“Sustenance to get you through those long, cold winters, the Donner Party Porter is another of FiftyFifty’s flagship beers. Reminiscent of dark chocolate, espresso, and dark dried fruits with a long complex finish, this beer is good for one of those nights where you’ve dug yourself into a snow bank because the ski trip didn’t go quite as planned.”

Glassware: American Pint.

Appearance: Super dark cola pour with a thin tan head on top. It quickly retreats to the rim and struggles to produce much lacing.

Aroma: Roasty and slightly metallic with a good helping of cocoa, molasses, bakers chocolate, toffee, burnt toast and subtle dark fruit sweetness i.e blood plum, fig and dates. Also picking up a touch of toasted coconut, camp fire, espresso and earthy, herbal and mildly floral hops. Could be wrong but we’re also getting a flutter of estery yeast too. Solid!

Flavour: Right on the money. Stripped back, traditional Porter notes on display with its delicious roast, bittersweet chocolate, coffee and dark fruits. Again, picking up the slightly herbal and floral hop profile. Gets real roasty and charred as it surges in to a bittersweet finish full of chocolate, cocoa and molasses.

Mouthfeel: Excellent weight…full-ish and nicely sustained Co2, bitterness, ABV, all of it.. dead set spot on.

Overall: A bloody ripper of a Porter from this highly distinguished brewery. Traditional in a sense but so nicely crafted at the same time. Two thumbs up from us.