HARRY PORTER AND THE COMPLICATED COFFEE ORDER ~ GREAT LAKES BREWERY

6.5% from Toronto, Ontario 16 IBU

Another delicious riff on the Harry Porter brew. This porter features a small amount of Scotch Bonnet pepper, vanilla, cinnamon and Station Cold Brew coffee. The pour was an opaque black with glints of brown, with a mocha coloured head. The head settled into a cap leaving a ring around the glass. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and roasted malts abound. The flavour follows with rich coffee, chocolate and vanilla, a little heat is noted at the end from the Scotch Bonnet peppers, along with some woody notes. The finish has a low bitterness and is quite smooth. The body is medium as is the carbonation. A beautiful brew!

MILK RUN COFFEE STOUT ~ NORTHWINDS

Milk Run is a beautiful Coffee-milk stout, using local Collingwood roasters, Ashanti Coffee Estate. Sampled on draught the beer poured an opaque almost black with a generous tan head. The aroma has notes of coffee, chocolate, cocoa and roasted malts. The flavour is follows the nose with lots of coffee, chocolate notes with a touch of vanilla, lactic sweetness and dark fruit. The body is medium to full, the carbonation is soft and the mouthfeel is creamy. A beautifully crafted milk stout, a perfect way to end an evening.
5.6% from Collingwood, Ontario IBU 29
Malts: 2-Row, Maris Otter, Oats, Chocolate Malt, Carafa, Roasted Barley
Other ingredients: Ashanti Coffee, Lactose Sugar
Hops: Fuggles

CORNISH BREAKFAST ~ GREAT LAKES BREWERY

Cornish Breakfast is a cream ale with coffee on nitro, it is part of GLB’s Project X series. The beer is brewed with cold brewed coffee from Station Cold Brew. Sampled on draught the beer pours a reddish brown with a generous off white head. The nose has some coffee notes along with a notes reminiscent of an English mild. The flavour has a little sweetness along with some coffee notes , subtle nuttiness and a some light malts and very mild bitterness. This one fell flat for me; I found the mouthfeel to be too light bodied. The carbonation was somewhat flat too. A good idea, but needs more oomph.

4.2% from Etobicoke, Ontario

FULL CITY COFFEE PORTER ~ FORKED RIVER BREWING

Sampled on draught, this porter on nitro poured a deep opaque brown black with a generous creamy beige head. The head had good staying power, before settling into a cap and leaving light lacing. The nose had notes of chocolate, lots of roasted coffee (from First Crack Coffee Company), toasted bread, subtle malts, earthiness and a light nuttiness. Flavour had tons of espresso, with black coffee/hop bitterness. More subtle notes of caramel, molasses, dark toasted malts, chocolate and an earthiness were also to be found. The brew was abounding with flavour. The carbonation was gentle, the mouthfeel as creamy and the finish was dry with no lasting aftertaste. I very nice flavourful porter, enjoyed when the leaves were turning and their was a slight chill in the air.

5.5% from London, Ontario 32 IBU

  COFFEE TOP ~ HENDERSON’S BREWING

Coffee Top is not actually a beer but a beer cocktail, served at the Henderson’s Brewery.  The beer is Henderson’s Best, their flagship Amber Ale, served with a top of cold brewed coffee from Station Brewers.  Sampled at the brewery the beer cocktail was a clear amber colour with a generous frothy bone coloured head.  The amber ale and the coffee worked remarkably well together.   The sweetness from the malts and the hoppiness of the ale married nicely with the coffee.  Who knew?

4.8% from Toronto, Ontario   40 IBU

Coffee Top is the last in the row.  

VANILLA JAVA PORTER ~ ATWATER

RED, WHITE & BREW ~ Vanilla Java Porter is Atwater’s bestseller. Sampled on draught, this porter poured a very dark brown with a thin tan head that dissipated very quickly. Roasted coffee and vanilla extract dominate the nose. My first impression of the taste was that I was drinking an ice cream float. I found this to be very sweet. The coffee flavour was not of strong brewed coffee, but more of a watery coffee with vanilla extract. The mouthfeel was watery and I was expecting much more of a hop presence at the finish. I was expecting much stronger flavours and complexity from this one. If you like a drinkable dessert this would be it. Pleasant enough but in small quantities.
Ingredients: Brewed 2 row malt, Cara-80, Coffee and Black malt and Magnum hops.

