Burton Porter = shite

A · Post by A » Wed Jan 21, 2004 11:57 am

and thats all I have to say about that

Publican · Post by **Publican** » Wed Jan 21, 2004 11:12 pm

Why? Afraid of some healthy debate

the.brewer · Post by **the.brewer** » Wed Jan 21, 2004 11:46 pm

A - I agree with your comment.
M.H.

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 9:57 am

Hmmm... anyone wanna share the bottle I bought?

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 10:20 am

I must disagree. It has an unusual, yeasty flavour to be sure, but I think it is quite delicious and reminiscent of some English cask-conditioned ales (as it should be, being bottle conditioned). Not sure the flavour profile is traditional stout/porter, but to me it's one of the best of the release.

midlife crisis

the.brewer · Post by **the.brewer** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 10:29 am

On 2004-01-21 23:46, the.brewer wrote:
A - I agree with your comment.
M.H.

........but, considering the fact that I like to be open minded once in a while, and since my opinion was based on a bottle I bought a year ago (which I assumed had an infection), I'll go and buy another one.

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 11:12 am

I must disagree with A, as well. Although the Burton seems to lack some of the body I noted when I tasted it at the brewery tap a couple of years ago, I still find it to be a very nice if slightly thin porter, importantly with that slightly sour tang that is an essential element of any true British-style porter.

In fact, when I brought it into beerbistro last week, I explained to the staff that they can develop an instant understanding of the difference between traditional porter and Irish stout by tasting the Burton alongside the O'Hara's, which, I should add, I feel is an excellent stout.

dhurtubise · Post by **dhurtubise** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:40 pm

Brewer, interesting how you describe this beer. I remembered hating this beer when I tried it last year. I looked up my notes on the beer and this is what i found:

Can you say wild yeast infection???????? Some tartness and yes some rotten vegetables, leading to a cidery thinness. I got an infected bottle to be sure. There is enough chocolate and some rosted malt character to divert the attention away from the flaw, but it is wholy distracting. I'm bringing my bottle back for a refund.

Appears we may have drank from the same batch of beer. Guys, how is this year's offering in reference to my previous notes?

Beer Snob · Post by **Beer Snob** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:45 pm

This years offering of Burton Porter is infinitely better. Last years batch definitely had and infection.I eventually plucked up the courage to take a sample from all the bottles I had purchased and the contents were all undrinkable and in the main went down the sink. This year different story. Very drinkable but not in the league of Samuel Smiths Oatmeal stout et al.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Beer Snob on 2004-01-22 18:49 ]</font>

Manul · Post by **Manul** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 8:40 pm

O'Hara is certainly a high end brew. Dry, medium-full body and a well incorporated hoppiness makes it what a real stout should be. I'm going back to buy some more.

Josh Oakes · Post by **Josh Oakes** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 11:05 pm

Haven't tried the new batch of Burton yet but my experience with this beer also goes back past the LCBO and it's always have that wild yeast/sour influence. It's a fun beer, and one of the few old-school porters around these days. But definitely an acquired taste, even amongst beer geeks. I'm rather surprised that this was in the release rather than the fantastic and far-more-approachable Bramble Stout.

JWalter · Post by **JWalter** » Sat Jan 24, 2004 7:39 pm

Yikes! Now I'm petrified to try the bottle I picked up the other night!

I'll make sure I have a bucket ready and I'll post the results. ;^)

BTW - I visited the LCBO at Hurontario and Eglinton in Mississauga, on Jan 22nd, and they still had literally HUNDREDS of the Christmas Gift boxes (with x # of bottles and glassware), I can't remember them all, I picked up a Chimay one... But if anyone needs anything, I'd recommend that location...

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Sun Jan 25, 2004 11:11 am

Fear not! I had a bottle last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.

JWalter · Post by **JWalter** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 9:25 pm

Finally got around to trying my bottle of BURTON PORTER.

No problem whatsoever with 'gushing'. Just in case, I did have the pint glass ready, and opened slowly, but there was absolutely no sign of anything explosive going on, came out of the bottle with very little carbonation, had to start pouring it a little higher to get some head to form.

I have a bit of a stuffed nose at the moment, but aroma still comes through, sweetish.
FYI... Probably drinking it a bit too cold, left it out of the fridge for about 5 minutes, but got impatient

First taste is coming through as quite bitter (in a good way!), dark and roasty, I quite like it,
pleasantly surprised after the harsh reviews received here in the forum.

Perhaps there's a consistency problem, or some of the beer is being ruined somehow by improper handling during the distribution - ?

Certainly I could understand if some people didn't like it, but I'm not picking up any off flavors at all in this particular bottle. I'd pretty much recommend it to anyone who likes dark ales, porters, stouts, I feel it's representative of the style...