Town Hall Black Snow Coffee Porter

Brewed by Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Style: Porter
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

Peace Coffee is a local concern that gathers fair-trade, shade-grown beans from around the world, sells them affordably at co-ops, and delivers them around town via bicycle, even when the snow is caked on high in winter-time...I’ve seen this! Quite a commendable outfit, and theirs is usually the stuff in my mug every morning. They put some Ethiopian and Columbian beans together, blended them with Town Hall’s Porter, and what is the result...? As black as a porter can get, with only a glimmer of bright crimson peeking around the bottom, utter ebon, all the way, topped with an attractive, cocoa-tan head, softly bubbly, rocky, a thin ring, but long-lasting. Roasted coffee and chocolate hits the nose immediately...dark chocolate, rich Bavarian coffee cake, thick, bittersweet, devilish...decadent! The essence of the nut is here, and spills forth all it’s appeal...i could drink it in all day, and forswear the drinking of brew in favor of the aroma! First sip: BAM! It hits big from the start again, powerful, potent flavor, richness all over the palate, slick and thick, almost like ...well, i’m dumbstruck, becasue it’s EXACTLY like a full-bodied cup of dark roast coffee combined with a well-constructed, utterly delicious porter, and those are two of my favorite things. I’m undergoing stages of doubt...can this really be perfect? It feels like it, honestly. I hesitated and reconsidered, but I mean every note of this. It’s so balanced, so smooth, and so full of the best of both parts. At times, I’ve raved about brews that are bold and brazen in the attack of flavor...this has just enough of what it means to deliver. Perfect conception, too...they make an awesome coffee stout here, too, but it’s sometimes too full and chewy...this takes the ideal spot in the middle, just as a porter should... ...another pour from the growler (and I swore I do only one just now!), and the head looks better, like a chocolate sponge cake! This taste continues to remains matchless in execution of it’s intentions. I could drink this forever...oh, goodness, it’s great! (I thought this was perfect having pints tonight at the pub, and stuggled with the dilemna of doing an all-5...horrors!...but relaxing at home with the growler, ...well, you read it, already...it’s the real deal!)

Nearly perfect with a deep dark color and a medium brown head. The aroma and flavor are both smooth as an iced coffee. At 5%, I’d love to have had more of this.

TAP, CASK: at Town Hall, 1.30.09. Pours a dark black with a quickly dissipating head. Aroma is fantastic - coffee and roast. Taste is coffee and roasted malt. Low hop, slightly carbonated. This is a terrific beer.

On-tap at the brewpub: Super dark brown nearly black in color, thin light tan cap, lacing in small and short sheeting leaving some bigger globs as it breaks up. Aroma is the equivalent of coffee ice cream topped with milk chocolate sauce. Not overly strong, quite welcoming, clean, and delightful to wiff in. Flavors of iced coffee and smooth milk chocolate decorate the entire palate. Smooth and inviting, mixing favorably without any hint to whether the coffee or chocolate is stronger. Always equally distributed between the two. The chocolate keeps a sweeter edge while the coffee drys it out. Great balance. Feel is about medium with a mega soft smoothness and nice drying tones mixed with sweetness. A very nice porter here, the flavors aren’t huge, its got just enough flavor and body to create a finely smooth semi-mild treat. Fantastic balance and nearly perfect flavors, I was hoping for just a nudge more coffee, but it’s still a wonderful porter that any lover of porters would enjoy.

Sampled multiple times at GABF. Rich aroma of fresh roasted coffee with milky cream and chocolate notes riding along. Flat black with a thick and lasting mocha head. Fore is slightly watery, but saved by a full flavored coffee blast followed by milk chocolate, roasted and burnt malts and a much creamier feeling finish.

GABF 2006. The beer pours to a really dark brownish black body with a tan head. The aroma is really intense with concentrated espresso. Roasty as all get out. The flavor is an intensely roasty coffee and espresso. They could pass this one off as coffee. One dimensional, but delicous and very aromatic. Nice creamy mouthfeel. I love coffee.

Growler, bottled 12-23. I was concerned that maybe I had let the growler sit a little too long before getting in to it, but I had little choice. Wasn’t going to drink it all by myself. Anyway, there was a lack of head and it was a little undercarbonated, so it was probably a little overly oxidized. Nevertheless, it was a very flavorful and enjoyable brew. Sweet, black coffee aroma...strong. Light brown head. Opaque body, reddish hues on sides. Chalky mouthfeel, swee, with some decent hop presence. Coffee and dark chocolate notes. Very nice flavor. Another winner from the good folks at TH.

Black Coloring with Small Small Head. Sweet Coffee Aroma. Wonderfully Balanced Coffee, Roasts and Chocolate.. Nice and Sweet. Quite Enjoyable!