I was in the mood for porter, of that there could be no doubt. The question was, however, was porter in the mood for me? Porters, you see, are the most temperamental of beer styles. Depending on their disposition, they can be soft, ever so slightly roasty, dark and smooth brews or, if they so desire, robust roasty behemoths with great complexity and formidable bitterness in the finish. With porter, it’s always best to be prepared for anything.

Porter, then, generally falls in range somewhere between brown ales and stouts. The milder ones are generally known as brown porter, the bolder ones as robust porter. I cut my teeth on Catamount Porter, a delightful beer from Vermont that is now brewed by Harpoon. Porter is plentiful in New England and I drank much of it when I lived there. I still drink it here in the south, though it does not seem to be as prevalent in availability.

So, as I said, I was in the mood for porter. There were several I could choose from, but which did I want? St. Peter’s Porter and Fuller’s London, both from England, are always a good choice, as is Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter from that very same land. Porters from Anchor and Sierra Nevada were also available. The local offering was from Sweetwater; their Exodus Porter was an option too. And so many more to decide from.

I was undecided when I saw the Blackhook. Hmmm, I thought, haven’t had that one for a while. I pulled the six-pack from the cold case. Redhook stamps a bottling date on their beer, and I was astonished to see "100102”. Wow! I was purchasing the beer on the 10th of October, so this was fresh beer indeed. That made up my mind. I chose the Blackhook. Or did the Blackhook choose me?

Redhook has been around for 21 years now, with large breweries in Woodinville, Washington and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They are 25% owned by Anheuser-Busch, and as a result have access to a large distribution network. Certainly, that helped me get such fresh beer as I did.

On the Blackhook label appear the words, Dark, But Not Bitter. I’m sure this is placed there to reassure those who fancy they don’t care for bitter beers, but in my opinion it is not entirely true. There is a fair degree of bitterness to this brew, and indeed Redhook describes the beer in the following manner on their website: “It is well hopped”.

Additionally, Redhook calls this a “London Porter”, though in my experience such beers are generally smoother than Blackhook is. Geary’s of Portland, Maine makes an exceptional porter in the London Style. Put a pint of that next to a pint of Blackhook and compare, and I’m sure you’ll detect the differences.

All that said, Blackhook is a wonderful beer made from the finest ingredients: Klages, Caramel, and Black malt along with roasted barley; hops are Eroica, Cascades, and Willamettes. There are about 35 IBUs of bitterness, pretty good for a porter, and alcohol is 5.69% by volume. Stylistically, I think Blackhook is on the fence between brown and robust porter. It’s a bit too big to be a brown but not quite big enough to be a robust.

Redhook Blackhook Porter pours to a very dark brown to black color with a thick creamy head and a delightfully chocolaty nose. The beer is roasty to the taste with notes of bittersweet chocolate, espresso, and chocolate pudding. The body is just a bit thinner than I would like but still respectable. The finish is slightly bitter, slightly grassy, and a tad minty, with the mint notes combining nicely with the chocolate flavors.

I love this beer. It’s a great dessert beer, or perfect just for late night sipping. It’s widely available too. If you’ve never been chosen by a porter before, let this one pick you up the next time you’re shopping for beer.



Recommended: Yes