two birds, one glass

I did find a local beer, and one that the cashier was impressed with.  Rio Bravo Brewing makes a porter that isn’t just a coffee porter, it’s New Mexico Piñon Coffee Porter.  Two great tastes in one, I assume.  They say they’re trying to blend the flavors so that one doesn’t mask the other, not the easiest thing to do with coffee and black beer.  There is quite a number of different malts used, mostly to bring out some heavy sweet flavors, so we’ll see if this doesn’t get sticky at the end.

Not an especially strong scent, a little bit tingley.  More dedicated sniffing reveals the coffee.  It’s a nice dark brown color, with a respectable light beige head.  Practically opaque, which is a good sign. The taste is much smoother than the aroma would suggest, in fact, with a smooth milk-coffee entrance.  It is very much like a slightly carbonated ice coffee.  The bitterness is present, but slight, giving way to a touch of sweetened coffee.  I’m not finding the caramel, but I could be persuaded that dark chocolate is present.  A little smokiness starts to develop, but for the most part the taste stays constant and pleasant, as long as coffee is your thing.