Moylan's Chelsea Moylan's Porter

I like porter! Porter, porter, porter!  Let's all raise a glass to porter, and then you all shut up while I drink.

I came across this big-ass bottle of porter with its fancy celtic-y knot, a fun little blurb about how those Dublin brewers gave up the "Porter Style" in the mid 1970's, and what the Californians decided to do about it, at my favorite beer store (45th and Duval, behind the flags).  So you don't have to trouble yourselves, the surprise ending is that they brewed porter in California.  It was a great idea.

Moylan's Chelsea Moylan's Porter from Moylan's Brewing Company, Novato, CA.  5% ABV, 1 pint 6 fl.oz. Porter-dark, porter-rich, porter-malty, no porter head. Porter, porter, porter!  If I keep saying it, eventually someone will help me with my bags.

This bottle makes some promises.  I choose to ignore the "Love~Loyalty~Friendship" promise, because all booze promises that, and I've learned to ignore things like the World Beer Championship Gold medal from 2009.  The promise that shows the most promise was the espresso coffee and bitter-sweet chocolate malt flavors.  Who wouldn't want to drink a bar of that?  Having tried the beer, I can say with certainty that the choco/coffee is a "yes", the beer championship is a "who cares", and the feel-good crap doesn't seem to be working, although I am more handsome and a better dancer.

What I like best about porters (and stouts) is that super-big malt and layers of rich flavors.  It's like bobbing for apples in a tub of chocolate followed by a nice cup of coffee.  We've all done it, we like it, and we can't wait to do it again.  At first sip, this Moylan's comes off a bit thin, but it soon fills out and then switches quickly to flavor-mode.  A cup of coffee and a bar of dark chocolate parade through.  Finally the metallic tinge that had been lingering in the background ramps up and reaches a crescendo, then the whole thing fades rapidly leaving a ghost malt on the tongue.  This is a good, solid porter.  It hits all the right notes in all the right ways.  It doesn't have a huge set of balls on it, but I don't think the were going for showy.  I think this is a love-song to porters.  I think this was someone's effort to do it right.

I also like that this comes in a big damn bottle, one I don't have to share with anyone.  It is fun to settle into a beer, kick off your shoes, switch on some tunes, and just enjoy.  Do it enough and you'll eventually blog all over your laptop, but life has its risks.  Porter, porter, porter!