It would seem that reviewing beers on a blog, has gone the way of the BBS, unless you have some amazing talent for entertaining folks, you can pretty much find what your looking for at beer advocate or ratebeer amongst others. But here's one that google may not yet have any answers for, Gianduia Porter, brewed by Mitten Brewing Co, for G.B. Russo.Gianduia Porter aptly named after the sweet chocolate, hazelnut spread, is dark, sweet and rich. It has an inviting chocolate nose, maybe a little hazelnut, it's hard to say without a blind taste test I suppose. I was a little surprised, I honestly can't say I have had anything from Mitten that I can recall. The brewery had not exactly had raving reviews a couple of years ago. But I find that in Grand Rapids at least, many of the breweries have matured and improved over time.
This is certainly a brew that represents G.B Russo well. Russo's and Sicilano's Market are the two best places to buy beer in Grand Rapids. Victor is the beer guy, and he does his job well. I am not sure what, if any influence he had with this brew, but I am pretty pleased with it.
Medium to full bodied, with rich notes of cocoa, chocolate, hazelnut, just a tiny bit roasty malt, not much, it finishes with a balanced sweetness. The sweetness coats the tongue a bit and allows the flavors to hang on. It's not extremely complex with dark fruits like an Imperial Stout, but everything one could want in a Porter. I'd buy another.
