Black Snow Coffee Porter
Town Hall Brewery

Had this last night at the brewery. Wish I could buy growlers on Sundays, because I would've loved to take 64oz of this one home. Dark brown, almost black color with some light shining through, no head and no lacing. I don't care about the look on this one because the aroma and flavor was spot on. Deep, roasty, coffee aroma with notes of caramel and chocolate. Flavor is espresso mixed with dark baker's chocolate, vanilla, and charred malt. Very complex and superbly balanced. Smooth and creamy, but just a little to light for such a big tasting beer. Excellent beer and if they have this on tap again when I return in a few weeks, I will definitely be taking home a growler with me.

Pours very dark with a small tan head that quickly settles to a thin cap. Very little lacing is left on the glass. Has a nice porter aroma of dark malt, chocolate, with a coffee kicker. The coffee in this beer compliments of the aroma and flavor rather playing the lead role. Has a slightly smokey malt and coffee flavor with hints of chocolate. The body is a disappointing thin and the carbonation is a little high. The drinkability is high as the coffee flavor is not over-the-top and the ABV is low. Definately not the most dynamic or powerful coffee flavored beer but it is a good porter.

Appearance: Poured into a pint glass with 1cm tan head, that dissipated slowly to a thin layer on the top of the beer, and left no lacing. The beer is black in color and lets no light through.

Smell: Huge coffee smell, with a small piney hop scent, then sweet caramel malts. After the coffee aroma the other scents are pretty dull.

Taste: Coffee upfront (but less than expected), then hop bitterness, and a dark chocolate bitter flavor, followed by a little bit of sweet malts.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied, lighter than expected, a nice tingle from the hops, and a nice amount of carbonation.

Overall: Easy to drink, not too much coffee, good balance in taste, but the smell was not very strong.

A- Black with a thin but creamy head.

S- Coffee lots of coffee smell with a slight malt hint.

T- Strong coffee start ending with a slight bitterness.

M- Creamy and full, very nice.

D- Surprisingly easy for how dark and heavy it is.

Next time I see it on tap I'll grab another pint no questoin.

This one poured a solid black with a nice chocolate colored head that lasted only about a minute untill it dissolved into a nice lace. Smells of dark roasted coffee beans that is instantly noticable with a soft malt sweetness that soothes the nose. You immediatly taste the coffee and acidity. Roasted coffee beans with a hint of malt sweetness in the finish. Overall a very smooth creamy slightly acidic mouthfeel. This was a very enjoyable porter a great one for the fall and winter.

Deep black pour, little off white head.
Smell of coffee. No kidding. Not a deep roast coffee, or capuccino, just regular coffee. Some chocolate and sweetness in the nose.
Tastes of a thin coffee with drops of chocolate syrup. The roasted malt and some hops are present, but mostly the coffee.
A bit thin, not as sticky as I imagined, but makes for easier drinking. Good winter brew.

This beer looks great in the class with a thick brown, rocky head over top of a jet, dare I say coffee, black beer. Coffee aroma in the nose if very strong, and overhwhelms any hops/malt tones in the beer. Which, since it's a coffee porter, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Coffee continues strong in the taste, but then the caramel/chocolate notes of the malt show through a bit more. Some spiciness, I assume the hops. The mouthfeel is a little light for a porter but still good--specifically, lighter than I remember from having this beer in earlier years. Coffee seems a bit strong and "leftover cold coffee" tasting near the back of the mouth. If you like coffee, ignore this last point--this is my coffee for the year, so I will have problems with bold coffee in any setting, even beer. Overall, very good, and worth driving down for, though I stopped at one this year and moved on to other fun stuff on tap.

Fresh growler form the brewery poured into a pint glass

A—solid balck with a 1 inch cocoa colored head that fades away after several minutes, thick full lacing is produced around the inside of the glass

S—roasted coffee dominates everything in the nose, some sweet malt aroma is faint

T—just like the smell, there is roasted coffee bean flavor everywhere, bittersweet throughout, perfect.

M—smooth and creamy, full bodied, good carbonation

D—very much so, but slowly. This is perfect to sip by a campfire…which is what I did with the rest of the growler.

Apparently retired, but i don't think so. A fantastic coffee porter, rich and dark, with an aroma and flavor that is pure Arabica bliss. Finishes only slightly bitter, but the coffee is done to perfection. Breakfast beer? I think so, I only wish they would have had growlers when we were there.

