Review: LaPatt Porter Robuste (Brasserie Dunham)

A few years back, Labatt had a beer brand called St-Urbain to take on the pseudo-craft scene in Québec. Immediately, people were duped into thinking that St Urbain was actually St Ambroise, even I was duped, similar colour of packaging, similar styles of beer, and hey.. it was affordable too! If I wasn't in a rush to pick out beer, I would have realized immediately that it was not St Ambroise, but a wannabe brand. St Urbain eventually was forced off the shelves as the competition bureau in Quebec found that St Urbain did in fact, bait and switch.

On the flip side, Brasserie Dunham has a beer called LaPatt Porter Robuste, which is a play on words of Labatt, Lapatt.. Labatt, get it? Ha! But unlike St Urbain/St Ambroise, this beer is very much its own, the artwork and colour of the label immediately tells you that this is not a Labatt product, but just a play on words.

This beer is courtesy of Freaky Whisky, merci mon ami!

Appearance: Pours a rich dark chocolate black, nice light cocoa head that isn't going anywhere, as I keep drinking the beer, the head remains as thick as when I poured it.

Aroma: Quite a strong porter with notes of espresso, dark chocolate, roasted oatmeal, and quite a sweet porter, enjoyable for a chilly autumn afternoon.

Taste: Slightly grainy, bitter from the roasted maltiness, giving it a very rich espresso bitterness, very dark chocolate. It's very reminiscent to a great oatmeal stout like St Ambroise's. A bit of wheatiness and a creamy mouthfeel.

Overall Thoughts: A solid porter by Brasserie Dunham, with a name like Lapatt, it's sure better than any Labatt product that's ever been on the market! Thick, creamy mouthfeel, quite roasty, and a bit of dark chocolate sweetness to it will help deal with the long winter that's about to arrive in a few weeks. 6.0% ABV. Contains water, barley malts, wheat flakes, hops and yeast.

PS: I've been told a Canadian Whisky barrel-aged version of Lapatt is coming out later this fall.. THAT would be good. Yum!

http://www.brasseriedunham.com/