New Glarus Brewing Company Old English Porter

Name: Old English Porter
Brewery: New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: English Porter
Brewed In: New Glarus, WI
Origin: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Serving Glass: Pint
OMG Beer Rating: 7.7

This is New Glarus's interpretation of the 1870s version of the English Porter, where a small amount of sour beer was still added to the porter, making it a thirst quenching daily beverage for the porters of London, who unloaded trains and boats. Red-tinged brown body, creamy tan head, present together with an aroma of tart cherries that dominates the brief hints of vanilla, chocolate, and roasted grains. Your tongue gets the sour first as well, and evokes cherry malt vinegar. Not that cherry malt vinegar necessarily exists, but if it did, and you were silly and decided to just drink it straight up, it would remind you of this beer at first. Fortunately, the porter qualities take over soon after that initial sourness, in the form of vanilla, oak, milk chocolate, and coffee. There's a hint of wood as well. The body really holds this beer together, not overly carbonated, creamy in a way that makes this particular sour beer stand out from other sour concoctions (which I find often to be heavily carbonated). I've seen reviews that call this beer "rich," but I think it's the seductive creaminess that makes it seem that way. Not a very strong beer, as far as alcohol goes, but I think I'd still only want to drink one or two; this isn't a style you're going to be drinking all night.