Head to Head: Meantime Porter vs. Ølfabrikken Porter

Welcome to another Head to Head challenge. This time around we have two Porters. The first is from England and is the Meantime Coffee Porter. The second is from Denmark and is the Ølfabrikken Porter. The tasting was done blind.

Price: Winner – Meantime.

Meantime - $3.99 (11.2 oz)
Ølfabrikken - $8.99 (16.9 oz)

Appearance: Winner – Ølfabrikken even though both deviate a bit from a normal Porter appearance.

Meantime – Pours a dark reddish brown with small off white head. Looks more like a dark ale than a porter
Ølfabrikken – Pours black with a large tan head. Again this looks a bit more like a stout than a porter.

Aroma: Winner – Ølfabrikken by a wide margin

Meantime – Really nice fresh roasted coffee smell dominates the nose. There is some hint of chocolate sweetness. If you like fresh brewed coffee you will like this.
Ølfabrikken – Wow! This had some aroma. It has so much going on. Dark chocolate, caramel, coffee, and some fruit from the hops are all there to be enjoyed.

Taste: Winner – Ølfabrikken though both are not as strong as the aroma.

Meantime – Flavor has some of the coffee although it is more suppressed than in the aroma. There is a bit of chocolate sweetness.
Ølfabrikken – This has lots of flavor. The chocolate and roasted flavors are still there and hops really make an appearance in the strong bitterness.

Body/Finish: Winner – Ølfabrikken

Meantime – The finish is short but does have some nice bitterness.
Ølfabrikken – The finish is long the body is full and the bitterness is strong. This is definitely how I like my dark beers.

Overall: Winner – Ølfabrikken wins this one quiet easily.

Obviously I liked the Ølfabrikken. In fact it is easily one of the best beers I have had and would definitely go in my cellar. A real shame, as I had to drive 400 miles to get the one bottle. Do not take that to mean I did not like the Meantime for it is a good beer. It just needs a bit more going on and more body. My last thought is that the Ølfabrikken really seems more like a Baltic porter. If I had another bottle I would like to try it against A Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter. I think it would still win but it might be a closer competition.

~ by alelagerlambic on February 28, 2008.