Arcadia London Porter
Travel to a time of brewer’s lore, when smoke was spelled "smoake," when dark beers held the collective hearts and mind of the people of merry old England. Believe it or not, back in the 1850s, Porter ruled the beer world, and no one brewed Porter like the brewers of London. Drawing their water from the Thames, blending old and new batches, and experimenting with new types of malt, Porter evolved throughout the years, and probably at one time held some substantial smoakiness. Arcadia’s London Porter draws on this rich historic tradition, but adds a few special twists to make it all our own. The flavor of London Porter is multi-layered, starting with a bold, pleasing sweetened coffee richness, which gives way to round and subtle smoke, much like a delicately smoked ham. Porcine sweetness is capped by a gloss of fig jam or cherry compote, fruity and complex. Faint pear and hay notes barely poke through, reminders that there are some delightful American Glacier hops under all the finery.
3.7
505 reviews
, United States
Community reviews
Bottle from the LCBO. Dark orange-brown with a thick tan head and a small bit of sediment. Aroma is interesting - dark coffee, bit of woodsmoke, earthy hops poking through, and a slight sour tone. Flavour follows - coffee, smoke & dark chocolate up front; dry roast, semi-bitter hops, and a bit of sourness in the finish. I’m honestly not sure if the sour notes are supposed to be there, but I’m not complaining, as it works well and adds some nice complexity. A really fine beer.
Black pour with a thin beige head. Coffee and roast aroma. Roasted malt, coffee, light molasses sweetness and smoke coming through in the finish. Medium body.
Draft to taster at Arcadia in Kalamazoo. Looks good; a lightly translucent very dark amberish brown with very light beige head that steadily dissipates into lacing. Smells solid; dark malt and dark chocolate with light notes of coffee and smoke, and a touch of caramel. Tastes like it smells with a medium-bodied mouthfeel. Enjoyable.
Jet black thin tan head, not much aroma some light coffee. Tastes of dark coffee with a hint of smoke that provides a bit of sweetness. Lots of bitterness, the body is a little thin. Finish is nice and dry.
6er from the lcbo. Ery dark pour, small beige head, just the slightest light gets through. Light roasty malt, some coffee, and some nice smoke notes, with touches of peat. Sily mouth feel, very soft carb. Quite bitter, super roasty, loads of smoke, and some coffee to round it out, with subtle lactic notes. A very nice porter.
12 oz bottle from LCBO, served cool in a tulip glass.
App.: Deep brown-black with a nice tan head.
Aroma: Lots of infected vinegar smell, seems like roasted malt behind that, awful.
Palate: Medium+ body and fairly full carbonation.
Flav.: Infection as acidic character with some decent roasted malts that come through more than in the nose, seems like it would be good in “normal” circumstances; dry with an acidic twang and fair bitterness, the finish isn’t terrible.
Better grab another bottle of this...it has potential.
The tan head dissipates quickly over top of a dark brown body. There’s a definite smokiness in the aroma. The first couple of sips seemed a bit acidic, but that disappeared. The label has changed from Winston Churchill to a scene from old London with Big Ben in the background and the alcohol content has dropped from 7.2% to 7%. You can taste some bitter chocolate and coffee along with the smoked malts. It’s pretty full-bodied and there’s a decent hop bitterness in the finish.
12oz bottle
7.0% ABV (as marked on bottle)
Milton LCBO Outlet #1 (Milton, Ontario, Canada)
November 25, 2014
The beer pours a dark coca-cola colour with a thin brown head. Aroma is roasted malt, dark chocolate. and molasses. No smokiness that I can discern. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with average carbonation. The flavour is roasted malt, burnt wood, dark chocolate, and licorice. Quite good.
6-pack from LCBO. Well balanced robust porter which I’m not sure is true to the "London" part of its name, what with the high abv and all. Tasty.
LCBO purchase, as a single. Slightly hazy dark brown colour sporting little head but leaves a good lace. I find the aroma quite prune juice like but as it opens up i get roast and toast and a hint of chocolate. On the palate it is smoother than expected and again those boozy dark fruit flavours creep up. Nice beer.
355 ml bottle from LCBO. Pours a dark brown with dark orange edges and small light tan head. Aroma is moderately roasty with chocolate, nuts and some smoky notes. Flavour is roasted chocolatey malt with nuts, a little coffee and a smokiness that sneaks up on you. Some dryness in the finish. Nice.
Quite a solid smoked porter. Definitely a smokey, london-fog experience when you drink this one. Nice body. Caramelly, roasty, coffee stout flavors. Smokey flavors throughout as well.
From notes:
From a bottle I is a brown color with an ecru head. The aroma is of coffee and the taste is coffee with bitter chocolate after taste
Pours a dark brown black. Aroma is smoked and chocolate. Taste is smoked malt spice and hop. Smooth and balanced.
