That's right - with its familiar neon lettering and white background, this is a beer inspired by Dunkin' Donuts. Now, I don't have any particular brand loyalty to Dunkin', but as a true son of New England, I have try this beer. It's a 6.00% ABV coffee porter by Harpoon Brewery, clocking in at 28 IBUs. So rather light on both the alcohol and the bitterness. Let's see how coffee-y it is...some of the coffee beers I've had are rather light on flavor, so here's hoping for something different.
Interesting - there's really not a lot of head, even when hard-poured (pouring the beer directly down, instead of along the side of the glass.) Settles to a milkshake like cap on top, thin yet dense.
Hmm, it's quite soft actually, with some creaminess and a touch of savory, rauchbier-like smoke in the middle - very interesting and very enjoyable. There's also a touch of powdered cocoa - or is it ground coffee? - as the flavors develops on the palate. It presents a long, but thin, finish of hot dark roast - a bit burnt, a bit bitter and strong, reminiscent of a blustery winter's day and a Styrofoam cup. I'm detecting some oily, cheap coffee flavors on the aftertaste.
OK, so this IS different from other coffee beers I've had. I think the biggest takeaway for this is that it's definitely on the roasted / oily end of the spectrum and not really that sweet. I'm fine with that. I would prefer a coffee beer that's less sweet and has more of those deep, dark roast flavors...to me it tastes more like coffee. In terms of texture, this sort of the inverse of Flying Dog's "Kujo", which is also very good for different reasons. If you're a fan of oily, dark roast coffee and want a beer to match, then grab this - it's well worth the $10.99 for six.
No comments:
Post a Comment