Flat Earth Cygnus X-1

Brewed by Flat Earth Brewing Company
Style: Porter
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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UPDATED: APR 12, 2008 Porter #100. Tap at Happy Gnome. Dark brown color with no head. Aroma of roasted barley and some coffee, though not necessarily like a pot of coffee was poured into the batch. Pretty subtle. The taste was heavy on roasted bitterness and the English hops. A little coffee finish. I really didn’t get much chocolate at all, but the bit I did was a dry and bitter chocolate. Really pretty tasty.

This was quite a decent porter. It seemed to me that it was hoppy, but nowhere like a West Coast hoppy porter, and so it balanced the obvious chocolate quality with a sense of tingling roastiness. The palate was average among porters but it still remained quite drinkable. Decent beer. Not esp. dark (lots of red showing, even in a relatively dark restaurant.) (on tap at Happy Gnome, St. Paul)

Autumn Brew Review ’07
Aroma of roasted malt and bitter coffee. Very dry finish. Nothing special here. On the plus side, I like the name with the Rush reference. The labeling is pretty cool. Otherwise somewhat average and maybe not my cup of tea.

Draft at the abr. Roasted malt aroma and roasted malt flavor. I did get a hint of chocolate, but I would like some more of it. Good flavor and aromas, but the palate is too thin.

UPDATED: OCT 3, 2007 Draft at ABR. Aroma of roasted malt with a hint of rye spice. Pours rich brown with amber highlights. Disappointed with the flavor. I expected so much more. Lightly roasted malt, a hint of spice, some mild chocolate notes and a mild hop finish. Medium bodied.

UPDATED: APR 27, 2008 [Draft, ABR ’07] Pours black with a light tan head. Aroma is roasted malt (rye), chocolate--sweet, almost honeyish. The taste is similar, with a little coffee and the rye and chocolate really coming through strongly. A little thin, long finish of rye and chocolate. A solid beer, but it could definitely stand to be thicker.

On draught at the Happy Gnome in St Paul, MN. Pours an opaque near black brew with a decent creamy off-white head that has a slow dissolve and leaves behind an excellent lacing. Aroma of dark chocolate, dark roasted crystal malt, a touch of coffee and vanilla. Taste is full bodied, very light carbonation, smooth, silky and creamy with more flavors of dark chocolate, coffee and roasted malt. Finish is just as smooth as its flavor, with a slight dry bitter aftertaste in the finish. I’ve been watching this small brewery since it started a year ago. The first few brews have been average at best, until recently. Their Bermuda Triangle started to pique my interest. This Cygnus X-1 Canadian Porter is at the time I am writing this their best brew! Keep up the excellent progress Jeff. This beer will go places!

On tap at the G nome. I would certainly agree that this is the best FE brew to this point. Very rich flavors of coco and some coffee. Good amount of hops in there as well. This is what porters should be! Hopefully this gets the bottle treatment.

UPDATED: SEP 19, 2007 Tried this with Jeff at the brewery. This porter pours a very nice deep dark brown, with a nice tan head. Very balanced nose with a good dose of floral hops and the coffee and chocolate jump out. Flavor is a wonderful balance of bittersweet chocolate, coffee, a light roasty toasiness, and the finish is trademark Flat Earth with a killer lingering floral and coffee character. Jeff’s beers continue to get better and better, with this being the best so far.

Enjoyed at Great Waters just before the Rush Concert. This is a very flavorful porter with lots of chocolate and roast balanced by a significant hop bite. Thin mouthfeel. I match the obscure Rush song title of this beer by asking the obscure question: which Cygnus? Farewell to Kings or Hemispheres?