Koff Porter

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

Pours out black with a big frothy chocolaty head that takes its time before lacing to a thin layer. Looks spectacular. Smells of bakers chocolate, dark fruit, and roasty malt. The taste is crazy, in a very good way. Starts roasty, then transitions into bakers chocolate, then the dark fruit kicks in then washed away by a hop bite that dissapears to a coffee but silky flavor. So smooth in the mouth with a tickle of carbonation. I could drink these all night long.

Bottled in 2000! Still some carbonation left over. Pours opaque black with no head. Aromas of soy sauce, cellar must, salty, black currants, and a cigarette butt right after I went out for a smoke! Soy sauce continues in the flavor as well as some sweet smoked malt, and hints of toffee. Flavor is limited but distinct. Mouthfeel starts off nearly watery but becomes full and chewy towards the end. Soy sauce dominates. Fresh is better but this was quite enjoyable with some sharp cheddar. Notes of Bali Shag (blue) show up in the nose towards the end. Interesting brew.

Bottle. This beer pours an opaque black in color with a capuchino colored, frothy head. The aroma is of bitter coffee and burnt chocolate; a fairly standard porter blend. Tasting is another story. This beer is a bit too sour, not creamy bitter, just oddly sour. The other negative is it is too thin. Good porter in my mind should be on the thicker, slighty oily side. This is a little too weak. The finish is clean with a bit of a bite. All around not bad and drinkable, but not on my list to revisit.

An absolutely great beer from Finland! Great roasted malt flavors with hints of caramel, coffee, and dark chocolate. Worth finding, a truly wonderful beer.

I’m seeing a lot of really high ratings for this one. Here’s a counter-statement. If you like a one-trick pony beer, here’s a candidate. This brew’s singular trick is darkness. Black. Darker than a black steer’s tuckuss on a moonless prairie night. As in, very dark. Some adjectives: licorice, coffee, sorghum molasses, soy sauce. Next!

33cl bottle. Smokestack chalice. Aroma is roasty, plums, ,milk chocolate, a slight lactic tang, and a bit of licorice. As far as I can tell, the color is black with a nice brown head that dies down pretty quickly. Big bodied. Initial taste is malty, with dark milk chocolte, lite dark fruits, and some roast and some tang followed by a rush of roast, nice maltiness, some tartness, and prunes. The ale yeast and munich are both apparent in this wonderful Baltic Porter.

33 cl, bb L70465N. Opaque black with a huge sugary head. Cocoa, caramel and coffee aroma. Tastes of dry cocoa, charred wood, lightly sweetened coffee, and some peppery herb. Medium-bodied, chalky, and has some tongue-tingle.

11.2 oz bottle purchased at Spirits RB. Pours a viscous pitch black with a large foamy brown head, the body is great but the head needs a little work. Initial aroma of tobacco, espresso, roastiness and an underlying sweetness to it all. Medium bodied that is light on carbonation and finishes bitter sweet. Very roasty flavor overall with notes of tobacco and a slight burnt flavor but towards the end there is a burst of dark sweetness. Wow I was expecting nothing and got something, something pretty darn good that is.