Bottle. Nice aroma cocoa, vanilla, smoke, roasted malt. Fluffy head. Creamy texture. Chocalate milk malt ball. Smooth and rich. Nice one
From a 12 oz bottle. Pours a dark cola brown with a thick tan head. Nutty nose of roasted malt. Flavors of chocolate and roasted chicory. Bitter roasted finish.
Pours a very dark brown. Aroma and taste are roasted malts, chocolate, and some smokiness.
From bottle. Pours black with a small light beige head. Aroma is roasted malts with some chocolate and coffee. Taste is light sweetness balanced with a light hoppiness. Nothing dominates. Mildly bitter aftertaste.
London Porter
Bottled 11/06/13. Poured 2/16/14. $2.29 single.
Appearance: Pours a clear ruby/black/brown color. Not too thick looking. Thin couple bubbles worth of head. No lacing. Quite true to the style in terms of color. (4/5)
Smell: A LOT of roast/smoke/ash. Almost a wood aromatic as well from all of that. Coffee and chocolate are there but not heavily. Smells good, but almost a bit overbearing with the smoke/ash. (3.75/5)
Taste/feel: About a medium mouthfeel with a mellow, light carbonation. Very pleasant, accurate feel here. The taste is a fairly heavy amount of smoke/ash with a wheelbarrow of roasty qualities. Bittersweet chocolate at the end. Not much depth of flavor, but what is there is flavorful. I could see the smokiness of this brew turning off many, but it’s balanced nicely with some sweetness. Very easy drinking at 7%. A really quite nice beer from Arcadia. (4/5, 4.25/5)
One of the better beers I’ve had from Arcadia. Not my favorite porter in terms of flavor, but this one is a good example of a porter over a stout, I think. I’d definitely have it again, as it can be difficult to find a tasty porter on the shelf.
4/5
A murky brown tea color with little to no head. Smells of anise, coffee, brown sugar, vanilla. Tastes of anise dominate ,coffee, light hop bitter, brown sugar sweetness, cigarette ash like finish, tobacco, tea. Leaves some bitter on the tongue, medium mouthfeel light carbonation. Pretty good porter all together.
Ar: Coffee, subtle smoke - sticky caramel.
Ap: Deep brown, almost black, opaque - medium lightish tan head with good retention, leaves a creamy, compact cap of foam.
T: Char and sweet smoke up front - toffee, vanilla, a touch of blueberry - burnt caramel, coffee, and herbal and earthy hops - bitterness is medium-high - finish is more char.
P: Smooth, creamy body with medium carbonation - finish is medium-dry.
O: Wonderful English-style porter - the smoke really adds a nice accent without being overdone - the firm, robust dark malt flavors are all present, plus some nice caramel and coffee notes.
2014 bottle to a tulip glass. Pours a dark ruby brown color. Aroma is caramel malt with some chocolate and a "green" smell presumably from the hops. Taste is roasty, bordering on slightly smokey, with dark and caramel malt. Some coffee. An earthy hops bitterness at the end that combines with the roast and builds on the tongue as you drink it. Full, round mouthfeel. Finishes semi-dry.
12 oz bottle. Pours black with small, fluffy beige head and a lot of bubbles. Aroma is of toasted malt, dark fruit and coffee and cream. Body is full and tangy. Taste is of toasted malt, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar, dark fruit and earthy hops. Finish is long and bitter. Very nice porter.
pours dk brown with ruby hue a thin off white head and mild roasty aroma---flavor is smoky malt with slight choco-ashen tones--finish is a bit thin but flavorful
12 oz. bottle in a pint glass. Appearance is a ruby-tinted dark brown color with a thin mocha head. Aroma is chocolate, some roasted malts, and a bit of a sweet smoky scent. It’s a nice complex aroma. The taste is a bit richer and smokier than the aroma, but it’s similar to the aroma. There is a little bit of a mesquite flavor to the smokiness. A bit different from other porters I’ve tried, but not bad.
Black pour with red hue, small amount of beige head. Smokey/peaty/leathery scent. Flavor follows the nose but it’s not too heavy, campfire-like. Low carbonation with a clean finish. Nice smoked porter.
Draft sampler at brewpub. Dark brown with minimal head. Taste is big time smokiness, dark roasted malts and chocolate.
Dark brown color, no head. Has a smokey, burnt caramel and beef jerky smell. The smokey caramel flavor comes out nicely, along with some malts in the background. Pretty good porter.
bottle. Deep brown with one finger head. Roasty malt with chocolate, coffee, and light smoke. Rich flavor. Quite nice.
Black pour from draft. White sticky head. Vanilla and nutty notes over a chocolate and coca beer. Interesting. Good.