David Brockington's Tasting Notebook

Yuengling Porter

Initial Impressions:

This beer was shipped by a friend on the East Coast. It was bottled in a green 12-ounce bottle. I understand that this beer is well known on the East Coast, but on the West Coast it is scarce. Knowing that some folks on the East Coast consider this beer to be a standard for the style, I figured a little sampling wouldn't be a bad thing.

The beer poured a black glass, but not opaque. Through light one could see a deep, deep, (and strikingly beautiful) reddish hue. The head was tan, but it seemed to dissipate quickly. I forgot to take notes regarding the lacework.

Nose:

Some hops were scented in the nose, and a slight metallic tinge was floating about. However, the nose was altogether unremarkable.

Flavor:

I really had a difficult time constructing a flavor profile for the Porter, due to an unexpected paucity of flavor. The body was light to medium. The first flavor I noted was a slight roastiness, possibly from patent malt. This moved onto a maltiness, with a quick hop bitterness for a finish.

Final Analysis:

I found this beer to be rather unsophisticated for a Porter. I am not alone, as after I tasted the beer I checked with several of the references on my bookshelf, and found that Terry Foster, in his Classic Beer Style Series monograph on Porter, essentially reached the same conclusion. (This eased my mind a bit; I thought my taste buds were checking out considering that most in this forum seem to favor Yuengling.) While it was clearly made with Porter ingredients, it plain didn't have enough. It was a mostly clean product, and I am willing to write off that slight metallic note in the nose. However, I found the beer to be mostly underwhelming.

Of course, since this beer isn't a "revivalist" porter, but has been brewed throughout the recent dark ages of American beer, homage should be paid to it merely on that basis alone. It is, though, bottom- fermented, which technically makes it a dark lager or a hybrid beer at best, and not a pure porter, much in the same manner that Widmer's Oktoberfest or Bock (both top-fermented) are not true, traditional representations of those styles. In this day and age, with the increasing degree of consumer education, I would like to see brewers like Yuengling (and Widmer) be honest about their beer on the label. They can't fool us anymore. :)

**1/2 (out of 5)

Next Up:

Red Hook Blueline IPA

Copyright 1994 by David Brockington, all rights reserved

David Brockington, Seattle, USA
bronyaur@u.washington.edu