Koff Porter

Brewed by Sinebrychoff (Carlsberg)
Style: Baltic Porter
Kerava, Finland

Massive creamy head recedes around the edges leaving the centre of the foam looking like a poached egg floating within. The flavour is predominantly dry and bitter with some coffee notes coming through. The texture is rich and oily giving a great mouthfeel.

Rated 7/31/07. Pours into the glass like the darkest, dirtiest motor oil. There is an audible "glug, glug, glug" sound as it flows from the bottle. The body is black, period. Black as night. There is a small mocha colored head that leaves behind some very nice lacing. The aroma is a harmonious mix of sweet chocolate, stewed raisons, anise, faint smoke, and a hint of dark fruits (maybe cherries). The flavor is surprisingly void of the dark fruits, but roasted barley, coffee, and molasses take their place. Bitter hops do well to balance out the sugary sweetness. The palate on this beer is about as thick and viscous as any I’ve encountered to date. Excellent brew!

Bottle. Body is a dark brown color with a pretty big two/three finger head of foam and froth. Aromas are chocolatey with some dark fruit mixed in... maybe a little peat and molasses, too. Flavor is fairly sweet... picks up much more on the prune/dark fruit than the smokey peat and molasses notes from the nose. I can’t really pick up the alcohol at all, and I’m not perceiving any warmth off it, either. Could be just a little more complex in terms of aromas and flavor/development to get higher marks. Still, very nice.

Tap, in Pothuiske in Maastricht. Thick black with soft long lasting head. Sweet chocolate touffee taste with roasted malt. It tastes like a bit overroasted, but very pleasant. A bit too light for a Baltic Porter but very enjoyable even on a summer evening.

Bottle. Opaque black with a bubbly and foamy head. Aroma is chocolate and roasted malts, also a hint of cappuccino coffee. Flavor is a bit smoked but in a nice way, a very warming drink. Coffee and salty liquorice (finnish ’salmiakki’) also come out in the flavor. A very sturdy beer with a malty finish.

A forced drink at 1:15 on a monday because the beer broke open on me when moving beers. Opaque black with tan head. Aroma is doughy, alc, smoked dark malts, and some dark choclate. Flavor is dark fruits, black licorice, choclate, alc, smoke, and little bitterness. Med thin body with no carb to speak of but that could be due to the whole dropping process. Overall I pretty nice but will have to rerate at a later date.

Tap @ In de Wildeman. Aroma of blackcurrant and coffee. Opaque black coloured with a brown, thin head. Taste is sweet with a quite hard bitter finish. Malty, coffee, some fruits in it.

Black, beige head. Aromas of coffee. Flavours: coffee, coffee cream, caramel, blackbarries. Lots of bitterness, dry bitter aftertaste.