In her book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” author Jane Jacobs looks at what goes into the making of a great city. There are many factors that need to combine to make a place truly special, and if certain of these factors are neglected or overlooked the city suffers. For example in the 70’s there was a great exodus out of the urban core due in large part to neglecting what made the city a great place to begin with. Urban “renewal” projects were taking down beautiful old architectural masterpieces and replacing them with sleek glass buildings to create the “modern” city, neglecting a place’s heritage and what made it great. These blunders were repeated to exhaustion throughout the country and the “burbs” were created. A safe and quiet haven for people to escape to after a tough day in the concrete jungle.
Well Ms. Jacobs was quick to point out that we were creating places that were awful and uninviting…shells of their former selves. But they can come back, and many of them are doing so. All it takes is good planning and attention to the details that make a place special. I think that some brewers out there are forgetting some of the fundamental principles when they brew their beers. I had a pretty good beer this weekend that made me wonder what goes into the making of a “Great” porter…
Bobo’s Robust Porter is the latest offering from Big Sky Brewing out of Missoula, Montana. It looks the part with a dark chocolate pour with a large dark tan head that fizzled down to almost nothing after a few minutes. The Nose was malty, and had tones of chocolate and vanilla. Then I tasted it.
The flavor was good, but strangely unsatisfying. It had a great chocolaty flavor that had coffee tones and almost a nuttiness to it that was very good. But what it didn’t have was the big creamy mouthfeel that you would like to see in a really robust beer. I don’t know if that was because of its lower ABV at 6.2% or if it could have used some barrel aging, but it was runny and watery and overall just lacked body.
And this is what I am talking about when I say greatness is in the details. Bobo’s Robust Porter had the look, it had good flavor, it had a rather wimpy nose, but what it really lacked was a great creamy mouthfeel, which turned this beer into something just ordinary. It wasn’t that it was bad, just not as good as it could be. I’m probably in a minority here, but I think with just a little more attention to detail this could be a great brew. It is like a really cool store that you love that is really inconveniently located. Those details can make or break a business, and the same is true for beer, don’t forget the details… it will make you average.
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Thanks Don for pointing out the details! Mouthfeel is a big one for me. I first realized beer could be something more than the mass-produced swill when someone turned me on to a Belgian ale. Don’t even recall the exact beer. But I very distinctly recall that the mouthfeel was completely different than any beer I had ever had. Creamy with the tiniest of bubbles and an oh so delicate head. Beer nirvana. Who knew beer could be like this? (Trappist Monks I guess).
I’m not a brewer and technically have no clue what goes into making marvelous mouthfeel. Maybe it’s in the recipe or maybe it’s just magic. But when it’s right, it makes all of the difference.
I humbly agree Chad. I really didn’t even understand until I drank the Bobo’s Porter how important it was. This beer had good chops as far as flavor appearance, and even the nose was passable, but it was like eating runny eggs, it just wasn’t right. There was way too little structure to the body of the brew. This won some sort of prize for best porter in the Northwest, but I can think of several I’d rather have, and it all comes down to the fact that this brew lacked structure.
Lactose, which is un-fermentable milk sugar and some malto-dextrine go a long way for the mouth-feel of a porter. I like to use a bit of torrified wheat in some of my creamier beers as well. Often times, it seems to me, the attenuation level (linked to the fermentation of sugars) can be part of the mouth perception as well.
I agree with you, no mouth-feel on a Porter or Stout leave me wanting.
Mike, Perhaps you should go to Montana and give them a brewing 101 lesson. Truth be told Big Sky Brewing often leaves me wanting on their beers.
I’d have to agree with Don on his idea of having a more “creamy” porter. I tend to want something that has some body to it. Have you ever tried Breckenridge Vanilla Porter? I don’t think this beer has a “creamy” body to it, but it is a medium to a higher medium bodied beer that I find to be quite drinkable and quite satisfying.
Here is my Review of Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
I also have to agree with Michael about the use of the maltose. I have yet to use it in my brews, but one of my brew buddies put some into a Rogue Nut Brown Clone that he made and the only way I could describe the mouthfeel was thick, but fluffy, which I guess would be considered creamy like Don is describing. I just brewed up a Bourbon Barrel Porter, I wonder what the body will be like on that. I am guessing a little on the medium side.
Mike
Mike’s Brew Review
I watched some of your video post. My one bit of advice would be to get to the review quicker. I didn’t watch the entire thing, but clicked around the 5 minute mark and there you were actually starting the review. It was good, and I’ll look for the breckenridge porter around these parts. I think Ive heard about it before, so I’ll keep an eye out for it. I had a Belgian Quad Sunday night that didn’t have a real creamy mouthfeel, but it was big and kind of coated the mouth and intensified as I continued drinking. That was good too, I just don’t like a dark beer to feel watery. Thanks for checking back.
Well, I haven’t had the beer…but the book looks fantastic. I am going to search it out. My town is the classic example of city re-planning gone bad. Folks fled to the suburbs, leaving nothing but shells.
Porters are a hard sell for me, probably my least favorite style. Not that they’re awful, just I typically find them boring.
I used to feel the same about Porters Nate, but then I started doing more with the blog and trying different types of beers, and found i really like porters if they are done well. I agree they can be boring, but they can also be exceptional if crafted well. The book is great! It is standard reading for graduate students in planning like I was many moons ago. Unfortunately Ms Jacobs died about 2 years ago, she really was a national treasure as far as city planning was concerned. They could have used her in Toledo! I think the book is in its 8th printing, and has been translated into about a dozen different languages. It is available on Amazon.
Somehow I missed this one Don. The light body certainly makes a porter less appealing, but sometimes other aspects can make up for some of the body points lost with good flavors.
As you know, I recently tried the Southern Tier Porter. While I found it more thin than I would have liked, I wouldn’t say it was a deal-breaker in this case.
well if it shows up I’ll give it a try. We are finally starting to get some ST around here. So far all I’ve had is their Unearthly and it is awesome. There is also their left over krampus, some Chocolat and some Ja-vah. I haven’t decided which one to get next tho. I’m waiting on a bottle of Angels Share thata is supposed to be in on Monday. YUM!