Blind Tiger Java Porter

Brewed by Blind Tiger
Style: Porter
Topeka, Kansas USA

Draught at GABF 2008. Black - brown head. Coffee, espresso, ground coffee, burned, light grainy, vinous, precise and almost perfect......

Draught at GABF 2008. Dark brown coloured with a small beige ehad. Roasted aroma of fresh grinded coffee beans and coffee. Roasted flavour of fresh grinded coffee, coffee and hops. Roasted finish. Nice.

4 oz taster at the brewpub. Pour is black with ruby highlights, thin ring of an off white head. Aroma of pretty much office coffee. Taste is porter, coffee and synthetic creamer. This really tasted like java, not fresh coffee, but coffee that’s been sitting around for awhile. Palate is medium and a bit slick. This one really didn’t do it for me. Greg mentioned this was much better last time he had it; I certainly hope so.

Reddish-brown with tan head. Strong diacetyle comes out with a coffee creamer-type smell like partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and artificial flavoring. Sweet flavors lack java richness or nuance. Instead mainly about sweet cream and slight coffee aftertaste. Probably not at its prime but was a fresh bottle!

Tap, pours a semi-translucent dark brown with a thin tan head, no lacing. Aroma is fresh roast coffee, chocolate, and malted milk balls. Flavor is a nice chocolate-coffee flavor, with a creamy malty finish. A nice coffee porter.

GABF 2007: Poured a deep ruby-brown color with a beige head. Big coffee and coffee grind (spent grind) aroma. Some ash and smoke notes. The flavr was dominated by strong coffee. Light body.

I love saving the best for last, and as luck would have it, that’s exactly what this turned out to be. I have really struggled with liking coffee beers, even those like Bells Java Stout which are held in high esteem on this site. This beer, however, is by itself a reason to visit Blind Tiger if you’re ever in the area. It is, easily, the best coffee beer that I’ve sampled to date. The appearance is identical to the standard Tiger Paw porter: black with ruby highlights and a thin, creamy, tan head. The aroma is of fresh espresso and roasted malt, none of the day-old, twice-used coffee grounds that I get from so many other coffee stouts & porters. Medium-bodied, lively and dry, the flavor is a blend of bold espresso, roasted malt and faint molasses. If you’re ever in the area and want to grab a pint or two, this is the one you don’t want to miss.

On tap at the Parkville Microbrew Festival. Pours very dark brown to black in color with a rich brown cascading head. This has an awesome aroma of roasted coffee. Has a huge coffee taste as well. Could be a good breakfast beer.