A Porter Style Coffee Ale
Mfg. by Surly Brewing Company
Brooklyn Center, MN
5% a.b.v.
$16.99 (before deposit) per 64 oz.
In my house, Saturday is now Growler Day.
From noon until 2 PM, the rebel upstart microbrewery a short distance away has finally secured legality from the city and state to sell pre-filled growlers. These lovlies are CO2 purged and topped to the cap.
For those who are not familiar, the growler is essentially a 64 oz. personal ration of brewery fresh beer. The true beauty of a growler is it's very limited shelf life once opened (quality will degrade considerably within as little as 4-6 hours as the beer goes flat and experiences oxydation). In other words, once the cap is cracked, you've essentially committed yourself to its entire content with no room for nursing.
Such is the case this cold and sunny afternoon with a beer named Coffee Bender, a limited release available only today. This is the brewery's robust porter style ale Bender blended with 20 gal. batches of cold pressed Guatemalan coffee beans. The result is a surprising hybrid of both flavor and effect, caffeine providing a peppy counterpoint to the soothing joy of the beer buzz.
Flavor is dominated by roasted malt and coffee bean, the two of which intersect at a smoothly bitter cocoa note. No evident sweetness, however the ample mouthfeel and a full texture from malto-dextrins are more than enough to compensate. Wonderful, fine carbonation but with only moderate head retension. Far more smooth than any java stout.
Bottoms up: Steeply priced, but worth every penny to the connoisseur of both fine ale and coffee who's been looking for a marriage between the two vices. One of the most unique (while still being enjoyable) beers I've ever tried. Breakfast beer value is priceless.
...Part of a complete, well-balanced breakfast. Beer w/ walnut chocolate chip cookie.
Look closely and you can see some Brussels lace, those beautiful whisps of foam that remain upon the side of the glass.
I raise a pint presently. Cheers all!
