in recent days - one being a definitive version of the style, Fuller's London Porter, and a newcomer on the scene, Kona Brewing's Pipeline Porter. 

Fuller's London Porter - Big, sharp coffee and cocoa taste here.  Dark, dark, black cherry color with an aroma that reminds me of light soy sauce for some odd reason, probably due to the bitterness from the coffee malt flavor.  Typically, when looking at a dark beer such as this, one imagines thick, rich mouthfeel but this is rather light and goes down easy.  Silky, creamy are adjectives that come to mind when describing this beer.  Overall, the coffee flavors stuck out to me but I couldn't get over the soy sauce aroma.  It's a scent very familiar to me so I kept getting reminded of it.  Let's contrast this with the Kona Pipeline Porter...

Kona Pipeline Porter - One of my friends brought this to a dinner party and I partook in a couple of them.  Poured in a glass and it also had a dark cherry color to it similar to the Fuller's though a tad lighter.  The smell in this one was also milder.  They use Kona coffee in the brew and it comes through nicely.  Seems like the purpose is to highlight this flavor.  I did like it better than the Fuller's since the flavor was milder, sweeter, and more balanced (didn't overwhelm my tastebuds with soy sauce).  Things I didn't like as much as the Fuller's London Porter was the mouthfeel; the Pipeline is downright watery and thin whereas the Fuller's had some umph behind it.  Overall, this was a good sessionable porter, but could work better if it had more to it.

Thus my venture into porters.  I do like the flavors that this style brings out but to me, it's more of a 'mood' beer; if you are in the mood for bittersweet tastes.  It's not a style that is 'refreshing' to me but would be good on a cold, foggy, overcast day.