Koff Porter

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

Bottle. Chocolate-heavy nose with a tinge of smoke and some teriyaki. Black with a brown head. Flavor is chocolate with some lighter coffee undertones. Palate is unfortunately too thin, as is the failure of many an otherwise fine porter.

Almost black beer with beautiful brown head. Sweet and smoky aroma. Flavor is roasted and there is also some sweet malts. Finish is balanced and there is lots of dry hops. Very good porter.

Sinebrychoff Porter 12 oz bottle Moderate pour in an English pint Bottled 2000, uncovered 2007 Poured black with a small light brown somewhat diminishing frothy head. To be expected from an old porter. Smelt of strong vinous and burnt malt qualities, molasses, tar, raisins. Taste was upfront strong bitter burnt grain, stale bread, cobwebs and tar and sweet raisins followed by a bitter burnt grain and coffee and sweet light molasses on a long finish. Palate was medium bodied, oily, softly carbonated and moderately astringent. Overall, I found that the 2 aged baltic porter I’ve had recently smell and taste like musty basements. This one has nice bold flavors and is very comfortable on the palate and the nose. I need to try this fresh, but I am very happy with it as is.

33cl bottle - Pours black with a large tan head. The aroma is of smoky, dark roasted malt. The coffee accented flavor is darkly roasted and again I noticed some smokiness to it. Moderate bitterness balances this porter well, though I thought it was just a little thin for the style. It’s good, but I didn’t think it was as great as many seem to think.

bottle. the color of this beer is an impenetrable inky black. it pours with lovely beige head that is formed by tight tiny bubbles. complex aroma with layers of raisin, fig, molasses, port wine, wood, and sweet dusty malts. palate is creamy and satisfying without being to heavy and far from cloying. flavor is much like the nose, dark dried fruit, molasses, and a hint of port/ fortified red desert wine with some bitter chocolate and a most fantastic finish supplied by the near perfect amount of robust roasted malt and hop dryness.

Rating #1400.

(Part 1) Black in colour, tan coloured head, okay retention, some lacing. The aroma has lots of chocolate, quite sweet, some liquorice, good amount of roast. The flavour is of light chocolate, cold coffee, some anise, very light roast, some sweetness. Thin mouthfeel, thin body, mild carbonation. Finishes a little thin, very light bitterness, on the watery side. 7 years old and showing its age. 9/4/7/3/13
330ml bottle from the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/new-york target=blank>Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York, opened on January 5, 2007
Vintage 2000.

(Part 2) Black in colour, beige coloured head, better retention, some lacing. The aroma is very rich and sweet, lots of chocolate, some cake, cookies and toffee. The flavour is again a bit light, good roasted bitterness, dark chocolate, coffee, sugary. Watery thin mouthfeel, medium/light body, medium carbonation. Finishes sweet and lingering. Although a bit better then the 2000, this is still quite thin. 9/4/7/3/14
330ml bottle from the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/new-york target=blank>Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York, opened on January 5, 2007
Vintage 1999.

(Part 3) Black in colour, beige coloured head - best head retention of the 3 vintages that I tried, some lacing. The aroma is again quite rich, lots of chocolate sweetness, some roast. The flavour is light, small roast, liquorice, dark chocolate. The watery mouthfeel continues with this vintage, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes light, watery with just a small roasted maltiness. The weakest of the bunch, lacking lots of body. 9/4/7/3/13
330ml bottle from the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/new-york target=blank>Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York, opened on January 5, 2007
Vintage 1998.

All three of these smelled awesome, I would love to try a fresher sample.

Pours a crude oil black with a large, rocky, dark mocha head. Quite beautiful. The aroma is huge and complex; you can smell this beer a foot away from the glass. Heavy roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, raisins, plums and vanilla all delight the olfactory system. The only thing that kept this one from being a "10" is an odd, light soy sauce note in the background. The mouthfeel is fairly full-bodied, oily, moderately carbonated and lightly bitter at the finish. The flavor, while not quite the sensory overload that the nose presents, is quite satisfying. Sweet roasted malts, plum, raisin, vanilla and coffee notes conclude in a lightly dry finish. This is a remarkable beer.

totally unremarkable beer... when its cold. left it alone for a hour then came back to ....wow! it really opens up at room temperature. sweet malty molasses aroma. flavor is a complex mess of coffee, soy sauce, malt and dried figs. nice dry mildly bitter finish. lingering after taste of good black coffee.