East End Eye Opener Porter (La Prima)

Brewed by East End Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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Growler thanks to aliendan. 09.16.09. Black brown, off white head. Aroma is molasses, anise, roasted nuts. Flavor is smoky, anise, coffee, molasses, roasted, bitter. Dry and delicious.

On cask @ sharp edge creekhouse-served in a pint glass. A- Body is a deep nearly opaque dark brown. Served with a nice 1 finger foamy, bubbly light tan head. This has perfect retention! Traces od lacing left down the glass...but not much. S- Aroma is great and I’m sure the head has a lot to do with that...Roasted coffee beans are the most dominant upfront, with a nice dose of mocha, dark malt, and a touch of vanilla sweetness to balance it out. Nose is warm and inviting. T- Roasted malt and coffee beans are the highlight upfront with subtle tones of mocha and sweetness just barely along for the ride. The flavors intensify for the finish with a roasted malt/ big coffee flavor dominating the profile. There is a very subtle sweetness detectable also- but not enough to unmask the huge black coffee character going on here. What lingers is a big roasted malt bitterness. P- Given that this is a cask beer there is little to no carbonation (which adds to the black coffee character)..but the mouthfeel is fairly smooth and silky. O- This is a very interesting brew. Its like an extreme black coffee porter with the most subtle hint of sweetness that doesn’t come near balancing it out. If you like a big coffee punch in your porter than this is the beer for you. Me- I find it novel and great to try once, but a bit over the top. Another solid, interesting creation by Scott at East End. Serving type: cask Reviewed on: 01-09-2010 00:41:38

Sampled on draft at the Headkeeper in Greensburg PA this beer poured a black color with a medium sized khaki head that lingered. The aroma was dryish roasty coffee with notes of cocoa, licorice and fruity hops. The flavor was toasty and roasty with notes of coffee, cocoa, vanilla and light fruity hops. There was a long cocoa and coffee finish that turned a touch bitter. Full bodied and smooth. Excellent.

Sample at East End and then a pint from the growler at the hotel later on. Oops, does that give it away that I liked this one? Pours black with a medium tan head. Roasty and malty nose with not-so-subtle coffee notes. Huge coffee flavor up front with a bit of malt and a bitter finish. I agree that it could use a bit more finesse, but who the hell cares, this stuff tastes fantastic!

Growler. Tons of astringent coffee all over the place, in the aroma and flavor. Very little complexity. Quite dry, a touch chalky. Needs more body, less coffee. Not doing it for me.

From growler. Wonderful coffee aroma, smooth and subtle with a roasted grain underlayer. Sweet malt but no sour tang that you find in many coffee beers. Light hop bitterness. Dark brown-black clear, with foamy lacing light tan head. Medium chewy body with medium carbonation and light chalky finish. Starts with medium dryness, coffee flavors, chocolate malt, roasted barley. Light hop bitterness. Well balanced porter with the best of coffee taste without the harsh character that commonly comes when using coffee. Nice job.

Scent of extremely fresh coffee over a light chocolate background. Just great. For me, coffee beers seem to go all or none, you have your masterful coffee bender and speedway stout, then you have sour tasting and one dimensional crap that shall not be named. Appearance presents a bit of a problem, very thin head. Considering other reviews here and elsewhere, this may be user error, so I will update this area as I have more glasses. Taste: the good news is that this is neither sour or one dimensional. The bad news is that I haven’t heard Scott consider a barrel aged version of this because it would be great. If I had to nitpick, my only wish would be that this was thicker.

This poured a very dark brown color with a lighter tan head. Aroma was of fresh dark roasted coffee, very aromatic. Flavor was slightly chocolate sweetness, followed by the deep roasted coffee grinds. Not quite as overwhelming as the blackstrap, very easy drinking coffee porter.