Red Lodge Ales Brewing Company in Red Lodge, MT

Every Monday, we feature a new Montana microbrew review. Enjoy.

As winter settles itself into Montana, I’m excited that it’s now not only a treat to drink a nice dark beer, but also a near necessity with the temperatures starting to drop to frostbite zones. Needles to say, we’re in the heart of porter season, everyone. And I am a happy guy.

But one thing that doesn’t make me such a happy guy? A weak porter. I’ve really liked a few I have tried recently, but I’m always caught thinking these are anomalies as opposed to the standards, with thoughts that some porters are just too watered down, thin, and unsurpising for my taste. Unfortunately, Red Lodge Brewing Company’s Porter is one such beer that leaves me wondering why I try to be a porter lover.

After pouring a nice, rich black color, with a slight coffee-colored head topping the beer, the Red Lodge Porter had all the makings of a beauty. After how much I enjoyed Red Lodge’s Bent Nail IPA, I was happy to see the makings of another good Montana beer. The scent wasn’t overly powerful, with slight coffee notes and a deep malt underlayer slowly reaching the nose, but the color and richness made this look like a dastardly porter. Clocking in around 5.75%, though, this porter didn’t have the pop it teased with. The brew wasn’t overly bitter or strong, and some nice burnt coffee and toned-down malt flavor tickled the tongue in the middle-third of the sip. However, the real clincher was the watery and thin finish that almost fooled me into thinking I wasn’t drinking a beer at all–or at least one that didn’t have ice floating in it. Sessionable? Yes, but I want my porters and stouts to feel like a heavy wool blanket, and not a cotton t-shirt.

So maybe I’m not always going to find a winter-warming porter with every one I go after. However, if I’m looking for a dark beer in the darker months, I’m hoping that it will prop me up for a few hours in the cold and will convince me to leave my house and have some fun even when below freezing outside. This porter has all the makings of a March beer–a good bridge between the oncoming drinkable spring beers, and the necessary beers that keep us all happy during cold spells. Maybe wait a few more months for this guy if you’re a porter fan.