Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer

Brewed by Tommyknocker Brewery
Style: Porter
Idaho Springs, Colorado USA

This is one of my first of the Christmas season beers. The cocoa is certainly noticeable. I mistakenly thought chocolate as I prepared to drink it, but it is definitely cocoa. There is not overpowering sweetness. An ok beer doing what I would expect pretty much, but not anything great.

Pours dark amber with minimal head. Strong caramel aroma with mild burning. Stronger chocolate flavor with a sweet clean finish.

Dark Amber and clear. No head but lacing is OK Fragrance of burnt caramel. Strong flavor of chocolate and modestly sweet and sweet finish with medicinal notes

Yep, label looks just like the picture here. Not too sure what this has to do with winter, as far as I know, the cocoa comes from the warm equator regions. Nice porter aroma, attractive chocolate or cocoa olfactory. Initial taste is chocolaty in nature, like the unsweetened cocoa baking powder your mom used to use. Perhaps there is a little too much of that flavor in here. The honey attributes really don’t add too much to it, except that it makes it sweet in an unkindly unsugar way. Carbonation is there but unnoticeable, due to the attention grabbing flavor. Not like the chocolate attributes you’d find in a good stout. Probably could not drink too many of these in a session. Generally, I found this porter to be a little less likable than most porters I’ve had. Finish is difficult at times and has a nagging unsweetened choco powder linger.

light brown with some sediment under a small beige head. aroma has notes of milk chocolate, roasted barley, and dry dog food. flavor is mainly the dry dog food with some rich chocolate. i just can’t get over the dog food thing. not that good.

Bottle. Pours dark brown/black with thin tan head. Aroma smells like sweet hot chocolate. Flavor is not as sweet as it smells, but still decently sweet with some coffee and very bitter cocoa notes.

12oz bottle. Pours dark brown with deep red, burnt orange highlights and a thin tan head that leaves minor streaks of lace. The aroma is full of dark toast, lots o’ chocolate, and some caramel. The flavor starts chocolatey and bittersweet, biscuity, toffee, with a nice residual sweetness. At mid-palate some roasted grain flavors come through; light, clean, fruity bitterness; and more cocoa. The finish is roasty with coffee and chocolate notes - like a mocha. There is also some some light fruity ester and hop character in the finish. The mouthfeel is full in body, slippery and ropey. There is a light tingle of carbonation that provides a refreshing zip. Overall, a very nice chocolate porter - great balance of roasted porter flavors, sweet malts, and chocolate.

Draught at GABF 2008. Hazy dark brown coloured with a medium sized beige head. Light roasted aroma of cocoa powder, chocolate and dish washer. Light roasted flavour of cocoa powder and chocolate. Finish of milk chocolate.