We are having a two month dry spell that has extended into October, bringing with it the sorts of temperatures that should have been fading away five weeks ago. Porter season is late hear at the most easterly point of the Great Lakes. And yet I think of the snow and winter and of Knut because this porter is from Norway - which is, let's face it, the only country that can really out winter Canada.

Nøgne Ø's porter is gorgeously labeled and lets me know this is a 7% beer as well as the exact ingredients used: Maris Otter and Munich plus other roasted malts, Centennial and Northern Brewer hops and English yeasts. It should be gorgeous - and perhaps a bit like old school Guinness. And it is in a way - though, now that I think of it, I never really had old school Guinness other than the stuff Labatt made apparently by the Canadian licensee adding a syrup sent from Ireland to its mash bill for 50. It pours deepest mahogany with a light tan rim. Plenty of fresh minty hop mixing with rich roasted toasted notes from the malt. But there is more - a good dollop of dry cocoa and bakers chocolate too. And licorice and pumpernickel plus earth notes as well. Melted ice creamy texture with a powdered cocoa feel to it as well. It's triggering recollections of Rogue Chocolate Stout. Fresh and bright and moreish. No hint of a sour tang.

Six bucks for 500 ml from Tully's in Maine via the importers Shelton Brothers. Worth it, even if it proves that 2% of BAers are nuts.