Aphotic Porter Coffee
High Water Brewing

Have you ever chewed on a deep roasted coffee bean? I have and that’s what this beer reminds me of. Coffee is the star of the show here.

Pours quite dark as you’d expect, with a dark head that disappears quickly. The aroma is defiantly coffee, dark roast, ground, not brewed, plus the sweet smell of dark roasted grains.

The taste is slightly sweet on the front, very bitter on the finish.

Really enjoyed this fun and different, in your face, strong coffee flavored beer. Caffeine?

$ 10.87 (Including shipping)/22 oz bottle ($ 0.494/oz) from Tavour, Seattle, WA. Reviewed 11/20/18.
“Batch 2966 1555020118” in yellow ink on back shoulder. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 55 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.
Body – Aphotic indeed. Dark brown/black, opaque. When held to the light, some penetration occurs around the top edge.
Head – Large (Maximum five cm, aggressive center pour), tan, dense, average retention, diminishing to a two to eight mm ring and thick partial layer.
Lacing – Poor. One partial ring of tiny to small bubbles.
First pour – Dark brown, clear.
Aroma – 4.5 –Roasted malt, caramel, coffee. Remains assertively present.
Flavor – 4 – Begins with coffee mellowed by roasted malt. The caramel nose is not found in the flavor. Ends with a coffee bitterness which lasts a bit too long. No alcohol (9.3% ABV), no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 4 – Medium, creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 4 – This was well on its way to being an excellent Baltic porter but was held back by the over-reaching coffee bitterness. The appearance was good, the aroma was excellent, the palate was beyond serviceable – only that damnable lingering coffee bitterness kept the flavor from 4.5 as well. Still, a good Baltic porter.

 

 

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 3/22/2017. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big nutty dark roasted coffee, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, almonds, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of vanilla, smoke, dark fruit, herbal, wood, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, and light earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big nutty dark roasted coffee, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, almonds, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of vanilla, smoke, dark fruit, herbal, wood, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal/spicy hop and roast/char bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of nutty coffee, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, almonds, dark/brown bread, light vanilla/smoke/char, herbal, wood, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, and light earthy hop flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Nicely clean lager finish. Slightly increasing dryness from hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and slightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Mildly warming alcohol for 9.3%. Overall this is an excellent Baltic porter! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the ABV; with the very mildly bitter/drying finish. Great fruity/nutty coffee presence, well rounded classic porter malt complexity, and mild balancing earthy hops. Never overly roasty, acrid, or drying. I found this to be just a bit on the thin side for the ABV, but nothing to really complain about. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap in PA where it was listed as "Aphotic imperial porter with coffee". Served in a tulip glass.
Look: Essentially black and opaque with a good beige head.
Coffee dominates both the aroma and the flavor. Strong flavor with a long lasting, good quality, dark roasted coffee flavor.