Sesiwn Blasu #2 - Tasting Session #2

Welcome to my second “Tasting Session” post… This week I’m reviewing 3 Stouts (well ok, 2 Stouts and a Porter), from Welsh breweries.

Here are the 3 delicious beers involved:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter by Pipes

Safe as Milk by Crafty Devil Brewing

Black Mountain Stout by Tudor Brewery

Before I get into the beers, a quick note on the old Stout vs Porter debate. I’m not going to get into too much detail here or go into a long history of stouts and porters – I may revisit the topic for a future blog post – but here’s a quick summary… Basically, the term “Porter” has been around longer than “Stout”. Porter seems to have its roots in the early 1700s, as a strong, aged dark beer deriving its name from the London porters – workmen who unloaded ships and carried things around the city.  “Stout Porter” emerged in the early 1800s as a stronger version of porter (n.b. terms like “Pale Stout” and “Brown Stout” were also used in this period to denote a stronger version of a particular tipple.) Gradually Stout emerged as a style in its own right, although evolving similarly to Porter. It’s fair to say that today’s Stouts and Porters probably taste very different to their predecessors of 200-300 years ago. Today, although some may argue, breweries tend to view the terms Stout and Porter as synonyms. If you were looking to distinguish them from one another, as a broad generalisation you could probably say that Porters tend to have a higher ABV and Stouts have a stronger flavour of roasted barley bitterness…

Anyway, on to the beers!

First up, Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter by Pipes:

What an absolutely belting Porter! The nose is alive with sweet and ever so slightly smoky malt – a comforting and enticing aroma. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy, just what you want from a Stout or Porter. Flavour-wise, it carries a strong and vivid mouthful of peanuts onto the palate with gentle milk chocolate coming through as the secondary flavour. It’s a bit like having a pint of snickers (but creamier and with more nuts!) There’s a subtle hint of salt on the aftertaste, which compliments the sweet and nutty notes very well.

Next we have Safe as Milk by Crafty Devil Brewing:

This is a great Stout. More conventional than the Porter above (as you would expect), but characterful and distinctive nonetheless. The nose is interesting – earthy with a rising note of smoke in the background. Mouthfeel is just what you want – thick and smooth, going down nice and clean. The flavour is great… Black coffee up front, with charcoal-like smokiness in the background – a high-quality roast-malt-driven flavour. The finish has an earthy note to it with a slight sweetness to the aftertaste.

And finally, Black Mountain Stout by Tudor Brewery

This Stout has a very good aroma – it’s rich with syrupy notes, raisins and an ever-so-faint nutty hint in the background. The mouthfeel is perhaps a bit thinner than expected, but is smooth and very drinkable. The palate is strongly malt-driven in the classic Stout-style with roasted coffee beans and bitter dark chocolate coming through very well. There is a tiny little sweet note of caramel in the background, which compliments the beer well.

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Croeso i fy ail “Sesiwn Blasu”. Yr wythnos hon dwi’n adolygu 3 Stout (wel 2 Stout, 1 Porter) Cymreig.

Dyma’r 3 cwrw blasus:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter gan Pipes

Safe as Milk gan Fragdy Crafty Devil

Black Mountain Stout gan Fragdy Tudor

Cyn imi ddechrau son am y cwrw, nodyn bach ar yr hen drafodaeth ynglyn a Stout vs Porter… Dydw i ddim mynd i drafod hwn yn fanwl – efallai wnai ddod nol at y bwnc hon mewn post ar y blog rhywbryd, ond dyma crynodeb bras… Mae’r term “Porter” yn hŷn na “Stout”. Mae’n debyg mae’r term Stout yn hannu o’r 1700au cynnar – pan roedd e’n cwrw tywyll, cryf wedi ei hyneiddio. Daw’r enw o’r “porters” oedd yn gweithio yn Llundain – dynion oedd yn dadlwytho’r cargo oddi ar longau. Daeth “Stout Porter” yn amlwg yn yr 1800au cynnar, fel steil cryfach o Porter. Mae’n werth nodi roedd termau fel “Pale Stout” a “Brown Stout” yn gyffredin yn y cyfnod hwn – yn dynodi fersiwn cryfach o’r steil. Dros amser, datblygodd Stout fel steil ar wahan, on yn esblygu yn debyg iawn i Porter. Mae’n deg i ddweud bod Stouts a Porters heddiw yn hynod o wahanol i fersyinau o 200 neu 300 flynyddoedd yn ol. Heddiw (er bod nifer yn anghytuno, dwi’n siwr), mae bragdai fel arfer yn ystyried y geiriau Stout a Porter i fod yn gyfystron. Os oeddech chi’n edrych am wahaniaeth, yn gyffredinol mae Porters fel arfer yn cael ABV uwch ac efallai mae Stouts yn dal blas cryfach o’r brag.

Tybeth, ymlaen i’r cwrw:

Yn gyntaf Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter gan Pipes:

Am Porter hyfryd! Mae’r twyn yn fywiog gyda brag melus sy’n dal hint bach o fwg. Dyma arogl cysurus a deniadol. Mae teimlad y geg yn drwchus ac hufennol, sy’n union beth dych chi’n eisiau o Stout neu Porter. O ran blas, mae ‘na blas hynod o gryf o gnau mwnci gyda nodyn eilaidd o siocled yn dod trwyddo wedi ‘ny. Mae tipyn bach fel yfed peint o snicker! Ar yr ol-flas, mae hint bach hallt sy’n mynd yn dda gyda’r nodau melus a chnau.

Nesa, Safe as Milk gan Crafty Devil:

Dyma Stout ardderchog. Mwy traddodiadol na’r Porther uchod (fel disgwyler), ond yn llawn cymeriad ac unigrywiaeth. Mae’r trwyn yn ddiddorol – daearol gyda nodyn o fwg sy’n codi yn y cefndir. Mae’r geg-deimlad yn union beth byddech chi’n dymuno – trwchus ac esmwyth, gan fynd i lawr yn neis ac yn glan. Mae’r blas yn wych – coffi du yn gynta, gyda mwg siarcol yn y cefndir. Dyma blas o ansawdd uchel yn dod o’r brag. Mae’r diweddglo yn dal nodyn daearol gyda hint bach melus ar yr ol-flas.

Ac yn olaf, Black Mountain Stout gan Tudor

Mae gan y Stout hon arogl neis iawn – yn gyfoethog gyda syrup, rhesins a thipyn bach o gnau yn y cefndir. Mae’r geg-deimlad bach yn dennau, ond dal yn eitha esmwyth ac yn hawdd i’w hyfed. Mae’r palate yn dal blas brag mewn yr arddull clasurol, gyda ffa coffi a siocled chewrw dywyll. Mae nodyn bach iawn o garamel yn y cefndir, sy’n mynd yn dda gyda’r blasau eraill.