Mocha Porter
22 ounce bomber purchased at Jimmie Garants in Alpena, MI for $4.89. No bottling date was located. It was poured into a tulip glass. An aggressive pour yields two fingers of impressively dark, mocha-colored head. The retention is not fantastic, but it is nice looking for a while. Thick lacing sticks to the glass where head has once been. The beer is pitch dark. For the style, it is a very impressive glass of beer to look at. The aroma is earthy and fruity. It smells sweet with hints of licorice. Unfortunately, it also smells a bit like soy sauce. Regardless, one cannot deny that it is a very robust porter. Im getting the mocha right away in the flavor. Its a sweet, Hersheys syrup-like flavor paired with a light body. As it is not accompanied by any kind of creaminess that I normally associate with chocolate flavored beers, it is difficult to wrap my head around at first. Aside from the chocolate forward flavor, the beer is laden with subtle complexities. A few sips in, Im getting used to the feel and I begin to notice nice earthy notes in the roasted malts. There is a small amount of snap pea flavor but not enough to be a turnoff. The finish is laced with a decent amount of hop bitterness, but well within proper balance of the preceding sweetness. I am quite intrigued by the seeming contradictions within and how they add up to something that works. As previously stated, the beer is light bodied and contains very little carbonation; so it feels pretty watery. How they packed so much flavor into such a light package is beyond my understanding. Unfortunately it doesnt make for a very exciting beer in the mouth. Call it blasphemy, but I think the feel of this porter would be much improved on nitro. All of this adds up to an interesting experience that doesnt bear repeating. It looks great, but the aroma and feel are underwhelming; and the taste, intriguing as it may be, doesnt urge me to come back for more. Mocha Porter is only available on tap and in a bomber so if you want to take it home, youre pretty much forced to buy 22 ounce servings. That is frustrating it itself, although to their credit, $5 for a bomber isnt that bad. However, after the first tulip fill was finished I was ready for something else. --- The Two-Schlitz Scale: (see my profile for an explanation) I dont give a Schlitz for Mocha Porter. This beer has gone rogue for a reason.