Bell's Brewery, Inc.'s Porter

    
     A friend of mine just got back from the Midwest and decided to bring some beers for me.  Bell's is based out of Comstock, MI, and I'm always excited to check out a new brewery.  The porter pours a very dark brown.  Quite dense; very little light shining through (if any).  Very little head- light brown; fizzy.  First thing that strikes me in the aroma is some very sharp, burnt malt. Also getting some sweet chocolate and dark fruit.  Little smokey and a little toasty.
     Hits the tongue pretty dry and roasty.  Definitely tasting some sort of smoked character to the malt.  This turns into a more nutty, chocolate sort of flavor before ending somewhat sweet.  Really mellow in the finish; not bitter.  A little bit of plum or dark fruit lingers for a bit, but the roastiness is more evident.  Medium body; somewhat lively carbonation.
     This is a bit of an interesting brew.  Starting dry and phenolic while ending chocolately and sweet is sort of the opposite of how you expect most porters to taste.  Quite different.  I'm not crazy on the smoke character, but overall a fine brew.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company's Porter

    
     Big fan of this brewery.  The porter is a very dark brown with a little bit of reddish hue; looks black without strong lighting.  Appears to be decently carbonated and pouring produced about a finger of tan head.  Seemed a bit fizzy and drained quickly.  Getting a huge hit of biscuit and toasted malt in the aroma.  Very rich, almost-raisin-like caramel.  Little bit of roast.  Little estery.  Some wood/spice hops.
     Hits a tongue a little dry and a develops a very sharp crystal malt character.  Some noticeable fruit character.  Not too bitter in the finish; more toasty than anything.  Leaves a bit of a toast and wood taste in the mouth.  Some subtle chocolate.  Carbonation definitely not overwhelming.  Medium body and smooth.
     A might fine porter and well worth the price.

Emelisse Barley Wine Ale

    
     "Product of Holland".  Had a "triple IPA" last year from these guys that was quite impressive.  Their barley wine pours a very hazy dark orange color with a very noticeable lighter red hue.  Looks incredibly thick; syrupy. No head when poured (10% ABV) and doesn't sound nor appear to be extremely carbonated.  Aroma is extremely sweet; candy-like.  Very rich, heavy, raisiny caramel malt.  Not overly estery but definitely a sharp fruit character.  Getting a little bit of a grape smell.
     Hits the tongue very hard with an explosion of rich caramel and esters.  The fruit character is almost a bit much.  Pretty sweet, but nothing overly dominating like you might expect.  Quite bitter and a little spicy.  Noticeable alcohol flavor and burn, but nothing overly offensive. Very oily, coats the entire mouth.  Some nice candy sweetness lingers.
     Admittedly, I'm not the biggest barley wine fan.  This one certainly isn't bad by any means; rather good actually. However, if I'm going to bust out my wallet for another beer from Emelisse, it will definitely be that triple IPA.