Black with ruby tints...nose is strong coffeee grounds and dark baking cocoa...medium bodied and creamy...taste is both milk chocolate and baking cocoa along with java....GREAT blalance...not overdone...very tasty coffee porter...low bitterness but exquisite coffee and cocoa flavors

On tap at the brewpub...

Very black and opaque in appearance but sort of slick and shiny. Head doesn't have much oomph, its gone in half a minute. Crown of laces with dots underneath. Nice aroma, good combination of slight sweetness and java prickle, balanced. Mouthfeel is dead on medium with carbonation that matches it well. Flavor certainly highlights the coffee, dark and roasty and slighlty oily, some of the light acidity of Ethiopean beans. While the coffee is completely distinct early on, a malted milk sense of balance rounds out the profile and is the beer's best flavor aspect. Well-done effort, a cask rendition is better, spreading out the hard roast and letting the sweetness in on the edges of soft carbonation.

Ink black in appearance. A whipped brown froth sits on top. Retention is great. Lacing is quite full. Sniffing this beer is like sniffing the spent coffee grounds from a high octane heavily roasted coffee. Damn strong, and good. Roasted notes from the malts mix in nicely as well. Maybe a little vanilla bean as well. The taste is like a maitai of hot chocolate, mocha, heavily roasted coffee bean and cocoa powder. There's a litte husky grainiess in the background as well. And some piney (chinook??) hop notes. Great flavor. The The mouthfeel is nice. Body is about medium or so. For such a strongly flavored coffee brew, it goes down mighty quickly. Great work.

On-tap at the brewpub: Super dark brown nearly black in color, thin light tan cap, lacing in small and short sheeting leaving some bigger globs as it breaks up. Aroma is the equivalent of coffee ice cream topped with milk chocolate sauce. Not overly strong, quite welcoming, clean, and delightful to wiff in. Flavors of iced coffee and smooth milk chocolate decorate the entire palate. Smooth and inviting, mixing favorably without any hint to whether the coffee or chocolate is stronger. Always equally distributed between the two. The chocolate keeps a sweeter edge while the coffee drys it out. Great balance. Feel is about medium with a mega soft smoothness and nice drying tones mixed with sweetness. A very nice porter here, the flavors aren't huge, its got just enough flavor and body to create a finely smooth semi-mild treat. Fantastic balance and nearly perfect flavors, I was hoping for just a nudge more coffee, but it's still a wonderful porter that any lover of porters would enjoy.

Peace Coffee is a local concern that gathers fair-trade, shade-grown beans from around the world, sells them affordably at co-ops, and delivers them around town via bicycle, even when the snow is caked on high in winter-time...I've seen this! Quite a commendable outfit, and theirs is usually the stuff in my mug every morning. They put some Ethiopian and Colombian beans together, blended them with Town Hall's usual Porter recipe, and what is the result...?

As black as a porter can get, with only a glimmer of bright crimson peeking around the bottom, utter ebon, all the way, topped with an attractive, cocoa-tan head, softly bubbly, rocky, a thin ring, but long-lasting.

Roasted coffee and chocolate hits the nose immediately...dark chocolate, rich Bavarian coffee cake, thick, bittersweet, devilish...decadent! The essence of the nut is here, and spills forth all it's appeal...i could drink it in all day, and forswear the drinking of brew in favor of the aroma!

First sip: BAM! It hits big from the start again, powerful, potent flavor, richness all over the palate, slick and thick, almost like ...well, i'm dumbstruck, because it's EXACTLY like a full-bodied cup of dark roast coffee combined with a well-constructed, utterly delicious porter, and those are two of my favorite things.
I'm undergoing stages of doubt...can this really be perfect? It feels like it, honestly. I hesitated and reconsidered, but I mean every note of this. It's so balanced, so smooth, and so full of the best of both parts. At times, I've raved about brews that are bold and brazen in the attack of flavor...this has just enough of what it means to deliver.

Perfect conception, too...they make an awesome coffee stout here, as well, but it's sometimes too full and chewy...this takes the ideal spot in the middle, just as a porter should...

...another pour from the growler (and I swore I'd do only one just now!), and the head looks better, like a chocolate sponge cake! This taste continues to remains matchless in execution of it's intentions. I could drink this forever...oh, goodness, it's great!

(I thought this was perfect having pints tonight at the pub, and struggled with the dilemna of doing an all-5...horrors!...but relaxing at home with the growler, ...well, you read it, already...it's the real deal!)