Photo by Brandon Meves
It’s a beautiful night in Whitefish Bay, WI…perfect for sitting outside with Tim and Sadie the Beagle, listening to the crickets and trying out a new beer.
We just got a six-pack of New Glarus Unplugged Old English Porter, a very limited edition that they make no promises to ever brew again. Owner and brewmaster Dan Carey was inspired by the writings of English beer historian Graham Wheeler to create “a brown porter based on the style popular in 1870′s London.” You even get a history lesson of the porter on the bottle. Nothing like drinking a good beer and getting educated at the same time.
This beer is made for sipping, not gulping. I learned that the hard way when I took my first gulp and almost had to spit it out. The porter DEMANDS you drink it slowly. It grabs you by your shoulders and shakes you until you comply. Take a moment to savor the rich brown sugar scent of the porter, and if you’re like me, you’ll have the sudden urge to go bake something.
Old English Porter is sour, sharp, and almost vinegar-like when it first hits the palette. My first reaction was that it tastes like Komubcha, a fermented, acidic tea. The high acidity forces you to savor it patiently. It hits the back of the throat HARD, but the smokey, porter finish is sweet and smooth. A contradiction in a bottle.
This beer is not for the faint of heart. I’m all for enlightening potential Crafty Gals who say, “I don’t really like beer,” but this is not a beer I would suggest to just anyone. In hindsight, Old English Porter is on the opposite end of the spectrum from a typical “beer” beer, so this may sway some ladies who prefer wine.
[...] thoroughly enjoyed other beers in the series, including the Old English Porter (read about it here!). Seventh in the series is the gold medal-winning Unplugged Cherry Stout. Brewed with [...]