Black Marlin Porter

Beer Name: Black Marlin Porter
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

We learned a valuable lesson about Red Bones, which is that if you want to get a seat at Red Bones on a Saturday, go for lunch. A 10-15 minute wait is much more tolerable than an hour or more, especially when you're super-hungry.

There were a lot of beers that I considered, and I finally ended up picking this porter from Ballast Point because it seemed like a good choice to match up with the giant pile of barbecued meat I would soon be enjoying. Black Marlin is a very dark beer, bordering on solid black. It arrived with only a very thin head, but I think that is probably a result of the rookie manning the taps. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the giant row of unmarked taps. There was still a nice lacing pattern at the end of the glass though. The aroma of the beer is a nice roasty coffee with some chocolate.

All the aromas in this beer come though in the flavor, with the chocolate a little more noticeable now than in the aroma. The roasted flavors are done very nicely, so they don't overpower the tastebuds. There's a nice light carbonation, and it's very drinkable. I think the flavors developed nicely as the beer warmed up a little, so I'd recommend letting it sit for a few minutes.

Final thought - This beer was good when I was drinking it alone, and it was equally good when I was drinking it with my meal. Ballast Point definitely has their brewing act together, so I'll have to keep my eyes open for more of their beers in the future.

-Jon