Midnight Espresso

This beer is being evaluated as a Spice/Herb/Vegetable (BJCP category 30A) porter featuring coffee. The aroma is all malt featuring nuttiness and brownie batter chocolate notes. This beer presents a very inviting aroma overall, reminiscent of Ferrero Rocher candy. The aroma is unfortunately lacking coffee, although some of the nuttiness may be contributed from a medium roast bean. The beer is obsidian with a medium sized creamy dark khaki head that persists. The beer is easy to drink - malt forward with enough bitterness to keep things in check. The flavor follows the aroma with toasty, nutty, and chocolate notes that lead into a slightly sweet finish. Coffee is lacking and a bigger, bolder roast profile would be a welcome addition. Thankfully, there is no green bell pepper flavor that you find in many coffee beers. The mouthfeel is a gem: creamy, medium-light body, and medium-low carbonation. This is a truly wonderful porter that has hints of cocoa powder throughout and is never harsh, astringent, or unbalanced. The coffee treatment is incredibly subtle but helps add some depth in the way of nuttiness. A darker coffee roast profile and/or higher concentration of coffee might make for a better coffee beer.