Mehana Alala Hawaiian Crow Porter

Mehana Brewing Company
Brewed at Hawaii Nui Brewing (Keoki Brewing)
Style: Porter
Hilo, Hawaii USA

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

Bottle; dark Brown with medium beige head; aroma-sweet, roasts, coffee, chocolate; taste-light sweetness, medium bitterness, lively carbonation.

12oz bottle at Bar 35 in downtown Honolulu, HI. Pours a deep amber-brown colored body with an inch thick, dense and foamy, rocky, brown head that collapses slowly and leaves a moderate lacing. Aroma is sweet roasts and a light chocolate with some chalkiness. Caramel, a few dark fruits, and a light earth. Flavor is similar. Caramels and some chocolate up front with a good amount of roast and a light coffee with a bit of a char. A few dark fruits with a touch of acidity and a light earthy hop before this finishes dry and roasty with a touch of sweetness and a light-moderate bitterness. Lengthy aftertaste following a medium body and soft, higher carbonation that works well with this. Overall, a pretty solid porter. Roasty with a touch of malt sweetness in an easy drinking, well carbonated body.

UPDATED: FEB 4, 2011 Bottle shared at the "AK to the HB" tasting on 12/30/10: The beer is a dark brown color with a medium tan head that diminishes steadily. Rings of lacing. Aroma of sweet chocolate and fruit. Medium body with a slightly chalky feel, and flavors of milk chocolate, fruit and coffee. The finish is mildly roasted coffee with a chocolate aftertaste. Slightly above average overall.
Earlier Rating: 12/7/2010 Total Score: 3.5
Sample at the Mehana Taproom in Hilo. Pours dark brown with a thin compact tan head that dissipates slowly. Stringy lacing. Roasted malt and mild coffee aroma. Medium body with a sweet roasted malt flavor along with some coffee and chocolate flavors. The finish is roasted coffee with a bready malt aftertaste. Decent overall.

Dark brown with tan head and lace. Coffee and roasted malt aroma. Medium coffee, roasted malt, and light sour. Medium bodied with good carbonation.

Pours out a deep brown brew with a small smooth light brown cap and lovely silty lacing. Smells very good! Mild coffee, bit o’ coconut, faint orange, bit ’o chocolate, nice fruity background. Light hop presence, some pungent hints that help keep this quite interesting and very appealing. The taste is not as good as the aroma but still gets it done: very light immediate hop touch and then milliseconds later the smooth roast takes over. Mild coffee, the citrus is kinda like weak pineapple, coconut, very mild hoppy bitterness on the finish with no length. A bit of a lemony finish tied in with the soft sweet malts. A very smooth brew, minimal carbonation and a light oily mouth cover. Twas a good beer!

Pours brown with a beige head. Aroma is roasted malt and smoke. Flavour is roasted malt, light maltacidic. A bit watery.

Bottle. Pours dark brown, little head. Aroma is somewhat absent, but hints of chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts. Flavor is similiar, but I think I detect some fruitiness. I prefer my woman thin, not my porters. Ok, so maybe that wasn’t so PC, but you get my point.

Bottle. Pours a clear brown beer with an beige/offwhite head. The aroma is roasted, malt and weak caramel. The flavor is fruits, malt and some acidity. The palate is sweet with a high level of carbonation. Overall an average beer.