Koff Porter

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

damn. Probably the darkest pour I’ve ever witnessed. Thick as oil she was, with a head of dark mocha walking 15 miles upwards. Cascades beautifully. Couldn’t really pick a solid nose off this. Didn’t have that offsetting tangent you sometimes get with porters. Taste....surprising indeed. Struck me as if I had swallowed the contents of an ashtray at the New Yorker (No one at the New Yorker has anuses.). Strong dark chocolates flow around a waff of cigar smoke while sitting in my favourite smoking jacket. Pitty it was brewed well after Washington’s time, im sure he would have given the thumbs up.

Yummie - thanks a lot Juha! Opaque colored with a nice huge hazelnut brown head on top that lastes long. Clay and band aid, also roasted malt nose. Smooth - bitter, raosted malt taste that lasts long. Nice one!

330mL bottle found on discount beer rack presumably because it is past date - best by date indicates June ’03. Pours with gorgeous dark tan tight large head leaving all kinds of lace. More or less completely opaque black color. Strong chocolate and coffee and dark malt aroma. Fantastic full malt/chocolate flavor with fairly clean roasted finish. Love this beer. And to think - all I’d had of Finland before was Lapin Kulta and I thought that was a decent pilsener....

(33 cl bottle via trade with <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 target=blank>beeryum, thanks Dave!) Pours almost as black as coal (actually very, very dark brown) with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet molasses, prunes, raisins, caramel. Fine sloppy lacing. Mouthfeel smooth, a touch prickly in finish. Flavor is good, but not as multi-dimensional as aroma. Somewhat port-like, so has kind of a grape and coffee-like taste with a hint of plum in finish. Finish is also fairly bitter and a little dry. Good.

From a 11.2 oz. short brown bottle with no bottled/freshness date. Made a very good appearance, poured a syrupy opaque black with a nice sized sticky tan head that slowly settled into a thin bubbly lacing, moderate carbonation. Had a dark ripe fruity and burnt chocolate nose with a slight woodiness. A slick, semi-creamy, textured full bodied mouth feel, good drinkability. A rich chocolate/coffee malt taste, a dark fruitiness, a mellow alcohol warmth in the palate and a sweet fruity and dark chocolate finish. I have been wanting to try this porter since coming across it in Michael Jackson’s "Great Beer Guide" (p.430, 2000 edition). An excellent Baltic Porter, delicious tasting, well worth seeking out.

12 oz bottle, 2001 or 2002 vintage. Pours an opaque black body under a small wispy covering of dark brown head. Aroma is large and complex, with chocolate pudding, vanills, soy, alcohol, carmalized dark fruits, and cooked whole wheat pasta. Flavor is roasty with a caramel overtone. Hints of burnt coffee, chalk, plums, raisins, and dates. Finish is dry and lingers quite a while. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate, very fine bubbled carbonation. Slightly oily in texture on the finish. Overall, almost as good as I remember it, but I think that I enjoyed it a bit more about a year ago when I last had a bottle from this batch.

(03.18.06) 11.2 oz brown bottle purchased from DiCarlo’s, Mundelein, IL. 7.2% ABV. Bottle labeled as best before 6/23/03. Pours opaque brown black with giant long lasting head. No discernable carbonation. Soy sauce and prunes in the nose. Full bodied with light malt sweetness and prune/roasted malt flavors. Vinous quality, reminiscent of port wine. Finishes with roasted coffee and burnt malt aftertaste. Smooth in the mouth. Though the port wine characteristic is somewhat overpowering, this is a very good drinkable porter.

330ml bottle poured a nearly opaque reddiish black wiyh a long lasting brown head. Aromas of dark chocolate, some vinous notes, a bit of coffee and a hint of smoke. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of roasted malt, bitter chocolate, and a hint of smoke with a smooth, lingering bittersweet finish.