Anchor Porter

I reviewed Anchor's Steam beer some time ago, and if I recall correctly, I enjoyed it. Today it's time to try their porter offering. It comes in the same 12oz bottle, and has an unknown alcohol content (I suppose liquor laws in the US do not require that information to be given). It has a bit of information on the label giving a dubious claim that Anchor is one of the "most traditional" breweries in the world.

Upon opening, I eagerly sniffed up the roasted malt aroma. It was strong. It poured black, with a finger-sized dark tan head that lasted a long time. Initially, there were a lot of bubbles, but they became hard to see in the darkness. The aroma was unchanged from when I opened the bottle.

The first sip was pretty good.  While the beer was fairly bitter, it was quite balanced; my lips got a bit sticky from the residual sugar in the malts, but the flavour wasn't sweet at all.  The roasted malts stood proudly.  The beer was incredibly soft in the mouth, but there was ample carbonation.  This beer was pretty much what I expected of a porter.  I would probably drink this beer again if it was available locally.