The temperature has dropped, and even a few trees have started to turn. Soon Märzens, pumpkin beers and stouts will load tap lists and box out the ever-durable porter: once a staple of the craft beer movement, now a forgotten favorite. Thinness did the porter in — far too many brewers used theirs as the beer poured for customers who didn’t like beer. That’s not the case with Vision Quest Brewery’s Hole in Yer Pants Porter, a harken back to the good old days of dark, full-bodied ales free of adjuncts and soaring ABVs. Made with heaps of chocolate rye malt, Hole in Yer Pants smells like cracked rye bread on the nose. But in the mouth, holy cow: Creamy, rich and loads of dark chocolate, with an echo of Belgian dubbel on the finish. It’s fall in a glass. Bring a sweater.
