Thursday 1 September 2011

Beer of the Week - Red Duck Belgian Vanilla Porter


Belgian Porter - 6.5%
 
My fondness for Red Duck beers began with their lovely IPA, The Bengal so when I saw the impending release of three dark beers some weeks ago it didn’t take much convincing to go and seek them out.  This is the second of the seasonals I’ve tried the first being the Queen Bee which bills itself as a honey Porter.  Nice enough but I felt that the honey flavours just weren’t as apparent as they should be in something which sounds as appealing as the words honey and porter would suggest.
 
The Belgian Vanilla Porter though, this is on another level.  Luxuriant is the only word that can be used to describe it, like the Murray’s Best Extra from a few weeks back this is a dessert style porter, a good weapon to deploy when someone asks for a port or fortified wine.
 
Pours very dark with little in the way of any highlights, the head vanishes quickly, replaced by a spider web of latte coloured lace.  From appearances there seems to be a fairly high amount of carbonation for the style, with tiny bubbles breaking the surface in rapid succession, almost like a Belgian Strong Golden Ale, although this may be more due to the glass I’m using (Chimay Goblet).

The aroma is enticing; the most dominant characters are candied banana from the Belgian yeasts and sweet banana.  Don’t be fooled though, this isn’t some sickly sweet novelty, there is a solid chocolaty malt hiding beneath and a slight hint of cherry.  There is a definite boozy character wafting from the glass too.
The flavour is rich and malty, starting sweet with vanilla twinned to cocoa, the tartness of cherries and presence of alcohol reminds me of a cherry-ripe chocolate bar and prevent the beer from becoming unbalanced.  The finish is drawn out and smooth with a warming, malty flavour reminiscent of a hot chocolate.       
The carbonation I observed earlier doesn’t really make itself too apparent in the mouthfeel which is smooth and mouth coating with a medium body, it seductively dominates the palate like some fast talking, fur coat wearing, ivory cane wielding pimp.  This is highly recommended, I feel it would be a good gateway beer to introduce, over dessert, to a female friend whom wouldn't normally drink beer, especially one as dark as this.

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