4.5% from Detroit, Michigan 12 IBU

GUY ON A BUFFALO ~ BLOCK 3

Guy on a Buffalo is an oddly named coffee porter from Block 3. Sampled from a bottle, the beer had a dark pour with a cap of off white head. The nose was robust and contained notes of chocolate, roasted malts and coffee. Taste was exactly as was expected based on the nose. The coffee the beer is brewed with is from Eco Café in St. Jacob’s Ontario. The coffee and the subtle sweetness are nicely balanced. The body was medium and the finish had a nice coffee bitterness to it. Quite a nice coffee porter. Photo from: Block 3
6.5 % from St. Jacob’s, Ontario 28 IBU
Malts: Maris Otter, Crystal 110, Carafoam, Chocolate, Carafa Special 1, Roasted Barley
Hops: Magnum

LOUIS CIFER ~ DARK HORSE COFFEE APA

Louis Cifer is a brew pub on the Danforth, which has been there now for several years. Stepping in for dinner I was surprised how full the large space was on a very cold night. The place is set up like a large US brewpub: big, loud, service oriented, with mediocre food. They have about a dozen taps of house beer and about the same of guest taps. Several of my choices were sold out, so the waitress brought over several samples, most of which were nothing special, this interesting brew was the best of the bunch. The brewers, in collaboration with Dark Horse Coffee, have created an America pale ale infused with espresso beans. An odd combination, but I think this one worked. The brewers used a single hop APA (citra hops) to highlight the rich espresso flavours. Sampled on draught the beer poured a rich golden orange colour, with a no head. There was a ton of caffeine on the nose along with citrusy notes from the hops. The taste also had massive coffee flavour with a pleasant, but not overpowering citra hop kick at the end. The combination of bold coffee flavour with a light beer was strange but successful. Reading the reviews this one seems to be the best of the bunch.

5.2% from Toronto, Ontario 35 IBU

BRICKS & MORTAR COFFEE PORTER ~  LEFT FIELD BREWERY

Bricks and Mortar is a seasonal offering from Left Field. It is a collaboration with their neighbours Pilot Coffee Roasters. The name is a tribute to the area and the building the brewery is in. The brewery is located on the edge of what once was a large pit, where much of the clay for early Toronto Houses was sourced. The brewery buildings original use was part of the brick factory. 
Sampled on draught at the brewery, the beer poured a dark brown with a beige head, which left beautiful lacing. The aroma contained lots of dark coffee with roasted malts and a very subtle fruitiness. Whole freshly roasted Guatemala Gesha coffee beans are added near the end of the conditioning process using cold extraction to flavour. The taste has a bit of sweetness with coffee, roasted malts and subtle chocolate notes. There is a light fruit acidity and a little coffee bitterness found on the palette too. It is smooth and creamy with moderate carbonation and medium body. A nice winter sipper.

6% from Toronto, Ontario 40 IBU

photo courtesy of Left Field Brewing

SPEARHEAD ~ JAMAICAN FIRE

Holy smokes this stout is packed with flavour! Sampled on draft, this beer is brewed with coffee, mangos and scotch bonnet peppers. The beer poured a nice dark brown, with a large cream coffee brown head and lace. The nose has lots of very dark roasty malts, and coffee with hints of spice. The taste is packed with explosive flavour. Tons of full bodied coffee and roasted malts start the beer. Then the spice kicks in with a warming heat. The peppers are not overpowering but do give a wee kick! The subtle heat lingers. Enjoyed the half pint I had, but couldn’t commit to any more. A bold and very tasty brew.

Malts: Pale malt, Maris Otter, Carabohemian, Black Prinz, Roasted Barley
Hops: Northern Brewer, Goldings,
Yeast: California Ale
Other : mango, Scotch Bonnet Peppers and coffee

7% from Ontario     IBU 35

PÉCHÉ MORTEL ~ DIEU DE CIEL!

Péché Mortel  means Mortal Sin in French.  It is a wonderful intense coffee stout created by Dieu de Ciel! in 2001. I cannot say enough good things about this beer.  It dances in your mouth!

It pours a very dark and opaque with a dark brown foam.  The nose is full of coffee, chocolate and roasted malts.  The flavour is a romance with my taste buds: espresso coffee, rich expensive dark chocolate and roasted malty goodness.  It is beautifully balanced and has a smooth creamy mouth feel that lingers on your tongue. 

Péché Mortel  is Imperial Stout, originally brewed for Russian royalty.  Like an IPA they were more heavily hopped then their English counterparts in order to survive the journey.  The bitterness does not distract from this beer at all.  At almost 10% this is a beer to end your evening with, a real treat!

9.5% from Montreal, Quebec