Green Man Brewery - Porter

This Gold Medal winner in the Robust Porter category at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival presents a very dark brown with garnet flashes, topped by a richly brown cap of foam. On the nose, we picked up plenty of deeply roasted notes of dark chocolate, coffee, and scorched caramel, with touches of dark fruit evoking plum, along with a hint of citrus when swirled and a certain forest-like impression. On the palate, look for the beer’s robust character to come across deftly balanced between bitter roasty notes and moderate hop bitterness on one hand, and deep-down caramelization with moderate residual sweetness on the other. Chocolaty elements take center stage bolstered by caramel, toasted bread, and coffee, with esters of dark fruits offering additional intrigue. Satin-smooth, lushly flavored, and off-dry, this porter will satisfy all on its own as well as in the presence of dishes which match up to the bitter-sweet interplay and the roasted chocolaty notes. The brewery recommends sirloin steak, short ribs, and spicy chili. Barbecued meats of all kinds and grilled veggies are on our list too, but many dessert pairings are perfect, as well. Hot fudge sundaes, chocolate or coffee cakes, and coffee ice cream sound good to us. Cheers!

Green Man Brewery got its start back in 1997 when it opened up as a brewpub in downtown Asheville, NC. The brewpub known as Jack of the Wood on Patton Ave was the original brewing home, with Dirty Jack’s on Buxton Ave serving as a tasting room and eventual brewing location. The Green Man moniker is a reference to a mythic spirit representing the cycle of yearly growth and spring rebirth, and is a motif common among English pubs. It’s a fitting reference for this brewery whose specialty has been the production of traditional English ales.

In 2010, the brewery came into the hands of Dennis Thies and his wife Wendy. Dennis was no stranger to the beer business, having grown up in it. His grandfather was operator of South Florida’s first Miller distributor back in the ‘50s. When Dennis, Wendy, and their kids moved to Asheville in 2008, the beer business still beckoned, and ultimately they bought Green Man and set to work expanding the business beyond the local Asheville area. In March of 2016, they opened a new facility they called the Green Mansion, a three-story, 20,000 sq. ft. facility featuring a packaging line, a retail shop where visitors can buy merch and get growler fills, and an indoor/outdoor tasting room with views of the Blue Mountains.

Green Man currently offers nine year-round brews, along with a rotating multitude of limited-run offerings including sour ales, chocolate stout, farmhouse ales, barrel-aged brews, and more. For more info about the brewery and their Asheville locations, visit them at www.greenmanbrewery.com.