Carlsberg - Semper Ardens Porter

On offer in Netto of all places this week marks the return of the Semper Ardens range from Carlsberg. Why it went away, Christmas Ale excluded, I don't know but perhaps they were concentrating on the Jacobsen brand. So I picked this one up along with the weiner and kellerpils. As a lover of stouts I was a big fan of Criollo Stout which I thought was bloody excellent. For me, it was one of them beers that if blindfolded you would never have guessed it came from a huge industrial brewer. So, how will this replacement ? porter live up to that ........

Light aroma of malt, chocolate and licorice coming from the pour.

This Porter pours black with a dark ruby tinge and has a creamy beige head. Quite sweet on the intake with dark roasted/almost burnt tasting malt, dark chocolate and a dab of licorice while the finish is bittersweet. This has a pleasant long-ish aftertaste of malt, licorice and milky coffee. Smooth mouthfeel though a bit oily with no alcohol shining through.

Summing up first...decent one bottle only porter that is worth a try. The reason I say one bottle only is mainly personal as I drank two bottles of this while writing this post (I did have other things going on) but during the second I thought it was beginning to be a bit dull, your own mileage may vary of course. While pretty good value for money, bought for 10 dkk, it is not a patch on the afore mentioned Criollo Stout. I don't know if it is a capacity thing but I've always wondered why the Semper Ardens/Jacobsen line do not, to my limited knowledge, get exported ? Answers on a postcard please. I have no problem buying and drinking this again.

This scored 7.5/10 on the 'oh, a macro brew, I must mark down' Beerometer.

Alc : 6.8%
Where to buy CPH : Netto

Carlsberg - Carls Porter

Here is a bit of a shocker for some. Don't faint or start screaming at this blog in disbelief.. a cold hard fact, Carlsberg CAN make good beer ! The only problem is most don't get exported, well last time I was in the UK there was nothing of the now defunct Semper Ardens series or the still on the go house brewery Jacobsen range, both containing some cracking beer you would never think of when hearing the name Carlsberg.

This Porter pours pitch black with a small tan head. Lots of roasted malts, brown sugars, hops on the intake finishing with licorice and a very slight taste of honey. Hardly any sweetness and no alcohol shines through. Nice creamy mouthfeel.

Very good value for money porter and reached 7/10 on my internal beerometer. It's a bit of a shame most of the world will never know that Carlsberg can made a decent effort like this.

Alc : 7.8%
Where to buy : Almost all supermarkets.