A Few of My Favorite Things: Samuel Smith Taddy Porter

I'm off on my Honeymoon, so I put CO Kitchen Brew on auto-pilot to publish itself while I'm away. This is the first non-homebrew beer review on my blog and definitely not the last.

I can't think of enough good things to say about Taddy Porter. I feel it's the consummate English Porter. It's also one of my gateway beers from the mid 90s that spurred me onto homebrewing. Because of that, it holds a special place in my beer hierarchy.

Taddy pours with a deep chocolate brown hue. Its head is tan, firm and stays with the beer. The only weak point is the lack of lace down the glass. My bottle left only tiny patches.

The nose is very complex and slightly sweet. Blackberry, dark cherry, chocolate and black grape aromas are nicely mixed.

In the mouth, an initial sweetness gives way to perfect sweet/bitter balance. Tastes of bakers chocolate, cherries and black grapes have great interplay. The finish is dry. Some hop bitterness lingers initially, but gives way to a bittersweet combination of blackberries and dark cherries.

Overall, Taddy is my favorite English Porter. Enough said. I only wish it didn't cost so much. I could break the bank with it. Now if I could just figure out how to clone the damn thing.....

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