Today we review another offering from July's beer of the month club. It is called Paradise Porter. 
Again this comes from Diamond Bear Brewing Company in Little Rock, Arkansas. 
Like its Irish Red offering (see Blog #3) this beer is no shrinking violet. 
As a fan of IPA's I like my beers with strength and a touch of bitterness. 
This Porter does not disappoint in that respect.
Its inky darkness hints at how strong a brew this is. It has the usual hint of "toastiness" in aroma and taste. A strong almost coffee-like flavor is the first impression I noted. (And that was confirmed with the tasting notes that accompanied the monthly club brews. But again I do not read those until I've tasted the brew myself and made my own notes.)
I would simply say this beer is very tasty. It has a complex flavor that stays with you even after the swallow has taken the beer away. 
But it is a powerful example of the Porter style which is too strong for many as a matter of course. So if you are one of those who doesn't like strong, dark brews stay away from this one.
But if you appreciate the Porter style then definitely search this one out. Be prepared though because it is stronger than most and also carries a bitterness in the aftertaste. Being a fan of complex hoppy brews I enjoyed it, but it won't be for everyone.
I gave it 7 mugs out of 10. It is very good, aspires to greatness even with its strength and flavors, but just a touch too bitter to be able to drink for any length of time. But would definitely stand up to strong foods.

Today we chronicle another entry from July's beer of the month club.
This is Irish Red from Diamond Bear brewery in Little Rock, Arkansas.
It is by far the most powerful Irish Red I have ever sampled.
So powerful it screwed up my phone's focus. For that I apologize. But it did not screw up the focus of my taste buds.
The first word that came to mind when I sipped this beer was "overpowering". But that is wrong. To me that connotes a negative, something that is too strong and gets in the way. That is not the case here. "Powerful" is the correct word. 
Now the beer of the month club sends along a sheet with each month's delivery that provides information about the breweries and brews contained in that month's offering.
I purposely avoid reading the tasting notes until I have actually tried the beer. Avoid the power of suggestion and all that. Don't want to taste the beer and say "you're right I do taste a hint of black currants". Like I know what the hell black currants taste like.
But in reading the notes afterwards I found them to be largely spot on. This is by far the strongest most interesting Irish Red I have come across. I'm sure we've all tried the bland, inoffensive Killian's. Not that there's anything wrong with it. Better than drinking many mass produced beers. It just isn't that interesting once you sample more robust versions of the style. Something like the Sam Adams Irish Red is definitely more complex and a step up in class.
But this brew from Diamond Bear is the best I have come across. Strong. Bold. Tasty. The two words associated with the taste that crossed my mind were "toasted" and "caramel". Sure enough when I went back to the club's write up those words were used often.
I was not surprised to read that this beer was a gold medal winner. This is a beer I would go out of my way to find. Maybe not all the way to Arkansas. But it's worth a trip. Definitely one of my favorite discoveries on my beer drinking journey. There is another beer from Diamond Bear in the monthly package that I am now looking forward to drinking.
The Irish Red is scored 9 mugs out of 10. Probably as close to a 10 as I'll ever come but I hesitate to call something a "10" on the third posting!