Berkshire Coffeehouse Porter

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: Porter
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

(Bottle). Very rich aroma of coffee au lait. Deep dark brown body, creamy tan head. Delicious semi-sweet flavor of rich coffee, a touch of smokiness that morphs into pleasant bitterness. Not much of a finish, except for a mild lingering bitterness. A very enjoyable and refreshing brew from one of New England’s best micros.

22 oz bottle from dogfis120love. I had to open this because my Noles suck ass. Pours a nice dark brown with a smallish head of fairly lard tan bubbles. Aroma is coffee and dark chocolate. The coffee smell reminded me of the smell when coffee is done brewing and you throw the filte away. And the taste is very heavy on the coffee and some bitter chocolate. Could be a thicker mouthfeel, but it isn’t totally watery either. Pretty easy to drink porter with a nice flavor.

Bomber. Great pour: black with a khaki head. Decent lacing. There was a nose of black coffee and bitter chocolate, although I wish I let it warm up a little more before pouring, because it was muted a little more than I expected. Taste was nice - more coffee and toasted malt. Lighter mouthfeel, but I’ve been drinking Imperial stouts lately, so that might have distorted my perception.

pours beautiful dark chocolate color with a khaki frothy 1\4 inch head. smells like coffee toffee toasty malty deliciousness. smooth on the palate this beer has strong coffee flavors with undertones of toasty malts and toffees.

Appearance is the darkest of brown hues with a milky cream brown head, fractal-like cream lacing on the glass, very pretty. Smell is mostly coffee malts a la espresso grounds ("Dean’s Beans" on the labels), some bitter chocolate, tones of vanilla and cream. Taste is dominated by bitter coffee malts with a thin backbone of bittersweet chocolate, toffee and nutty flavors come midway, finishes up with some slightly bitter hops. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, watery smooth texture, mild to moderate carbonation. Drinkability is moderate, higher for coffee fans, this ranks close to Founders Breakfast Stout in terms of the bitter coffee grounds essence, alcohol is not perceptible and this porter is well-balanced, solid beer worth trying out.

22oz Bomber I have to give hoppymeal a big thank you for sending this one down my way, thanks again Derek! Coffeehouse Porter pours like black coffee with rusty highlights around the sides of the glass. A sturdy two finger ecru head formed on the pour and fell to nothing less then a finger, becoming ultimately creamy. The head leaves minimal spotty lacing on the way down. As soon as I stick my nose in the glass I’m greeted by freshly brewed coffee over the top of a quality made porter. Milk chocolate and a slight roastiness combine to form the maltiness. For some reason, in the background, I can’t help but notice barrel characteristics. Mellow vanilla and damp oak are present but stay small and barely peek through. I’m really enjoying the flavor of this one. The coffee is very well integrated and in no way overdone like on other examples. The coffee is the main component but the porter below delivers a delishousness of its own. Baker’s chocolate, mild roasty chocolate, and a slight coffee bitterness flow seamlessly. I still get the vanilla and damp oak way in the background. This is a very good porter. The body seems to be in the middle of the road with a healthy carbonation. If there’s any complaint it could be that the body seems a bit light at times but it doesn’t at all detract from the mouthfeel. The coffee leaves behind a slight bitterness. Coffeehouse Porter is an easy drinking beer. This bomber is disappearing far too quickly which tells me it’s an easy drinker. It’s a gulper. My first taste of Berkshire and I really like what they did with this porter. The coffee is really well integrated and it’s obvious there’s a solid porter underneath. Can’t wait to try some more from Berkshire. Thanks for the treat Derek! 5/12/08

(22 oz. bottle from Kappy’s) Pours very dark brown with some brownish/rubyish highlights. Three fingers of tan head. Aroma of milk chocolate and coffee. Mouthfeel is fairly smooth although a bit fizzy. Decent texture although a tad thinnish. Solid rings and sheets of lacing. Flavor is strong coffee with some lighter undertones of chocolate. Perhaps a light bit of soapiness. Pretty solid.

From a 1 pint 6 fl. oz bottle that is not dated and has no lot code. Pours a brownish-red and carries a puffy tan head and some lacing. The coffee aroma is strong although the scent is more like spent coffee grinds. There are some malts in the scent. The texture was more watery than expected. The coffee flavor was overwhelming...too much so that it spoiled the experience for me. I am not a big coffee drinker. I was actually worried that it had caffeine!