Castle Island Dream Police

As the end of March rapidly approaches I am ready to finish up the porters, stouts and other dark and malty beers in my fridge and move onto some saisons, maibocks and other great spring offerings. I’ve been busy with non-beer review posts recently so I have a little backlog of beers to review in the next few weeks. Today I will write about a relatively new release from Castle Island, a spiced porter called Dream Police. It seems like most breweries go pretty standard with their porters (if they bother with the style at all), maybe some coffee, but otherwise let the malts and hops shine. On the otherhand many breweries get really creative with stouts, loading them up with everything from donuts to booze to fruit. While I generally like my porter unadulterated I think this causes the style as a whole to be underappreciated, so it was nice to see something that is a little different under the porter umbrella. Castle Island Dream Police is brewed with ginger and cinnamon, and is available on a rotating basis on draft and in 16 oz cans.

Castle Island Dream PoliceCastle Island Dream Police pours nearly black with a small tan head. The aroma features plenty of roasted malt along with a touch of spice. The malts lead the flavor, notes of coffee, chocolate and brown sugar. This is complemented by the spices, the ginger and cinnamon are both present but not overpowering. Some late earthy hops add balance and a little bitterness. Dream Police is medium bodied, easy drinking, and not overly boozy at 6.5% ABV. The finish is rich with some lingering malt and spices. I normally like my porter with minimal adjuncts, just let those roasted malts sing, but Castle Island does a good job using the spices to add complexity without overwhelming the base beer. Well done. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.

Previous Castle Island Reviews:

Castle Island Vern, Castle Island TBDCastle Island FestbierCastle Island Keeper IPA

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