Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter – A Quick Look

According to the Facebook page for today’s “Big Lick – For the Love of The Brew” beer festival, there will be beer available for tasting from Oregon’s Deschutes Brewing, who of course announced this week that it will be locating its East coast brewing facility in Roanoke. Considering the beers that were being handed out at Tuesday’s press conference, most likely appearing will be the brewery’s Mirror Pond Pale Ale and their well known Black Butte Porter, both flagship type releases for Deschutes. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had the brewery’s Black Butte on a few occasions, so here’s a quick run down in case you haven’t had it before, and were curious:

Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter: Body, body, body. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a ‘heavy’ beer by any means of course. And yes, perhaps most porters are a little thinner than most might expect from their appearance, let’s say compared to your average stout. But that’s not to say that they always have to be watery thin, as so many breweries’ flagship Porters are, and that’s where Black Butte, for me, wins major points. With aroma and tasting notes of fresh brewed coffee, roasted grains, and a slight hop bitterness that whips around at the end, Black Butte’s body is what elevates it from an solid, well made beer to an exceptional one. Silky smooth with just enough weight to appease as a sipping sort of beer, Deschutes’ porter stands out, similarly to Founders’ Porter, over most others you’re likely to find out there.

Apparently, the Governor himself particularly loves this beer, after having tasted it during the courtship Virginia had with Deschutes, I have to admit I wholeheartedly agree.