Trooper, Red 'N' Black

You might remember, a few weeks back, Hops tried a Bitter brought to us by Iron Maiden. It did alright. He gave it 3.75 out of 5. But Mr Dickinson and Robinsons didn’t stop there. They have more to offer. This week I’ve got their other brew.

Brewery: Robinsons

Brew: Trooper, Red ’n’ Black, Iron Maiden

Style: Porter

ABV: 6.8%

Named after another of Iron Maiden’s tracks, this is Red ’n’ Black.

Red ’n’ Black is the dark beer of the Trooper range, a modern take on a traditional porter recipe. The label says its full bodied, malty, but blended with chocolate (the modern take?). Its supposed have a roasted malt and caramel back with hints of liquorice and honey.

So while Eddie: The Trooper, charges into battle from the label, lets crack his cap off and get down to it.

It pours out nice and smooth but it looks more brown than black. Theres a reddish tint and a wheaty like top settling into a white head. Once in the glass its definitely more black and the red holds true. Bruce said it best:

“The colour? It’s not just black… it’s red too. The Red & The Black! Or Red ’n’ Black as I would say!”

Awesome!

Your snout gets smashed by the malt in this brew followed by the smell burnt chocolate. Not the most appealing smell, actually a little off putting, but as it settles, as you get used to it, it gets sweeter, less offensive.

The taste was a bit of a let down. The caramel that's mentioned never really makes an appearance and the chocolate is a very brief aftertaste. The liquorice is right in there. Now I like liquorice, so this was a bit of a saving grace.The honey peaks it head out but the main flavour is malt. Malt’s fine, its a porter after all, but there is supposed to be more behind it.

You can’t deny this brew is a traditional porter, it is exactly what they said it is… but I don’t think the modern twist worked. Sorry Bruce this one hasn’t captured me. Don't get me wrong, I’m not sending this porter to the slaughter, I wouldn’t turn it away it if was handed to me, but I’m not likely to go seeking out anytime soon.

It's about half way there so 2.5 / 5