For good or ill, Utah is not generally regarded by outsiders as a hotbed for craft beer, but that isn’t stopping a company called the Utah Brewers Cooperative from importing its Polygamy Porter to Greater Boston.
The bottled version is emblazoned with a drawing of seven nude wives and the motto, “Why have just one!� As for the contents, the beer features a hint of chocolate and “a silky smooth finish,� says the company, which markets its beverages under such brands as Wasatch Beers and Squatters Beer.
At Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, general manager Alex Levere offered his take on Polygamy Porter.
“The label is awesome,� he said. “Then the logo kicks in and brings you right home.�
Understandably, the intriguing Polygamy Porter name caught Levere’s attention, but it was the product’s taste that persuaded him to add it to Tommy Doyle’s current line-up of 14 draft beers. (Tommy Doyle’s is in the process of expanding that rotation to 17 draft lines.)
The first shipment has just arrived at Tommy Doyle’s, and customers should be able to order a Polygamy Porter within a few days, likely for $6 a glass, Levere said. So it’s still too early to get a read on customer feedback. But given Kendall Square’s love of innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, a beer that pushes the envelope could develop a following.
(Another company marketing mantra: “Life’s much too short for ordinary beer.�)
In the company’s promotional material, Polygamy Porter is described as a “dark, medium-bodied ale� that “offers the drink-ability of a much lighter beer. The inviting chocolate and malty flavors fade into a slightly dry, silky smooth finish. Take some home to the wives!�
Polygamy Porter is part of the company’s Wasatch Beer line-up. Other company products being marketed in Boston include a Devastator double bock, a Ghostrider IPA, and an Apricot Hefeweizen.
The last is described as a wheat beer “with a hybrid Bavarian strain of German Altbier yeast that lends flavor notes of licorice, clove, and banana.�
A beer with fruit-salad flair is all very fine. But why order an Apricot Hefeweizen, when a saloon customer can say instead, “Hold the Hefeweizen, barkeep, I’ll have the Polygamy Porter�?
Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com.
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