Entire Butt

No, really, it's a beer: Salopian Entire Butt English Porter.

As part of my Tour de Beer, I couldn't resist a serious beer with a silly name.

Historically the term used to describe a Porter blended from a variety of ales, “Entire Butt,” means essentially “the whole barrel.” Entire Butt uses 14 different malts and 3 hops to recreate this forgotten style of Porter. The beer is black/brown with a crisp white head and is distinctly vinous. It has little hop character as essentially the flavour is derived from the malts.

For a porter with so many malts, this beer had decidedly lighter body than expected -- vinous (wine-like) like the label says. The malt flavor expanded a bit as the ale warmed and sounded dark chocolate notes on the back of the tongue and a delicious dry finish. It reminded me of Guiness Extra Stout at one point. Very dark, very smooth, easy drinking. Not as "wow" as I had hoped based on the ingredients and the hype.