“Our tribute to the great London brewing tradition, staircase porter is a decadent blend of dark roasted and caramel malts. Complex layered flavours of creamy espresso , bittersweet chocolate and toffee combine with flowery hops to create this full bodied nourishing ale. True to tradition this porter is all-natural and smooth on the palate. Named after the staircase spur, the steepest track to Victoria’s highest peak. It’s the kind of namesake this hearty porter deserves.”
Served in a beer tulip. The dense black appearance is capped off by a short tanned head that stubbornly holds up but eventually peels back to a halo with some streaky lace trails clinging to the glass. The olfactory’s are met with a nice bold aroma full of dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, licorice, roasted malts and a subtle metallic note in the background. A light floral hop note flows through beautifully, kind of reminds us a bit of pot pourri. Nice balance on the nose. The weight is held up well in the mouth. Medium bodied with a seriously slick texture. A gentle hop bitterness adds a soft dryness as it rounds out pleasantly. Very approachable for a dark beer. The taste follows the aroma with a lovely progression of roasted and chocolate malts that flow gracefully on to flavours of coffee, cocoa and floral hop notes through the mid palate. A suggestion of nutty malt and chocolate carry in to a roasted and slightly metallic finish with decent duration to the back end. We really like the traditional feel to this porter. It’s been stripped back to its base to reveal the true session ability that porters can actually possess. It’s also a perfect entry beer for the darker style and a somewhat go-to session beer for the lovers of everything malty and dark. Very versatile drop this one, it has it all.