Taddy, the First Time 'Round
Written: May 10 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A real mouthful of beer, hard not to like.
Cons: Price.
The Bottom Line: A great ride, full and a 'tad' rough at times. A beautiful glass of beer, if a bit over-roasty.
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| beerfly's Full Review: Samuel Smith Taddy Porter 1212b |
I was drinking Taddy Porter the first time I saw my wife.
It was in 1986, at Bube's (pronounced "Boobies") in Mount Joy, PA. I'd met her before, I'd known her for five years, but that night in February was the first time I really saw her. And in that warm, firelit room, over (God help me) backgammon and glasses of Taddy Porter, we talked, and started a brief, torrid affair. It was over in two months. I moved on to an oversexed librarian and a wider beer selection in California, and forgot all about Cathy and Taddy Porter.
How foolish! This Taddy Porter is great stuff. The glass has been sitting on my desk warming for the past twenty minutes, and the malty ester-laden aroma is curling around my head. Down close there is a deep layer of graham, some buttery notes (why is it that no one ever gripes about the diacetyl in Sam Smith beers, but whines pathetically about it in Ringwood beers?), and hints of coffee. There are faint whiffs of fruit, lightly melon-like. It's dark brown, a deep brown with only the slightest garnet tinge, an exotic dark mahogany, with a creamy tan head that is still hanging in there, 20 minutes after the pour!
20 minutes is long enough. My, my. A bit of a shocker, this. There's a fair slap of roastiness right up front, but good earthy Kentish hops and wads of deep Yorkshire ale character behind it, that distinctive mix of ester and sophisticated yeastiness, an earthy flavor like the nuttiness of oats and pearl barley. It mingles deeply with the roasted malt/barley flavors, and quickly makes a blend that twists sensually in the mouth through to a flickering finish of competing nut and roast.
The only quibble I have with this beer is the amount of roasted malts. Deeply roasted malts are anachronistic when it comes to porter. I've had it as it's meant to be, not so roasty, and I prefer that. Keep the roasted stuff to stouts and dark ales. So... four stars.
This is thoughtful stuff. The beer, I mean. In those early days I drank it and thought, gee, this is great. Now I drink it and know that it's a regional phenomenon, the product of a regional yeast similar to its regional stablemates, product of a regional ferment regimen, the Yorkshire Squares. Does that help, does that make it taste better? Well, yes, actually. I can catch similarities with similar breweries' beers, I can pick out the nuances of British malts, and I welcome them like an old friend.
Heh. Like an old girlfriend.
If you're curious about what happened with my wife... Two years later I moved back east, saw her at a party, and I've honestly never thought about another woman since. Love at second sight.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
beerfly
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Member: Lew Bryson
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 82 members
About Me:
One bourbon, one Scotch, one beer, eh? I'll take Kentucky Spirit, Scapa, and HopDevil.
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