Cutthroat Porter, Odell Brewing Company, Ft. Collins

Style: Porter

ABV: 5.0 percent

Served In: A 12-ounce bottle

Malty? Hoppy? Malty, but incredibly well balanced

Reviewed: December 2012

Although our favorite porter isn’t brewed in Colorado (Deschutes Brewery‘s rich, creamy Black Butte Porter is just about flawless), it should come as no surprise that Odell Brewing Company’s take on the style is a darn close second. Odell has made a habit of brewing fabulously well-balanced beers—and its Cutthroat Porter is no exception.

Odell describes this beer as “not quite a stout but definitely no lightweight.” We have to agree. Cutthroat is certainly rich enough to be considered stout-like, but the beer also has a smooth, creamy finish—a requisite of any good porter. It pours an opaque black color and has a frothy tan head. Wafting a combination of roasted malts and bittersweet dark chocolate, Cutthroat tastes much the same and goes down like velvet. Oh, we almost forgot to mention that it’s named after Colorado’s state fish, the cutthroat trout. What’s not to love?

Would we buy it again? Yes. In fact, it’s worth stocking up.