Avery Brewing New World Porter

Avery New World Porter was not at all what I was expecting. I expected the usual dark coffee and chocolate flavors. What I got was a ton of hops. Reviews I've read elsewhere talk about the standard porter flavors being in there, but to me, this could have passed for an IPA if I had tasted it without seeing it. It was similar to Troegs' Dead Reckoning porter, but even hoppier.

Update: A lot of the strange flavor the first night was probably due to whatever I had been eating. I finished the rest of the six pack and while it was definitely very hoppy I could taste the standard porter flavors, too.

Ridgeway Lump of Coal

Lump of Coal is another Christmas themed seasonal beer I decided to try. I'm a sucker for any beer with a funny name or picture on it, so this caught my attention. This is a dark English ale, similar to Hobgoblin. It's fairly bitter, as expected, and is slightly thin and watery. Overall I enjoyed it, but there are a lot of other beers I would turn to first for a dark beer, since I prefer a bit thicker, heavier drink.

Troegs Brewing Company Mad Elf Ale

Ewww. I really wanted to like this. I've been slowing working my way through the six pack for a few weeks now hoping that it'll grow on me. Unfortunately, Mad Elf Ale is just not doing it for me. Without the cherry it would probably be great. The cherry flavoring makes this taste like beer mixed with cough syrup.