SuppliedSap Sucker Maple Porter
Fernie Brewing Co.
$7.95 for 650ml at Liquor Barn
With heavy notes of roasty chocolate, it is difficult to ascertain how on earth Fernie Brewing labeled their seasonal winter creation as “maple porter.”
The “maple” is completely non-existent. It’s as though you put a half a shot of fake maple syrup in an extra large coffee, you only really get maple flavour in the head and the aftertaste. Even then, you feel like you’re mostly sensing it because you’re trying to, not because it’s there. I will say, this is rather a pleasant departure from other craft porters that beat you senseless with vanilla, chocolate, or whatever else it purports to taste like.
This being said, the beer is excellent. It is all you want on a cold fall evening by the fire. It is deep, nutty and completely satisfying in flavour, yet not overpowering at 5.5 percent abv. It’s easy drinking, and would pair well with a beef stew or Sunday dinner. Guinness promises you a meal in a glass, this is like the gum in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s an appetizer, main, and dessert, without making you feel stuffed.
With a thin but substantial head and creamy pour, just putting this stuff in a glass makes you want to drink it. This, combined with a rich brown-black colour, makes you feel as though you’re in an old-style London watering hole in the middle of winter; rough beams, flag floors and all.
Fernie Brewing has knocked the fall porter style out of the park with this brew. It’s all you want on a cold fall evening. Just don’t expect maple anywhere.
