1883 Guinness Porter Tasting

The beer appears to be black as its poured but a close looks shows a dark red. Given that Crystal 40 and Chocolate malt added up to only 15% of the grist this is surprisingly dark. One finger of foam can be coaxed with an aggressive pour.

The aroma is a bit fruity from the yeast. The taste gives an interesting combination of fruitiness at the start followed by an unusual roastiness (spell check tells me that roastiness is not a word, I'll say empyreumatic instead). I presume this empyreumatic flavor comes from mashing/boiling the chocolate malt separate from the main mash. The hops play their supporting role well.

Overall an interesting brew. Next time I brew a porter or stout, I will remove the Crystal malt in favor of some Amber and Brown malt. A cleaner yeast that does not compete with the malt might be nice as well.