Coffee Porter
(has 1 batch)

A rather traditional-looking British porter - dark brown, with a foamy off-white head - fairly bubbly body - strong espresso bitterness in the aroma, with an apparent doughy character, some notes of toffee, and background hints of leather - a little thin bodied, but with a rather creamy mouthfeel - vanilla and toffee sweetness are tempered well by the bitterness from the coffee - the doughy character from the aroma is present somewhat in the flavor - the coffee is very well-integrated in the flavor - quite often with these beers, the coffee flavor stands out and seems forced upon the palate - in this beer, the flavor seems very natural - nicely done.

Pours a deep clear amber with inch and a half tan head. As I poured it I got a whiff of coffee, mmm. Yep, I then brought my nose to the glass and received a dose of coffee along with burnt malts. It smells like burnt coffee beans. The flavor begins with a brief sweet roasted maltiness that quickly becomes coffee and burnt malts. The taste mellows out for a while with some roasted malts, hints of chocolate and burnt malts. It ends with a pleasing coffee and burnt malt flavor.

330mL bottle, a few months old, drunk on 10/4/07
Lovely appearance, as usual, from meantime. Unfiltered, bottle conditioned head is ample and well-retained, leaving moderate lacing. The beer is a clear chocolate brown, leaving the sediment behind.
Wow, this smells decadent and like one hell of a dessert! Creamy vanilla-flavored fudge, German chocolate cake and tons of light coffee notes all press in to the nose delightfully. No hop notes that I can find, nor any real yeast character that can be discerned outside of the sweet malts and coffee, but it’s clean, and the alcohol is concealed. High strength of aroma. Like the flavor to come, it’s not exactly a mystery waiting to be unlocked and is definitely on the sweeter side (this must be intentional), but still very enjoyable.
Very creamy, almost sticky chocolate fudge gooiness oozes from the malts. A mostly tight, but low carbonation, induces notions of a milkshake and on the end, a strong flavor of vanilla-coffee iced cream, heavily sweet and sticky, dominates. I’ll be damned if I didnt forget I was drinking beer for a moment and thought I was drinking a chocolate-vanilla milkshake. The coffee is mostly flavorful essence and creates very little (almost none) bitterness/roastiness. No flaws. Fun for what it’s attempting. Could stand to be more dry, I suppose, but the extra sugars give it that milk shake-like texture.
Not my usual score for these types of beers; guess I was in the mood for a sweet beer that night.

Very dark brown beer with medium white head. Aroma is weird and almost unpleasant. Flavor is better than aroma. Weird beer not bad but I don’t buy this anymore.

Very dark brown with a small, but lasting beige to light brown head. The most coffee dominated aroma I have ever met in a beer. Like coffee ice cream, coffee candy, espresso, and fresh ground coffee beans. Some toffee and biscuit behind the coffee aroma. The flavour is much better balanced with a rich porter roastiness, matching the coffee that is absolutely there. Big and creamy mouthfeel. I appreciate the effort and the fairtrade coffee used, but the aroma turns me off. I want my beer to smell of beer, with the special ingredients playing in the background.

Bottled@SBWF 2007
Pale nut brown, almost opaque, creamy beige head. Light coffee and milk in the nose. It is roasted but more than coffeish this is tasting like dark chocolate. Not far from their chocolate beer, but not as sweet as it is. (7/4/7/3/14)
Re-rated, bottle (BB 09/2010)
Dark nut brown color, small brown head. Ashy, tobacco and coffee nose. Tobacco, expresso and some dark chocolate in the flavor. (7/4/7/3/14 3.5)

Poured a water black with brown hues with a thin, white lacing head. Smells like roasted malts, coffee and chocolate. Taste is heavy coffee, roasted malts, chocolate and nuts. Finish is light and crisp, but more coffee flavor. It is what you’d expect.

Bottle. Nice tan head with good duration. Color ias black/brown. Aroma and taste are clearly dominated by coffee.

(Bottle 33 cl) Clear, dark brown - close to black - with a vague tint of orange. Has a small, creamy, beige head. Distinct aroma of coffee and ashes - or perhaps rather ashtray. Medium body with very, very burned malt accents, but again closer to ashes than to coffee. There’s an underlying tartness in there - probably from the malt. The bitterness in the finish is surprisingly discreet. Not completely pleasant. 280607