This one is delicious. The label promises "viscous, roasty and chocolatey", in fact this is the only thing I've ever heard described as roasty but it does fit.
It's consistency is perhaps just shy of a true stout, more porter but it matters little. The pour is eager and creates a pleasant latte coloured head which lingers a short while. The nose is a touch of coffee and full roast notes.
The taste is initially sweet with a rub of cherry and the feel is velvet-creamy, tending to bitterness in the mouth. Slight carbonisation only helps matters, and for the taste is just right. This is the third porter Goldilocks will have tried.
The mid section is a waft of chocolate surfboarding on a riptide of malt - but whilst bold and assertive it is not overpoweringly so. Part of the pleasure of this beer for me is the well-heeled subtlety of the mix, and there's nothing here to make the drinker make their gnarly face.
It finishes with a rising quip of hops, but just for the sake of bittering and is a delicious keepsake of the sup. I love it.
9/10 - Best in it's class for me, this slim bottled thick black ale is a treasure - full credit to Harviestoun.
- The Broadside
