BREWER: Titanic Brewery, Staffordshire, England

STYLE: Porter

ABV: 4.9%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

TWITTER: @Titanic_ Brewers 

INSTAGRAM: titanicbrewery

DATE OF POST: 27th December 2020

 

JYMI SAY’S…

So I think we’re here again, actually I know we’re here again. A beer that I simply don’t like, but does that mean it is a bad beer or just not to my taste?

Firstly, I have to admit that Titanic’s label rework a few years ago (maybe? The Covid calendar is a tricky one to keep) did disappoint me a little. They went from clean lines to a total mess if I’m being honest. So we didn’t get off to the best start here.

A Plum Porter feels like it is going to be sweet. And it was, so therefore not to my liking.

But back we come to my opening gambit, is this a bad beer or just not for me?

Well, I’m going bad beer I’m afraid. Sweet it is yes, but it needs balance, a leveller, something to calm it down. A Dudley Moore to Peter Cook if you will. And there is a hint, a bit like Dud on a bad day, of bitterness to calm the plum attack. But it’s not enough. The thought was there but not executed.

I do appreciate that if you’re calling it Plum Porter the consumer should know what they’re getting into but with the lack of bitterness it all just becomes too much.

Jymi’s Rating: 29%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

It’s time for a festive tipple! And after the year we’ve all had, we deserve it. Our offering today, well, it’s a Plum Porter. The word plum in this case is referring to the fruit, but I’m hoping this is going to be a plum porter too.

To start with, PP has an exceptional nose. Maybe it’s my seasonal spirit, but the fruity aroma most definitely has a festive note of a steamed pudding (yes, think Christmas pudding). Red fruits and dried fruits are definitely the main players here.

Then when you drink it, those fruity aromas do translate into the taste. They’re there with a hint of vanilla. No sooner have you sampled their delights on your palate they disappear and are replaced by a short boom of bitterness. None of this is unpleasant, quite the opposite in fact. But it’s all so short lived. It’s a flash in the pan. And this leaves the overall effect of a porter with no body.

PP needs some more oopmh to make it a real hit. It needs to have more body in the background to support the good things that are going on. And what you have to consider is that this comes down to the brewing. It’s a little bit showy and not enough to back it up.

I don’t dislike PP; I just don’t love it. It starts off so well and fizzles out without a bang. To gauge PP, think of a wet firework, and then translate that into a beer equivalent.

Sammy’s Rating: 56%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 42.5% 

MOB review next weekend: KALEIDOSCOPE by WIPER AND TRUE

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