Yards Brewing Company General Washington's Tavern Porter

In my effort to provide continuing coverage of the Yards Ales of the Revolution series, I now turn my attention to General Washington's Tavern Porter. I previously posted on Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale, and for my money General Washington's Tavern Porter is even better. I am a firm believer that dark beer, with its many flavonoids, has a performance-enhancing effect when consumed in appropriate quantities. It's no wonder, then, that George Washington's troops were ultimately victorious if this is the stuff they were drinking! Washington was a huge fan of Philadelphia style porters, and this particular porter is based on his original recipe. I myself am a great lover of porters, but if I had a gripe with the style it would be that a lot of them are pretty generic. But here we have a porter with some character. It brings all kinds of flavor: nutty, roasty, sweet, and just a little bitter- with distinct notes of molasses, coffee, milk chocolate, and even some dark fruit. It has the "classic" components of an English porter, but there is lots more going on taste-wise compared to your run-of-the-mill porter. I love how the sweetness and hop bitterness complement the usual roasty porter profile, and at 7 percent ABV this bad boy will quickly provide relief after your very own battles of the day. And its ultra-creamy mouthfeel is something that all brewers of porter would be wise to emulate. If not quite on the world-class level of the porters produced by breweries such as Stone and Founders, this is nonetheless one of the finest porters on the craft beer market. Like Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale, it is far more than a mere novelty beer. Drink it, and you too shall be victorious.

http://www.yardsbrewing.com/