St. Peter's Old Style Porter

               

While I will not be confused for a rich man anytime soon (seriously, I got 3 compliments on my shoes today, and they were the first 3 compliments I've ever received about my attire...thanks little guy playing polo on the side of my shoe!), I might seem like one to the proprietors of the Brookside Market here in Kansas City were it to be based solely on my beer purchases.  I breeze right past the Pabst, steer clear of the Bud Light, and have set MGD on my "Ignore" list.  

All of this is why it was probably little surprise that last week I elected to drop $5 on a pint (with bonus .9 ounces) of St. Peter's Old-Style Porter.  How sophisticated I almost assuredly looked with my fancy beer, frozen pizza, and toilet paper.  I had recently purchased a large beer glass suitable for drinking an entire bottle of this size (for the Samuel Smith fruit beers, for the record), and was excited to fill it again with fancy pants beer of a relatively high order.

I haven't had many English old-style porters, so the color, head, and aroma were a little different than what I was used to.  It had a lot of red in it, and it wasn't nearly as epically dark as most porters I'm familiar with.  The head was nice, and there was a good deal of lacing (I'm trying to pick up my knowledge of beer terminology, BTW...I think I know what lacing is, so I'm trying it out).  The flavor was very interesting: St. Peter's says on their website that "this fine beer is a blend of a mature old ale and a younger light beer – just as a true Porter should be. The marriage produces an extremely characterful brew which is dark in colour and complex in taste."  

I suppose it is that blend of old and young that produces the flavor I experienced.  It wasn't nearly as "meaty" as some porters, and it wasn't as carbonated, either.  The flavor was incredibly balanced, though, with plenty of chocolate, roast, some dark berries, and a good deal of nuttiness.  The real downer was how watery it seemed...it reminded me of when you get a crummy glass of Guinness: for looking like something that could wipe out the entire population of Western Europe if it were exposed to the public, it's surprisingly runny.

At this point, I am interested to try some other English old-style porters to see how they stack up.  It has the potential to be a very good beer as a style, because the flavor is incredibly complex, in my opinion.  If there is one out there with a little more meat on its bones, somebody let me know, because I'm as intrigued as Demi Moore in Disclosure.  And I will harass the beer to the point of a lawsuit, I swear.