Love Good Beer

I love porter, but this was no porter. I would describe Rickard’s Dark as unoffensive and uninteresting.

Damn! I was hoping it would be good.

Hey Erik, I’m the senior brand manager at Rickard’s and glad you had chance to sample Rickard’s Dark. Just to respond to your review, we brew Rickard’s Dark in the style of English porters but with our own twist adding a touch of pure Quebec maple syrup to give our beer a distinct flavour that also makes it less bitter than traditional porters. We hope Rickard’s Dark will introduce a new set of beer drinkers to the world of dark beers and thank you for giving us a try.

Brad, it wasn’t bad, it just didn’t stand out as being good. It’s the sort of beer you could drink a few of and not really notice you were drinking beer.
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Paul, thank you kindly for the samples. I appreciate what you guys are trying to do in bringing different beer styles to the masses; I truly hope you succeed. A couple of questions though, first how much maple syrup did you guys add? I caught the faintest of hints that maple syrup was present. Also, have you ever tried Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter or Fullers London Porter? If so, how can you honestly say the Rickard’s Dark is an English style porter?

Maybe a good beer to introduce someone into darker beers? I mean the “beer” that everyone is so used to drinking here is just not even beer so maybe this would be ok to gently get someone more curious into a more flavourful beer?

You are right Dayne, this could be a good beer to introduce someone to darker beers. If all anyone has ever tasted is Bud Light or similar yellow beers, then this beer might rock their world. However, if the road to fully flavored craft beers stops first at Rickard’s Dark, then that road might be too long to travel in one lifetime.

LOL you make a valid point but hey you never know. when i started drinking beers i never thought i would ever appreciate a nice dark beer, or a great british pub ale like a kilkiney, yet here i am, so you never know

You never know indeed, I was more just trying to be funny. The world of beer is vast and if Rickard’s Dark gets some people exploring more of it, then wooooooo!

I love this beer…I am getting a little tired of having to buy a tasters pack to get it though. Molsons…. please make it available in a 12 or 24 in Ontario

Hey Christopher, Rickard’s Dark is now available at the Beer Store in 12packs. Thanks, Graeme from Rickard’s.

Is it available in BC yet?

Hey Chris, yes – Rickard’s Dark is now available nationally.

Cheers,
Adam

I tried Rickard’s dark tonight for the first time and have to agree. It’s highly drinkable, but it’s not a porter. Porters (and, indeed, stouts) are known for their liberal use of black patent specialty malt. While it may be present in the Rickard’s Dark, it’s certainly not at the forefront. Which is how it should be in a porter.

Additionally, to respond to Paul: a porter, at least an English-style one, is generally not bitter. In fact, the amount of (low alpha acid) hops is fairly negligible in most porters. That’s not to say the north american love affair with hops hasn’t changed this (my own porter recipe is far more hop heavy), but real porters are way more malty than hoppy.

Additionally, this beer has very little yeast profile. The best porters I’ve had, even those with a subtle yeast profile, have something in the way of yeast flavour. This is probably the biggest thing that makes the Rickards beers the same (in my humble opinion).

I actually don’t dislike this beer; I think as far as big efforts at craft brewing it’s not bad (and when it’s all you can get in the airport or hotel, it’s a welcome change from Pilsner or Canadian). But it isn’t a porter. And it suffers from the very limitations imposed on it that give it the marketing edge: a lack of a sense of adventure. No interesting hops, no innovative yeast.

At the risk of being sexy, beer can be based on body alone.

Umm, that should read “sexist, beer cannot be based on body alone.” Clearly one too many beers.

Those over 40 (especially those who grew up in Quebec)will immediately recognize this as a specimen of the long-extinct *Canadian* style of porter (e.g. Molson, Champlain, Labatt- all of which are long-discontinued save for the Labatt, which is still in limited production). This style is much closer to a brown ale than to an English porter, but it is a type of porter nonetheless. Shame they had to ruin what could have been the revival of a long-lost Canadian heritage beer with the utterly asinine and gimmicky maple flavouring, and by trying to pass it off as an English-style porter when it transparently isn’t.

This is an easy drinking beer. I suspect a bottom ferment more in the style of an ale.
While it does not truly represent the English style Porter, it is slightly reminiscent of McKewans Scotch Ale. The lingering sweetness is pleasant, and the beer, even with the leftover sweet is clean.

My wife and I quite enjoy it. Not a true winter beer, not heavy enough for that time of year. I think it will be a nice compliment to burgers on teh barbecue next summer.

This is a very enjoyable beer. Recently I’ve tried Keith’s Dark Ale and found it tasty as well. My favorite dark beers, in no particular order, are: Guinness, Okanagan Springs Brewmaster Black Lager, Newcastle Brown and Tree Spy Porter. Rickards Dark does not bite on the tongue as much as Brewmaster does, it is sweeter than Spy and lighter than Guinness. I know the ones I’ve listed are different varieties of dark beer, obviously, and therefore will continue to enjoy the Rickards Dark. Thank you for making it, Molsons!

Just recently started to venture into different brands and styles. Nothing too crazy yet but I immediately got hooked on the Dark which led me to the White. These are the only two I’ve drank in a while. Thanks for stalling my new beer tasting en devour

Was this created by one of my namesakes? Just curious as to the name’s origin. Thanks

Very good beer. However the totally terrible packaging for the six bottle pack (you have to tear the box apart to get to the product) keeps me from purchasing it further.