The other day I opened my fridge, stared at my beer collection and realized it had been far too long since I have written a blog. Now I could bore you with stories of where I have been or make up more dramatic & interesting stories about what I've been up to, but what good does that do? The important thing is I'm back, I've got a fridge full of beer and it's time I let you all know whether those beers belong in yours. The beer I will use to kick things off is the latest beer from the Genesee Brewing Company, Salted Caramel Chocolate Porter.
Genesee Salted Caramel Chocolate Porter is a beer that surprised many(including yours truly) during its very limited release in early 2015. Now it is back and in bottles for first time as part of the “Pilot Batch” series from Genesee. While I found this to be exciting news, so far the “Pilot Batch” beers have yielded mixed results. The Imperial Black IPA was a solid beer but there was nothing impressive about the Scotch Ale. And while I admire Genny's attempt at trying to break into the craft beer market, neither one of those beers offered something that separated them in a crowded field. That has now changed with the release of Salted Caramel Chocolate Porter.
Salted Caramel Chocolate Porter pours a rich black with a fluffy khaki colored head. Caramel dominates the aroma, with hints of chocolate and salt. The flavor itself is fairly similar. The wonderful caramel flavor is bold and flooded my palate initially. This gave way to the slight bitterness of roasted malt and dark chocolate before finishing with a hint of salt and a light hop bitterness that balances out the sweetness beautifully. While this might sound strange to some beer drinkers, I cannot begin to describe just how well this works. The mouthfeel is silky smooth and the sweetness of the caramel never becomes overpowering because of the slightly bitter finish. On top of that the caramel tastes authentic and not artificial like the caramel in Saranac Caramel Porter for example. The only thing that I wanted more of was the chocolate. And while the chocolate did provide a nice bitterness to the finish, it was a bit understated in the flavor. But truthfully, that is just nitpicking. Genesee Brewing Company truly hit a home run with this beer and hopefully it is a sign of innovative releases to come.
Overall I give Genesee Salted Caramel Chocolate Porter a 4.5/5. This beer is so good you will forgive Genesee for those bad Cream Ale hangovers.
Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional
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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!
