Narragansett ‘Allie’s Donuts Double Chocolate Porter.’

It is fair enough to describe this beer as something bound to attract attention, but the underlying premise is idiotic, a porter whose appeal purports to build upon a… doughnut. It is nothing of the sort, and while the revivers of Gansett may like the proprietors of Allie’s Donuts and want to help promote their product, the name on the beer amounts to misdirective marketing.

Narragansett brews a number of premium craft beers, not on a strictly rotational basis but apparently according to the whim of its brewmaster or production manager. This porter is a big departure from earlier Narragansett renditions, each of them an intriguing variation of archaic sour porters. Some had more of a sour tone than others, one verging even on the flavor of Gose; others were less pronounced but did display a refreshing tang.

The double chocolate porter is more conventional and therefore less interesting, but remains a good beer, dry enough despite the donut description and hinting, just, at sour chocolate. A well-made porter for the Fall--but do bring back one of the older porters please.