#101
Brewery: Sarasolta Brewing Company
Beer: Midnight Pass Porter
Location: Sarasota Brewing Company, Gulf Gate, Sarasota, FL
Drinking this one for the “local beer session” - and I feel bad since I’ve missed the past couple of these. I figured I’d make sure to take part in this Session, even though our local choices are not the greatest in the world. In fact, it’s quite sad down here all together.
Sarasota Brewing Company is the most “local” beer that we have around here, but it’s nothing special. Too many of their beers taste the same. When I was first getting “into beer” I thought it was great that we had a local brewery - and quite a nice one at that. The place itself is great - low, dark bar areas and high-ceilinged dining areas. Great selection of bar foods and they really do it up right when it comes to football season. But I think that somewhere between when I first started going seven years ago or so and now one of two things have happened - they’ve changed how they’re doing thing or I’ve changed my expectations of craft/brewpub beer. I think it’s probably a mixture of the two - friends who used to go years ago and come back tell me that they’re not as happy with the beer these days, either.
As for the beer I drank this time, I went with the Porter because it had been years since I’d tried it. I was hoping that with such a different style of beer that there would be some changes - and I was at least partially correct. I’d say their porter is probably their best “year-round” beer - unfortunately that’s not saying too much. As for the actual tasting notes:
Reddish tinge to this dark porter with no real head to speak of. Sweet malt and alcohol smell. More sweet malt in the taste with lots of chocolate flavors - very light on the hops. Still tastes too much like their other beers for my liking. The brewer needs to branch out with some new flavors - their main one isn’t good enough to carry this place.
I come back for the food more than for the beer these days, and that’s damned sad for my local brewpub. I don’t really mind if a brewery has beers that taste quite a bit alike (see - Sierra Nevada), but in order for it to work well that major flavor needs to be good. This one just isn’t. I like the place a lot, and I wish I still loved it like I did when I was still in college, but the magic just got lost somewhere along the way. But damn if they don’t have the best cheese sticks in the world.
