Meet the Porters Cherry Porter

  I ended up with eight 473mL cans of Meet the Porters Cherry Porter as a result of a mix-up. I actually ordered eight cans of the original expression of Meet the Porters, but it was the cherry version that arrived. Despite the fact that I’m not wild about cherry flavour, I decided to keep ‘em. The beer, built in Toronto by Great Lakes Brewery, is a 6.5% dark ale. It’s a member of GLB’s 7 Barrel Series.

MtPCP is a handsome, nearly black ale topped with a loose tan head. It has malty aromatics with a shade of coffee and a tart cherry edge. The flavour showcases cherry, but it isn’t overpowering. Rather, it’s a faint accent that isn’t unpleasant, though i did find it just a touch medicinal. Because the cherry flavour is restrained, the underlying porter is able to stretch its legs a bit. The beer moves from malt to bitter, and it closes with a bit of tartness.

Meet the Porters Cherry Porter is a beer I’d doubtfully have bought for myself, and I’m not unhappy that it fluked its way into my fridge (and it should be noted that GLB’s customer service was excellent—the decision to keep these cherry beers was definitely mine!). I didn’t love it, but I managed to plow through all eight pretty quickly, so that goes to show I didn’t hate it. Other than a slightly medicinal tendency, it wasn’t half bad. Compared to some of my favourites from GLB, though, this one wasn’t a winner.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

MacLean’s Ales Cherry Porter

Porter and sour cherries? Give! That’s the lineup that features in MacLean’s Ales Cherry Porter, a 5.6% alcohol brew from MacLean’s Ales in Hanover, Ontario.

The beer is a near black number with amber highlights that pours with a thin cover of off-white head. It has a malty nose with only a hint of sour cherry. The flavour is equally mild, and the cherry elements are extremely understated. More than anything, the beer is characterized by forward-facing roasted malt, with a kiss of coffee.

If the 473mL can didn’t have an iridescent cherry on it, I might not have identified it as a major element. It’s a subtle but enjoyable addition to a malt-heavy porter. This is isn’t something I say much, but I’d have liked to see the named flavour hit a little harder.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.